Mukesh Bansal And Ankit Nagori’s Startup CureFit Acquires Controlling Stake In Cult For $3 Mn

Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori’s startup CureFit announced today that it will invest $3 Mn (INR 21 Cr) in Bengaluru-based healthcare startup CULT.

With this investment, CureFit will now own a majority stake in the startup, but CULT will continue to operate independently.

Commenting on the funding, Rishab Telang, co-founder, CULT said, “CULT’s vision is to create a fitness revolution in the country by inspiring people to take up a fitness regime, and a healthier lifestyle in general. With this round of funding, we will be able to focus on expanding our footprint and use technology to provide a better experience to our customers.”

Founded in 2015 by Rishabh Telang and his brother-in-law Deepak Poduval, CULT offers a mix of martial arts, yoga and outdoor activities. It is a gym that does not have treadmills or all-in-one fitness machines. It contains a boxing ring, jump ropes, boxing bags, tyres/hammer, speed chutes, resistance bands, and plyometric boxes.

The startup currently has two offline centres and has three more in the pipeline, which will open before the end of the year. It also plans to expand its reach to over 25 offline centres by the end of 2017 and open 200 centres in the next five years.

Inc42 had earlier reported in April that Mukesh Bansal invested an undisclosed amount of money in CULT.

Talking about the investment, Mukesh Bansal, co-founder of CureFit, said, “CULT has a unique training model, which delivers a holistic fitness regime. Traditional fitness formats are a thing of the past, and trainer-led group classes will change the face of the fitness industry in the near future.”

CureFit was started by former Myntra and Flipkart executives Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori.The two resigned in February 2016 and teamed up to launch a startup in the area of healthcare, sports and fitness, in March this year. The startup which will launch its platform in 2017, has raised $15 Mn from Accel, IDG & Kalaari Capital.

Bengaluru-based CureFit plans to be a combination of engagement, coaching and delivery through a mix of online and offline channels addressing curative healthcare.

Major competitors for CureFit include HealthifyMe, GimPik and Gymer, among others. Other key players ruling the healthcare segment include Practo, Portea and Goqii.

In August, healthcare analytics startup Tricog raised series A funding from Blume, Inventus and others. CIIE-IIM Ahmedabad also invested in two healthtech startups: Zeolr and MobiDent.

Healthcare startups have ushered in a change to the previously fragmented healthcare services sector with digital solutions. The past few years saw entry of startups like Lybrate, eKincare, Medibox Technologies, Mediaka Bazaar, Medical Unique Identity and BookMEDS.