This is the first of 7 separate pieces I am going to be writing over the next few weeks, culminating in a full market map of the consumer wellness space. I will be focusing on how AI is impacting each segment, as well as the companies that are poised to win in the future. The final piece will be a culmination of the entire journey, with thoughts on where the industry is going as we combine each group.
For the full article, including the list of companies, check them out here
Why you should Care
Fitness and performance have been core to human culture for millennia. The way people move, recover, perform, and the ecosystem that enables this is often the starting point on someone’s wellness journey. Why? It’s tangible: you can see and feel results in a few months. It’s fun: exercising and taking care of one’s body releases dopamine throughout the process. It’s social: from local gyms to global communities, movement connects people. And… it’s growing fast.
The fitness industry has seen an over 30% increase in the adoption of digital fitness since 2021 – with AI fitness app adoption growing at a 17% annual rate (Future Fit). Platforms that blend content, coaching, and community — like Peloton, Strava, and Equinox — are setting the tone for what the next generation of fitness will look like.
As consumers invest more time and energy into holistic wellness, the performance category is evolving fast. New technologies are enabling people to access custom routines, tailoring their fitness journey to their own needs, preferences, requirements and limitations. Whether it's AI-powered workouts, at-home hardware, or high-touch in-person studios, the momentum is real — and it's reshaping the way we perform.
The Major Categories to watch
Digital Programs
These companies are predominantly based on software applications but can be segmented either by jobs-to-be-done (use cases) or demographics.
Coach-Forward Platforms empower individuals to train independently or with 1:1 support. Companies like Future and Centr connect users with real human coaches who provide ongoing guidance and accountability. Others, like Fitbod and Shred, offer AI-personalized workout plans paired with pre-recorded video classes, enabling users to follow structured programs on their own time
Community-Forward Platforms focus on social connection and shared progress. Whether it's Strava for runners, AllTrails for hikers, HYBRD for hybrid athletes, or TrainingPeaks for endurance athletes, these platforms help users stay motivated through competition, community tracking, and public goal-setting
Motion AI & XR Platforms are embedding new technologies into the foundation of the workout experience. Tools like Kemtai offer motion-tracking to provide real-time form feedback using a phone or laptop camera. Meanwhile, FitXR brings fitness into the metaverse with VR-based gamified workouts that aim to make exercise more immersive and fun
Female-Forward Platforms such as Obé and Sweat cater specifically to women, offering curated fitness experiences, community support, and programming aligned with female preferences and training goals (such as pre/postnatal classes)
Each of these sub-segments serves a distinct need — but together, they’re shaping a more dynamic, inclusive, and tech-forward future of performance
At-Home Hardware
Fueled by the boom in at-home fitness during COVID, this category includes companies building hardware-first products designed to deliver a complete performance experience in the house.
There’s been a surge in aerobic-focused machines with premium design and immersive content. Hydrow, CLMBR, and Ergatta are examples, each offering sleek, high-end equipment tailored to rowing, climbing, and gamified cardio. On the strength side, AI-integrated platforms like Tempo and Tonal combine smart sensors, dynamic resistance, and personalized programming to deliver guided full-body workouts. Companies like Peloton and Zwift led the charge in bringing cycling culture and community indoors.
As gyms reopened, many of these players faced headwinds. But those with strong brand equity and diversified offerings have managed to endure: expanding into strength, mobility, classes, and even wellness content to stay relevant in a hybrid fitness world.
Longevity Services
Longevity services represent a growing category of companies focused on helping individuals optimize long-term health and performance. Brands like Lifeforce, Blueprint, and Biograph have recently gained attention by catering to high-performance consumers who are investing heavily in diagnostics, hormone optimization, biological age tracking, and personalized protocols. These services often include continuous biomarker monitoring, IV therapy, peptide treatments, red light therapy, and precision nutrition. While longevity could arguably span across multiple wellness categories, I’ve included it under Perform because much of the current focus is on staying physically capable for longer. In this framing, health is measured not just by the absence of disease, but by the sustained ability to move, perform, and remain active well into later life.
Marketplaces
Companies like SweatPals, Mindbody, ClassPass, and WellHub act as aggregators within the fitness ecosystem. While they have different business models and go-to-market strategies, they all somewhat do the same thing, which is help an end user figure out what performance-based activities they can access in their local neighborhood. These activities may range from yoga to boot camps to Pilates classes to anything within the realm of fitness, recovery, and experiential classes.
Recovery
In the past five years, there has been a dramatic surge in awareness and investment around sleep and recovery. This was fueled by breakthrough research linking sleep to performance enhancement, the explosion of recovery as a metric, and a wave of recovery-focused businesses emerging alongside fitness growth. Recovery services can be grouped into three areas: hardware, software, and experiences:
Hardware: Sleep-first devices, such as temperature-regulated beds and smart mattresses from Eight Sleep and Hatch, target improved sleep quality and restorative environments. Post-workout tools like percussion devices and compression systems from Therabody and Hyperice focus on muscle recovery and circulation optimization.
Software: Recovery apps track sleep, readiness scores, and stress to help users fine-tune routines. Again, there will be more of a focus on the tools enabling us to track this in future deep dives, but some of the companies purely in recovery management were SleepAI and Rise.
