Sweatpals is scaling the experience economy.
What’s happening: The marketplace for IRL fitness events secured $12M in a seed round led by Patron, a16z speedrun, and Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Ventures.
Be a pal. Connecting fitness-seekers to local experiences—from cold plunges to run clubs and pickleball leagues—Sweatpals pairs a consumer discovery app with management tools for gyms, instructors, and creators.
One for all. Building the “infrastructure for human connection,” co-founder and CEO Salar Shahini says the company will expand from 24 to 36 cities by early 2026 while adding monetization tools for businesses and enhanced social features for users.
Networking. With 55% of younger generations pursuing fitness groups for social connection, digital platforms are forming pipelines for IRL gathering.
Eclipsing 1M clubs—including a 4x YoY surge in run crews—Strava quietly entered event discovery with Races by Runna. Meanwhile, Eventbrite’s marketplace saw a 256% rise in thermal bathing and ~92% increase in “soft clubbing” merging wellness, music, and sober socializing.
Serving up sports, Break the Love and Playtomic are finding courtmates for pickleball and padel, as Volo Sports acquired ZogSports to reach players in 11 major metros.
Punchline: For physical, mental, and social health, community is the answer — and platforms like Sweatpals are eager to play matchmaker.