Cash Flow: Apex Rides Raises £3m, Cure.fit Acquires Digital Fitness Company, Air Protein Banks $32m

The game-changing investment, acquisition and funding news impacting the industry and driving the business of wellness this week.

At-home bike brand Apex Rides raises £3m in seed funding

Apex Rides, a direct-to-consumer in-home smart-bike and app concept that launched during lockdown, has announced the completion of a £3m seed round featuring participation from Sir Rod Aldridge, founder and former executive chairman of Capita, and Eddie Jordan, OBE, former Formula 1 team boss and entrepreneur.

The raise will support the brand’s aim of shaking up the traditional indoor-bike market, providing consumers with inclusive, world-class UK content and hardware, at a more accessible price point.

Following an initial pre-sale campaign that launched in April 2020, Apex Rides has already had a considerable impact on the industry, generating 2,500 pre-orders of the bike over a 6 month period. 

CleanCo raises £7m for low-alcohol options

British premium low-alcohol spirits startup CleanCo has secured £7m in funding, as investors and consumers reveal an insatiable thirst for hangover-free drinking. The latest investment takes the total now raised by the business to £9.1m.

Providing people with a healthier alternative to traditional tipples, CleanCo has cultivated a loyal ‘sober-curious’ following of over 50,000 customers in just 15 months. The capital raised in its latest financing push will support the brand’s international expansion, as well as allowing for ‘significant’ marketing investment in the UK, to increase brand awareness. 

Founder of ZICO Coconut Water re-acquires brand from The Coca-Cola Company

PowerPlant Ventures has announced it has acquired ZICO coconut water from The Coca-Cola Company for an undisclosed amount.

PowerPlant Ventures, a growth equity investor, was co-founded and is co-led by Mark Rampolla, who is the brand visionary behind ZICO, which he founded in 2004 and sold to The Coca-Cola Company in 2013. The new company, named ZICO Rising, will be a homecoming for ZICO under the PowerPlant Ventures portfolio, as well as a new beginning for the beverage brand. 

Rapper Rick Ross Invests $1m in digital healthcare platform Jetdoc

Jetdoc, a revolutionary digital healthcare platform that connects users with a licensed healthcare professional in minutes, has raised $1m from rapper Rick Ross.

The music mogul, who announced a strategic partnership with Jetdoc last year, will continue his role as an equity partner, advisor and spokesperson.

Founded by healthcare veteran and entrepreneur, Tommy Duncan, Jetdoc provides affordable virtual healthcare with instant access to telehealth sessions with board-certified doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Priced at just $20 for a one-time virtual urgent care visit or a $10 unlimited monthly membership, Jetdoc aims to give millions affordable and convenient access to healthcare. 

Cure.fit acquires US-based digital fitness company Onyx

Cure.fit, India’s leading holistic health and wellness platform, founded in 2016 by Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori, has acquired US-based digital fitness company Onyx for an undisclosed amount.

“Onyx will accelerate our efforts towards building a hardware-agnostic AI-led platform that offers guided content on physical & mental wellness and nutrition all at the same place,” said Bansal.

The move follows the unicorn startup being forced to scale down its offline business due to the ongoing pandemic. It has since pivoted to digital by introducing live classes by cult and celebrity trainers, online personal training and a library of DIY content.

Air Protein secures $32m to propel its work

Air Protein, a company on a mission to feed the growing population with foods made from air-based protein, has secured $32m to accelerate its work.

In particular, funds have been earmarked to launch an innovation R&D lab, accelerate product development and commercialization, and recruit a dedicated team.

“With this funding, we will be able to accelerate our work towards providing innovative, environmentally friendly, highly nutritious alternatives that will play an important role in meeting the growing global demand for alternatives to animal protein,” founder Lisa Dyson said in a press release. “We are commercializing a novel technology platform that is capable of scaling to large-scale production to help feed the world’s 10 billion people by the year 2050, in the most sustainable approach available today.”

Protein powder startup Gainful lands $7.5m 

US Protein powder startup Gainful, which offers personalised subscriptions to protein powders and hydration products, has raised $7.5m in Series A funding.

The company plans to use the fresh capital to support product and market expansion. The funding comes after Gainful claims it more than doubled its revenue in 2020, due to the general shift toward e-commerce.

NeuroFlow closes $20m Series B investment

NeuroFlow, maker of solutions supporting technology-enabled behavioural health integration, has closed a $20m Series B financing round led by Magellan Health, in addition to a syndicate including previous investors. 

With record growth in telehealth adoption and historic spikes in depression and anxiety due to the ongoing pandemic, workflow augmentation solutions and the delivery of effective behavioural health care have been identified as top priorities in the industry. NeuroFlow’s technology increases access to personalized, collaborative care while empowering primary care providers, care managers, and other specialists to most effectively support patient populations by accounting for and addressing behavioural health.