Munich-based fitness start-up Egym, which focuses primarily on corporate customers with its range of training equipment and digital services, has joined the German unicorn club as part of its Series G financing round. Founded in 2010, the company raised 180 million euros from investors, giving a valuation of over 1 billion euros, according to announcements from Egym and High-Tech-Gründerfonds.

The public-private High-Tech Gründerfonds from Bonn had already invested in the company in 2014. The existing investors also include Bayern Kapital (the venture capital company of the Free State of Bavaria) and the US investment company Affinity Partners, which was founded in 2021 by Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. The US consumer goods and fitness investor L Catterton and the US tech investor Meritech Capital have now joined as new shareholders.

Egym is known for its fitness network called Wellpass. Membership gives users unlimited access to thousands of sports and wellness facilities, such as swimming pools, yoga studios and climbing gyms in Germany and Austria. The membership costs are borne jointly by the corporate customers and their employees. Egym also offers its own digitally networked training equipment, as well as fitness apps and software products. The group, which currently employs 700 people, reported strong growth in the past financial year and was profitable for the first time. The company is planning an IPO in the long term. Its Berlin-based competitor Urban Sports Club raised 95 million euros at the end of last year.

According to the information service CB Insight, Egym is the first German company to achieve unicorn status this year. Last year, Munich-based defence start-up Helsing, Cologne-based translation start-up Deepl, and green energy start-up 1Komma5 Grad achieved this status.