Wellness Startup Grokker Closes Series B, Bringing Total Funding to $22.5M from SV Angel, First Round Capital, Khosla Ventures, Aspect Ventures, Interwest Partners, Comcast, and Correlation Ventures

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Nov 30, 2016, 10:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Grokker, the expert-led online and on demand fitness, yoga, meditation, and cooking video service closes a Series B round in financing, bringing the wellness startup to $22.5M in total funding from SV Angel, First Round Capital, Khosla Ventures, Aspect Ventures, Interwest Partners, Comcast, and Correlation Ventures.

The practice of yoga is booming, with the number of users doubling over the past ten years, and reports show that the number of people in the U.S. practicing yoga consistently has grown from 24 million in 2012 to 36.7 million in 2016. Along with the rising popularity of yoga, fitness, and wellness programs across the nation, more and more people are now practicing yoga in the privacy of their homes, via apps such as Grokker. Usage of mobile apps for fitness and wellness grew by 52 percent in 2015, and the numbers for 2016 are steadily climbing.

Yoga lovers can access Grokker's network of renowned teachers on Comcast for $6.99 a month. In addition to the programming partnership, Comcast is also investing in Grokker's latest round of funding.

"We are passionate about helping our subscribers enjoy yoga and fitness at home or on-the-go," said Amy Banse of Comcast Ventures. "Grokker is the very best of the wellness and fitness apps, and with yoga as such a growing segment in the U.S., we believe our partnership and commitment to this holistic approach to health is a win-win for our shareholders, Grokker, and health minded consumers everywhere."

Since launching its subscription service in 2015, Grokker has become the go-to resource for enthusiasts at every fitness level with a network of over 135 experts in yoga, fitness, meditation and healthy cooking. In addition to partnering with major cable providers, Grokker's enterprise business has also seen rapid growth; companies including Pinterest and Synaptics leverage Grokker's all-in-one wellness network as an employee wellness benefit package.

Last month Grokker announced a new Head of Enterprise Sales, Brian Berchtold, and a Vice President of SVOD, Kristen McNeill, to help support Grokker's evolution into the next phase. Additionally, an OS3 Apple Watch app is now available as well as offline video viewing with Grokker's latest iOS release.

Grokker CEO and founder Lorna Borenstein notes, "From the very beginning, we built Grokker with a mission to offer wellness to everyone, everywhere," said Lorna Borenstein. "What better way to share the gift of wellness than to make it easily and very affordably available on Comcast? This partnership, in addition to our recent round of funding, and enterprise side of the business, is creating a new era for Grokker and helping us to connect with even more individuals in search of a health program that fits their lifestyle."

"As an all-in-one wellness app, instead of a niche yoga or cooking-only network, Grokker is a unique venture," said Jennifer Fonstad, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Aspect Ventures, an investor in Grokker. "Grokker already moved the needle in consumer tech since launching a few years ago, but now with this Comcast partnership Grokker is truly a multi-channel network that enables wellbeing on-demand."

For more information please visit:www.grokker.com

About Grokker:

Founded by mother, yogi, and successful entrepreneur Lorna Borenstein, Grokker is an online video wellness service for busy people on-the-go. Grokker makes it easy to take time for yoga, fitness, meditation, and healthy cooking by bringing thousands of stunning expert-led video class's right into your living room. Lorna's secret to her own personal and professional success is her deep commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Of course we all know that's easier said than done – you don't always have time to make it to a class or that perfect place to take a deep breath and focus on yourself. That's where Grokker comes in. Available online and on VOD, on Comcast, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Roku, iOS, and Chromecast, learn more about Grokker at www.grokker.com

About Aspect Ventures:

Aspect Ventures partners with entrepreneurs at the ground floor to help build businesses and support them through the entire arc of their growth. We invest in companies that are leveraging data analytics and embracing interconnectivity to create new digital approaches to Marketplaces, Work, Security and Health IT. We founded Aspect to combine the best of what we've learned – across 100+ Seed and Series A investments – with a fresh perspective to do things better. We work together with entrepreneurs as their active advisors, board members and partners to help them grow their companies from inception to standalone, sustainable businesses. For more information, please visit www.aspectventures.com. Follow Aspect Ventures @AspectVC.

Jonelle Taylor, Sunshine Sachs on behalf of Grokker
[email protected]
212-691-2800

SOURCE Grokker