Strava, the connected fitness subscription platform, has announced its acquisition of Fatmap, a mobile app for planning, discovering, memorizing, and navigating outdoor experiences. The acquisition will make the whole Fatmap service available to Strava subscribers.
Although the terms and conditions of the deal are still private, we know that the purchase is a part of Strava’s continued effort to give those chasing a healthy lifestyle a best-in-class digital experience.
In a news release issued recently, the firm stated Fatmap had developed a proprietary, worldwide 3D mapping technology that would be available across all Strava’s services.
This will enable active people to organize and discover an outdoor experience with carefully selected sites of interest, safety advice, and local guides.
We will enable Fatmap technology in all of Strava’s services, empowering anyone to discover and plan an outdoor experience with curated local guides, points of interest, and safety information.Michael Horvath, CEO and co-founder of Strava
Strava has become one of the most well-known fitness monitoring applications, with approximately 95 million monthly active subscribers on its platforms. It’s especially well-liked within the running and cycling communities, who use the app to:
- Plan routes
- Communicate with other athletes, and
- Track their whole activity for posterity
Last year, the company created new route options and trail sports for walkers, trail runners, and mountain bikers. The corporation has also been increasing its focus on hikers as well.
Strava Eyes More Outdoor Experiences
The main objective of Strava is to incorporate Strava and Fatmap’s core platform. However, that will require a lot of resources and time.
Despite the upcoming integration, the two products are still available independently for the time being.
To address this, Strava is developing an SSO or single sign-on integration shortly, allowing subscribers to use the Fatmap by signing into the app using their Strava account details.
It’s also unclear whether Fatmap will be completely integrated into Strava. In any case, the fitness tracking platform is concentrated on bringing new features to the table, hoping they’ll one day justify an increase in subscription fees.
Regarding timelines, Strava stated it had formed a special team charged with combining Fatmap and expects this to commence visibly within Strava starting in the middle of 2023.
The business also stressed that Fatmap’s technology would be offered to paid and free Strava members. However, route planning, certain maps, and discovery functions will be booked for paid subscribers.
Although Fatmap was established in the United Kingdom and has some of its employees there, around 50 staff are in offices in Lithuania, France, and Germany.
The Fatmap group will remain intact, according to Strava, and each member will have to report to Misha Gopaul, the former CEO of Fatmap.
Fatmap’s technology, designed exclusively for trails, allows individuals to navigate and share activities even without a mobile connection.
Gopaul will now work as Vice President of Products at Strava and account to Steve Lloyd, the company’s technology and Chief Product Officer.
While Strava hasn’t disclosed the amount it spent for Fatmap, the business had raised about $30 million in funding, along with a previously unknown round of $16.5 million from the ESA, 83North, and P101, which is claimed to have closed in 2020.
FATMAP’s network of mountain bikers, hikers, trail runners, and skiers is already active in over 100 countries worldwide.
Combined with Strava’s data set of over 8 billion activities, the deal will create a global map for human-powered adventures, whether going on the city streets, slopes, suburban communities, or trails.