Experiences: A wave of communal recovery hubs (e.g., Sauna House, FlowHouse, Othership) offer curated hot/cold therapy, breathwork, saunas, and social recovery formats. These spaces have seen rapid expansion and popularity among athletes and urban wellness seekers
Equipment Manufacturers
These companies are the backbone of physical performance spaces, driving the innovation behind the massive machinery and functional training tools found in gyms around the world. Players like Technogym, Life Fitness, iFit, NordicTrack, Echelon, and others act as the "R&D labs" of fitness, constantly testing new technologies — from connected equipment and adaptive resistance to integrated digital coaching
You can think of them as the fitness industry’s equivalent of high fashion runways: pushing the boundaries of what's possible within the gym environment. Over time, their innovations, like gamified interfaces, AI-driven training systems, or performance-tracking hardware, are distilled and commercialized into at-home fitness equipment, apps, or boutique studio formats. Their work sets the tone for how the broader ecosystem evolves, influencing not just elite gyms but also what eventually becomes accessible in everyday homes.
In-Person Performance
The core of the in-person performance category is that the companies bring the individual into the physical spaces to experience the product or offering. Within the bucket there is a wide range of varied offerings.
On one end of the fitness spectrum, you have the high-value, low-price gyms like EōS and Planet Fitness. These chains make movement accessible to the masses, offering functional equipment and a judgment-free zone at an affordable price point. Recently, these organizations have been adding more services like recovery zones to meet customer demand.
On the other, you have premium wellness clubs like Equinox and Life Time, which have transformed the gym into a lifestyle hub. These organizations have started to create wellness ecosystems with the gym at the center. Equinox expanded into hotels, created a $40K holistic wellness membership, and is bringing the diagnostics and clinical treatment within the same 4 walls.
Then comes the heart of fitness culture: the boutique studios. Places like Barry’s, Solidcore, and Aarmy offer tailored and niche experiences; part performance, part community, part brand. Whether it’s the high-intensity lights-and-sound of Barry’s or the sculpted precision of Solidcore, these studios offer more than exercise for their members. Parallel to this hype is the rising wave of sport-driven and competitive fitness. The explosive popularity of Hyrox is a recent example of how this corner of the industry, pairing performance with fun and competition, is a recipe for explosive virality and growth.
How AI is Reshaping Performance
AI is being used in performance in three main ways:
Workout customization – adapting training based on individual inputs
Real-time optimization – offering guidance during the workout itself
Democratizing expertise – delivering coach-level insight at scale
(You could also argue a fourth: translating tracked health data into actionable plans — but that’s really a subset of customization and relies on many companies in the Track section.)
Workout personalization is where AI shines most. According to Athletech’s 2025 industry report, AI is helping tailor fitness plans by integrating heart rate, workout history, and preferences to create constantly evolving programs. Think of it as a dynamic training partner that tracks your progress and adjusts in real time. Echelon saw a 23% increase in session duration with AI integration as users are more engaged and sticking around longer.
The companies positioned to win here are those with direct access to user data, anyone able to turn real-time data into real-time value
Hardware players like Echelon
Studio ecosystems like Equinox or Barry’s
Performance optimization is next. This includes AI-powered coaching that provides feedback on form, pacing, and technique in the moment. It’s the voice in your ear saying “slow down” or “shift your stance.” It also extends to recovery guidance. Users asking AI, “What’s the best way to recover after this?” and getting a smart, step-by-step plan. It’s not just reactive; it’s adaptive.
This ties into the third use case: bringing expert-level coaching to the masses. Whether through apps like Centr or Future, or through AI interfaces built into wearables and content platforms, users are getting access to what used to be premium 1-on-1 advice — instantly, and at scale.
The winners here will be:
Digital programs with loyal audiences (Centr, Future, Peloton) given building from scratch is challenging without a built-in user base or clear monetization path
In-person experiences layered with AI (recovery centers, smart studios)
In short: AI is raising the bar on what’s possible — but the companies with data, distribution, and community will define what’s scalable.
What’s the future:
We’re heading toward a world where gyms and platforms will roll out white-labeled, AI-driven workouts and performance schedules tailored to each member. Think: custom content, gym-specific programming, even hardware integration. We're already seeing this with places like Fred’s Fitness in LA: you walk into the studio, and it knows who you are, your weight, your goals, your recent activity. The workout is dialed in from the jump.
It’s basically the Internet of Things, but for the gym. Like how smart homes connect everything from your lights to your fridge, we’ll see wearables, diagnostics, recovery tools, and nutrition trackers all feeding into one seamless feedback loop. And that loop won’t just impact performance. It’ll bleed into other parts of wellness like tracking, fueling, and mental health. I'm excited to connect those dots as I build out the wellness map.
As for the role of AI vs. trainers… I think both will exist. Some people will opt for no human interaction at all because it’s cheaper, faster, and fits their style. Others will still want a real trainer. Maybe AI-augmented, maybe not — especially if they’re chasing a specific goal. There’ll be tiers, and AI will likely sit across all of them, just with different intensity.
But here's the thing I keep coming back to: most people don’t need elite optimization. For 1% of folks, this is game-changing. Precision workouts, recovery schedules, blood panels, all that. But for the average person, fitness still follows the Pareto principle: 20% of exercises get you 80% of the results. Bench, squat, deadlift, run, bike. Do those consistently and you’re in pretty good shape. The harder part is consistency and motivation.
So I’m still torn on how big this gets. I believe AI will be a sustaining innovation for performance training, not a disruptor. I'm not convinced it's the next trillion-dollar opportunity... but I am convinced it’ll improve the experience for people who already care deeply. This may shift as more people have the time, money, and desire to optimize their health, but we’re not necessarily there yet for the broader public.
That said, performance is hard. And relying on machines can get old fast. I’ve tried the AI-only app route — no coach, no feedback, no human energy. It worked for a bit, but it got repetitive. The workouts were fine, the data was solid, but I missed the connection and the joy of group classes I had at Equinox.
So for me, the companies that will win are the ones that build identity and community. Whether it’s a gym, a digital platform, or a hybrid model, it’s not just about the content. It’s about the feeling. That’s what makes people come back.