One of the most popular exercise apps of the moment, Runna, is set to be acquired by one of the most popular exercise apps of the past decade, Strava.
Strava announced it has “entered into a definitive agreement” with Runna to acquire the company. No figures have been disclosed.
Runna is an app that provides tailored workout plans for runners, and has rapidly risen to become a favourite among running communities looking to train for events like marathons.
In 2023, Runna claimed to have “hundreds of thousands of users”, and reached 7,000 paid subscribers that year, according to an interview with co-founder Ben Parker.
Runna’s Reddit community alone now has around 15,000 members.
While Runna offers a service that is effectively a hole in Strava’s own, that of tailored training plans, Strava’s CEO says the two apps will be kept separate for the time being.
“Our plan is to keep the apps separate for the foreseeable future, to invest in growing the Runna team and further accelerate the development of the Runna app,” says Michael Martin, Strava CEO.
“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to recognise and invest in an API developer like Runna.”
Runna already integrates with Strava, sending data to the platform. Strava’s website claims it has more than 135 million users.
A Runna subscription costs £15.99 a month or £99.99 for a year, significantly more than the £8.99 or £54.99 a year Strava charges for its paid subscription.
Like so many current hot tech companies, Runna says it is “powered by AI” and was launched in 2021. It was founded by Dom Haskell and Ben Parker in the UK.
“We are delighted to become part of Strava as we continue to focus on bringing the world the most customised and personalised training plans available,” says Maskell.
Runna has, to date, relied on venture capital funding, and initially launched as a crowdfunded project, dubbed RunBuddy, before being renamed Runna in 2022.
