Suniel Shetty invests in fitness startup SQUATS valued at Rs 350 crore

Bollywood actor, producer and entrepreneur Suniel Shetty has invested in Pune-based online fitness community SQUATS currently valued at Rs 350 crore. The value of investment has not been disclosed by either parties. These funds will be used by SQUATS to enhance the underlying technological framework, strengthen its team, and expand its pan-India operations. The startup believes that this fresh investment will also power its long-term vision of making 50 million people fit and also enable the company to create one lakh jobs in the fitness space.

Shetty, who is a fitness enthusiast, said that staying fit and active is a choice that he has consciously made since his teens. He added that there is a lot of false information going around about fitness, which has led to the demand of platforms like SQUATS to address the issues of trust and credibility in the Indian fitness space, focusing on ‘balancing quantified nutrition with weight training’ and delivering exceptional results. 

"I truly believe in the vision and approach of its founding team, and its future growth potential as India’s preferred fitness brand. With this collaboration, together with SQUATS I pledge to make India fitter," he said. 

Launched in 2016, SQUATS claims to have driven 70,000 paid fitness transformations and built a highly-engaged online community of 5,00,000 members. The company says it has generated $8.5 Mn – all without any external funding since 2016. Its current operating performance is at 18% EBIDTA.

Speaking on the fresh investment, SQUATS Founder Jitendra Chouksey, said, “Suniel Shetty has continuously set new benchmarks in his acting career, business and fitness. His success across domains is driven by the clarity of his vision. Even at 58, he is fitter than most people in their mid-20s. This coming together of mutual synergies is testament to the strength of the SQUATS’ result-oriented approach to fitness. We are confident that, with Mr Shetty on board SQUATS will be able to attract and transform the lives of more people in the country.”