At-Home Boxing Brand FightCamp Gets $90 Million Funding from Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Others

Connected at-home boxing and kickboxing brand FightCamp has raised $90 million in funding backed by a group of celebrity investors and venture capitalists, the company announced on June 30.

The round was led by global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Connect Ventures, an investment partnership between entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and NEA, and celebrity investors, including Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Georges St-Pierre and Francis Ngannou.

With the funding, FightCamp, Newport Beach, California, plans to expand to the Android platform, launch internationally and increase the depth of its interactive content to help users dive deeper into the sport of boxing, kickboxing and martial arts, according to the announcement.

"FightCamp takes me back to the basics with a heavy cardio-focused regimen,” Tyson, a former world heavyweight boxing champion, said in the announcement. “It was a cool way to introduce boxing to my kids, and now I can’t keep them off it.”

Founded in 2016, FightCamp replicates a boxing and kickboxing gym at home, and develops skills that engage members’ minds and bodies, using a combination of technology, studio-grade equipment and trainers with real fight experience. Sales has grown 30 times during the last two years.

“The at-home fitness category was accelerated last year,” FightCamp Founder and CEO Khalil Zahar said.  “Now, as more consumers adopt the trend as their permanent routine, we have an even greater opportunity to give people a taste of boxing and martial arts culture in their own home. The growth we saw during our first two years before the pandemic started proves that the connected fitness industry is here to stay long after the pandemic is over, and getting the best professional fighters as investors in FightCamp is another step toward giving consumers the most authentic martial arts experience from the comfort of their home.”

According to a Consumer Trends report from The New Consumer published earlier this year, 81 percent of people under the age of 40 prefer to exercise at home, and FightCamp found that 85 percent more people stick with their routine longer if they use equipment than those who simply stream workouts. Boxing was one of the top seven most popular fitness classes taken on ClassPass in the United States, and outside of the country, martial arts was the number one fitness class taken with friends on ClassPass.

“In 2019, boxing and kickboxing classes had 33 percent more participation than cycling classes in the USA, yet the connected fitness space has been saturated with cycling options and other look-alike products,” said Harley Miller, founder and managing partner at Left Lane Capital, a B2C investment firm. “With so much opportunity in the boxing and kickboxing segment – arguably the most effective and enjoyable fitness discipline – FightCamp has emerged as a clear market leader and stands alone in its category. We spent time with nearly every relevant player in the connected fitness market and found the market to be filled with expensive products and copycats selling into the same affluent audience. In FightCamp, we saw a truly unique product format and experience, which both captured the spirit of the fighter, while providing an authentic entry point to all levels.”

FightCamp’s efficiency, competitive advantage and innovation made it attractive to NEA, said Rick Yang, general partner and head of consumer investing at NEA. The brand’s customer base grew 30 times over two years with demand outstripping supply, and the company used minimal capital.

“This is the type of team and company we love to partner with, and this capital will give them plenty of fuel to continue their rapid scaling,” he said.

Offering wearable punch trackers that display the number of punches and output of each punch thrown and studio-grade equipment, including a bag, base, premium boxing gloves, quick wraps and a mat, users are able to learn boxing and kickboxing skills alongside real fighters. Recently, FightCamp launched its Versus Mode that offers users the option to virtually fight against themselves and others on the leaderboard.

FightCamp’s boxing and kickboxing experts and certified trainers have curated more than 1000 classes, drills and trainings to help build the strength and skill of each FightCamp fighter. FightCamp trainers include Tommy Duquette, former U.S. boxing team member and co-founder of FightCamp; Shanie “Smash” Rusth, a professional MMA competitor; Aaron Swenson, former member of the USA National Kickboxing team; Flo Master, a life-long martial artist and dancer who has worked with celebrities including Usher, Ciara, Jennifer Lopez, and Will Smith; and PJ Shirdan, a NASM certified personal trainer and certified MMA strength and conditioning coach.

Additional investors include IVP; Y Combinator; Ilkka Paananen, founder and CEO of Supercell; Fritz Lanman, CEO of ClassPass; Usher, platinum recording artist and dancer; and Katheryn Winnick, actress known for her role in Vikings and 3rd Dan Black Belt holder in karate and taekwondo.