Cash Flow: Levels Scores $12M For Health Tracking, Strava’s $110M Round, YouTube Co-Founder Invests In CLMBR

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

Levels scores $12m to bring biowearables into the mainstream

Levels, a biowearable system providing real-time feedback on how your diet impacts your health, closed $12m seed round led by a16z, one of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firms whose portfolio includes Airbnb, Facebook, Instagram, Lyft, Pinterest, Slack, Stripe and Waymo. 

The round also included participation from angel investors including Marc Randolph (co-founder and first CEO of Netflix), Dick Costolo (former CEO of Twitter), Michael Arrington (Founder of TechCrunch), and Matt Dellavedova (NBA, Cleveland Cavaliers).

Strava announces $110m round to build more features

Social platform Strava has completed $110m in a Series F financing round led by TCV and Sequoia Capital.

The running app, which has more than 70 million members in 195 countries, has said it will use the to build more features that athletes love, support its global community and expand to better serve more athletes.

Sexual wellness company Maude raises $2.2m

Sexual wellness startup Maude has raised $2.2m in additional seed funding from CASSIUS, Outbound Ventures, Vice Ventures and others.

It was also announced that actress Dakota Johnson will join the category-defining brand as co-creative director and investor. Funds will be used to support the development of new product which will incorporate the evolution of sustainability and mission-driven initiatives. 

Everytable closes $16m funding round

Purpose-driven eatery Everytable, which provides affordable healthy meals for underserved areas, has closed a $16m Series B funding round led by Creadev, an investment company known for partnering with entrepreneurs to build world-changing companies.

Funds will be used to accelerate growth via new grab-and-go stores, institutional foodservice partnerships, and the expansion of its subscription delivery service. 

Zero Egg banks $5m to expand across the US

Following its US launch, Zero Egg – a plant-based egg alternative for foodservice and food manufacturers – has raised $5m in a Series A funding round led by Powerplant Ventures.

The company will use the funding to grow the brand in the US and support its ambitious new product launches in the coming year. With 100 billion eggs consumed each year in the U.S. alone, the startup is focused on providing affordable, versatile and tasty plant-based egg products with the mission to make a positive impact on the environment, animal welfare, and people’s health.

Talkspace acquires relationship counselling app Lasting

Talkspace, a telebehavioral health platform, has acquired relationship counselling app Lasting in the latest move on behalf of the company’s ongoing commitment to expand the telebehavioral health services available on the Talkspace platform. Details of the deal were not disclosed

Lasting provides convenient, affordable access to resources to support couples and tailors content to their unique needs. The service has broken down barriers to traditional counselling, including time and cost. Now, the service will become an offering accessible to all Talkspace customers. 

YouTube co-founder invests in fitness startup Clmbr

CLMBR, the latest in a slew of connected fitness technology providers, has announced the addition of Chad Hurley, co-founder and former CEO of YouTube, to its board of advisors. 

Hurley’s role at CLMBR will have a particular focus on the buildout of a cutting edge content ecosystem for the brand. He also joins venture capital and private equity firm KBW-Ventures; exercise physiologist and CEO and Founder of 22 Days Nutrition, Marco Borges; and others as an investor in a seed round that will be used to support the launch and delivery of CLMBR Connected and CLMBR Pure vertical climbing machines.

Therabody acquires RP Sports and announces first recovery clinic

Therabody (formerly known as Theragun) has announced the acquisition of RP Sports and its groundbreaking clinical technology product line, RecoveryPump. A milestone achievement for Therabody, a leader in tech wellness and creators of the percussive massage therapy space, the deal will enable the extension of its recovery and whole-body wellness solutions, bringing RecoveryPump’s clinical pneumatic compression technology to the masses.

In addition to the acquisition, the company also announced it will be launching its first-ever Therabody Recovery Lounge – a curated whole-body wellness destination.

Kate Farms closes $51m Series B investment led by Goldman Sachs

Kate Farms has announced the completion of a Series B round of funding, led by Goldman Sachs with additional participation from Kaiser Permanente Ventures and existing individual investors, for a raise of $51m.

The company produces plant-based, organic, clinically proven formulas for tube feeding to help nourish those with chronic illnesses, as well as nutrition shakes consumed orally for people with shorter-term or milder conditions that don’t require tube feeding. The funds will help fuel Kate Farms’ growth to bring its higher standard plant-based liquid nutrition to those in need while driving overall innovation and expansion of the business.

Bayer acquires majority stake in Care/of

Bayer has announced the closing of its investment in Care/of, giving it majority ownership in the privately owned, personalized direct-to-consumer nutrition company. 

Care/of, which helps consumers build a daily routine of taking nutritional supplements tailored to their needs aims to simplify the vitamin category through personalization, technology, and customer experience.

It is hoped the acquisition will further Bayer’s strategic business objectives by strengthening the company’s presence in the high-growth area of personalized nutrition.