Strava
Pushing further into trail sports, Strava acquired FATMAP, a 3D mapping platform for outdoor adventures.
Staying Active
Reaching new heights during the pandemic, Strava scored $110M in funding and topped 100M global users.
Targeting new audiences while attempting to convert freemium members to paid subscribers, the athlete social network has been busy.
- May ’22: Acquired prehab app Recover Athletics
- June ’22: Added new features for trail sports
- July ’22: Integrated with Oura’s smart ring
Now, with the addition of FATMAP, Strava will integrate the mapping technology into its platform, helping users discover, experience, and share outdoor adventures.
Of note, FATMAP’s core tech will be available to paid and free members, but some mapping, discovery, and route-planning features will require a subscription.
Trailblazer
The outdoors are truly great, and Strava knows it — in 2022, 52% of its users participated in some form of trail activity. Still, navigating the terrain can be exceedingly inaccessible.
According to Strava CEO Michael Horvath, alleviating that pain point spurred the FATMAP acquisition:
“We have a shared vision with FATMAP to inspire more people to move by empowering them to discover and experience the joy of the outdoors.”
Not alone in that pursuit, increasing access to outdoor adventure is proving to be big business.
- Nov ’21: Outdoor activity platform AllTrails raised $150M
- Apr ’22: Rock climbing app KAYA secured new funding
- Oct ’22: Mapping and navigation platform onX secured $87.4M
Punchline: Building community and inspiring movement, activity tracking platforms are evolving to include the various ways people prefer to sweat. For its part, Strava hopes new activity types and greater functionality will entice more free users to pay up.
