Friday, July 31, 2026
  • -
    days
  • -
    hours
  • -
    minutes
  • -
    seconds

The Startup that Makes Fitness a Video Game

  • Ergatta, a connected rowing machine maker, gamifies the workout experience instead of streaming live instructor classes.
  • The startup brought in $30 million in a Series A round.
person_on_rowing_machine
Ergatta/Design: Alex Brooks

The gaming craze and at-home fitness come together in Ergatta’s rowing machine.

The connected rowing company gamifies workouts, with its machine effectively acting as a controller, allowing people to race and compete on a screen as they work out.

Just a month after its first birthday, the startup raised $30 million at a $200 million valuation in a Series A round led by Advance Venture Partners. The company will use the funds to create new games, develop live competitions, and grow its membership base and supply chain.

Other connected rowing machines have attracted investor attention as well, though Ergatta’s competitors generally follow Peloton in offering live classes with instructors.

  • LIT Method, whose machines cost $1,750 plus a $25/month subscription fee, announced an investment this week from Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners.
  • Last June, connected rowing startup Hydrow raised $25 million in a round led by L Catteron, a private equity firm backed by LVMH. Hydrow’s machines cost $2,199. 

An Ergatta machine also costs $2,199, and subscriptions run $29 per month.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Sign up for
The Memo Newsletter

Get the biggest stories and best analysis on the business of sports delivered to your inbox twice every weekday and twice on weekends.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

March 11, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Oregon State Beavers celebrate after defeating the Portland Pilots after the game in the final of the West Coast Conference tournament at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Oregon State Women’s Basketball Players Launch Unionization Effort

The players will test whether state laws will recognize them as employees.
CBS sportscaster and former NFL quarterback Tony Romo chats with the media Tuesday, June 27, 2023 during the OSF Children's Hospital of Illinois Championship & Pro-Am at Metamora Fields Golf Club.

CBS Places Tony Romo on Leave After OWI Arrest

JJ Watt will work with CBS’s No. 1 NFL broadcast team.
Jun 6, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Indiana Fever guards Sophie Cunningham (8) and Caitlin Clark (22) at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Opinion

Sophie Cunningham Is Caitlin Clark’s Bodyguard On—and Off—the Court

The Fever enforcer has become the WNBA’s newest lightning rod.
Jul 28, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Big Ten Conference Commissioner Tony Petitti speaks during Media Days at Hilton Chicago.

College Football Playoff Expansion Stalls As Season Approaches

Week 1 games begin Sept. 3 ahead of Labor Day weekend.
podcast thumbnail mobile
Front Office Sports Today

7/31/26 – UEFA’s FIFA Boycott, LeBron’s ‘Last Dance’ Doc, Tush Push Stays

0:00

Featured Today

WPBL

Who’s Playing Women’s Professional Baseball?

Sixty players from 11 countries are descending on Illinois for six weeks.
Tom's Watch Bar
July 17, 2026

Sports Bars Are Cashing In From Summer of Soccer

The World Cup has brought a windfall to America’s biggest sports bars.
Jun 16, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; France forward Michael Olise (11) controls the ball against Senegal during a Group I match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at New York New Jersey Stadium
July 16, 2026

Where World Cup Stars Go to Customize Their Cleats

The world’s best players turn to a Scottish craftsman for perfect cleats.
July 10, 2026

What the World Cup Means to Erling Haaland’s Tiny Hometown

The tournament’s breakout star is from a rural Norwegian town.
July 10, 2026

Why So Many Media Outlets Are Rushing Into Sports

Sports coverage has ballooned in every corner of media.
Sponsored

Trailblazer Cal Calamia Is Racing for ‘Advocacy, Storytelling, and Performance’

The marathoner wants excellence—not just inclusion—to be the goal for non-binary athletes.
Sponsored

‘Run With the Competition’: Ultra Trail Runner Lotti Brinks Is Back With Big Goals

Ultrarunner Lotti Brinks is ready to make her first Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix podium in her HOKA Mafate 5s.
Sponsored

Top Esports Athletes Will Compete for National Glory in the Esports Nations Cup

The new biennial event, starting in 2026, kicks off a monumental next era for esports.
Sponsored

The Football Marketing Offensive Playbook

How to activate during the moments that matter most to football fans.
Sponsored

Win. Advance. Repeat: The Professional Fighters League’s Rise to Prominence

As of 2025, PFL has introduced a World Tournament format, where every fighter must battle through a high-stakes bracket to reach a championship.
The 2018 Ragin' Crossfit Games are held at Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette.
March 14, 2025

CrossFit for Sale After Years of Drama and Attrition

The intense fitness workout got popular in the early 2000s.
Sponsored

How On Location is Redefining the Olympic Winter Games Hospitality Experience

As the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 approaches, On Location—the Official Hospitality Provider—is redefining luxury hospitality.
Sponsored

How On Location is Redefining the Olympic Winter Games Hospitality Experience

As the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 approaches, On Location—the Official Hospitality Provider—is redefining luxury hospitality.