Zomato Set To Add Gururgam-Based Fitness Startup Fitso To Its Menu

Indian foodtech unicorn Zomato is reported to be in talks to acquire Gurugram-based Fitso, a platform that provides its members access to various sports facilities. 

Fitso, founded in 2015 by three IIT Delhi alumni — Naman Sharma, Rahool Sureka and Saurabh Agarwal, is a full-stack sports facilities provider and claims to have more than 20,000 users in Delhi NCR. Users on the platform can choose a sport and book a time slot at their nearest facility. 

Fitso claims to standardise the sports facilities at any stadium, field or court, implementing best practices in facility management using tech and providing highly trained coaches for great user experience. 

The deal with Zomato is reported to have valued Fitso at $20 Mn. “Negotiations have reached an advanced stage and the term sheet is being finalised,” a person aware of the developments told Moneycontrol. 

Interestingly, Fitso, which has raised $1.7 Mn in five funding rounds so far, also counts Zomato cofounder Pankaj Chaddah as one of its investors. Chaddah was one of the investors in Fitso’s Pre-Series A funding round last year, worth $1.5 Mn. Further, Fitso cofounder Naman Sharma is a former Zomato executive, where he was the head of mobile products from 2010-2015. 

Fitness Market In India

The overall fitness market in India is valued at $3 Bn and is said to be growing at 18%, with a mere 4% of the market comprising organised gym chains or digital fitness startups, largely based in urban areas. However, it is to be noted that Tier 2 and 3 cities have not yet experienced the trend of digital fitness. 

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new nationwide campaign called the Fit India Movement. Under this campaign, Modi urged citizens to get more aware of fit and healthy lifestyles. 

Other players in the sports and fitness space include Cult.fit, Playnlive, Playo, BookYourGame and others.

Zomato’s Funding Spree

As for Zomato, the food delivery startup has raised $62 Mn from an existing investor, the Singapore-based Temasek Holdings. The deal is reported to have valued Zomato at $3 Bn. In August, Inc42 reported that Zomato could receive a total investment of $200 Mn from US-based investment firm Tiger Global Management, also reported to be valuing Zomato at $3 Bn. In January this year, Zomato was slated to receive funding of $150 Mn from existing investor Ant Financial, a unit of Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba Group Holding. However, the changing of India’s FDI rules meant that Zomato has so far received only a third of the proposed amount. 

Meanwhile, on Thursday (September 3), Inc42 reported that HSBC Global Research, in its report on Indian internet company Info Edge, has valued Zomato at $5 Bn. Info Edge is a shareholder in Zomato and the HSBC report mentioned that with the pandemic having accelerated Zomato’s path to profitability, it could be one of the positive triggers to impact Info Edge’s valuation in the coming years. 

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