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If you’ve been slogging through January on a mission to get in better shape, you’ve got  company. Improving health and fitness is reliably the most popular New Year’s resolution. 

It’s no simple goal to achieve, of course. But these days there are almost infinite ways to spend money trying, including classes, gear, biometric trackers, supplements, and so on. 

Just don’t expect newly funded startups to get you to the finish line. Venture investment in the fitness and wellness space peaked about four years ago. It hit a cyclical low last year, with just over $5 billion in reported global funding.

Where the money is going

That said, it’s not as if investors have abandoned the space, and there are still companies securing big rounds.

In recent months, the standout was , maker of a smart ring that collects data on dozens of personal health and wellness metrics. In October, the 12-year-old Finnish company that it closed on more than $900 million at an impressive $11 billion valuation.

Another longtime player in the space, fitness app , reportedly reached a $2.2 billion valuation earlier this year after raising an undisclosed amount of new funding led by . And on the wellness front, , an at-home testing platform, picked up $165 million in a Series F early last year.

Getting a good night’s rest is also fundamental for healthy living, and in this arena smart sleep system developer was a standout. The 12-year-old company raised $100 million for its Series D last summer.

Below, we put together a list of some of the larger funding recipients this past year.

Outside the venture sphere, private equity and growth investors are also eyeing the intersection of fitness and AI. Last week, fitness and wellness brands , , Ìý²¹²Ô»å announced they are merging under a parent company, . The transaction includes $785 million in new equity investment, led by , and values the combined company at $7.5 billion.

Where the money isn’t going

Yet while investors are keen on some fitness startups strategies, others have fallen out of favor.

So where is the money not going? Connected fitness equipment startups are one of the areas that have lost financial support in a big way.

Shares of what used to be the sector’s most famous success story — —  are down over 95% from the pandemic-era highs. Others that raised considerable capital have been mostly running on existing reserves.

This includes rowing machine startup , which raised more than $360 million between 2018 and 2022, but hasn’t had a reported financing since, per ¸½½üÉÏÃÅ data. Another, smart home gym maker , secured $580 million but has not landed a fresh round in nearly three years.

Prediction: More AI

As we look ahead to contemplate what fitness and fitness-adjacent areas might be best primed to attract investment, it’s not quite obvious. For now, IPO activity in the space looks muted, though last week’s Playlist rollup offers a sign that acquirers see some value.

Perhaps for now, the only thing one can be comfortable prognosticating is the same thing that applies to every sector on earth: that AI-enabled offerings will be more widespread and more heavily funded. 

Now, if only the AI could lift weights and go on runs for us too.

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