Peloton Technology Likely to Improve With 3 Acquisitions

For a total of $78.1 million, Peloton has purchased three small technology companies specializing in voice recognition, wearable devices and interactive workout mats. The employees of all will become Peloton employees. Experts expect the red-hot stationary bike maker will assimilate their technological capabilities in a Borg-like fashion and use them for future ventures as Peloton tries to cement its place at the top of cutting-edge workout equipment manufacturers.

• Atlas Wearables, one in the populated market of manufacturers of smart watches that track workouts. Recording physiological signs of readiness and fatigue and including options to count repetitions of particular workouts, like deadlifts and planks, it aims to be one step more sophisticated and tailored to the serious trainer than, say, Fitbit.

• Otari, a young maker of internet-enabled yoga mats that allow the user to have a more interactive experience in a remote class and also interact with a camera and AI that gives them feedback on their poses.

• Aiqudo, a vendor that offers voice-activated command technology to other apps and software.

The three purchases occurred at the end of last year and were recently confirmed. Executives at the companies received jobs within Peloton’s management structure.

None of these firms are large players in their field; less than a year ago, Otari was looking for funders on Indiegogo. However, it is easy to see how, when stripped for parts, they could provide Peloton with desirable capabilities to create systems that are even more hyper-connected and futuristic. Voice commanding sounds like an ideal way to control Peloton systems while grabbing onto its handlebars.

Peloton, of course, had a very good year last year (if anyone can be said to have had a very good year last year), riding the COVID-19-propelled rush for home fitness equipment into trendiness, household name status, skyrocketing stock prices and a demand for which the company struggled to keep up.

At the end, it began acquiring companies whose capabilities might benefit it. In November, Peloton purchased Peerfit, an information technology company with specialty in health info. The exact price isn’t known but Peerfit had been valued at $74 million. A few weeks later, Peloton acquired Percur, a manufacturer of weight and cardio equipment, for $420 million, no doubt looking to expanding their manufacturing capabilities as the groundwork for a larger company with a permanent presence is laid.