Editor’s LETTER
Two-way coaching Content providers have been hugely active in the fit tech
market since the start of the pandemic. We expect the industry to move on from delivering these services on a ‘broadcastonly’ basis as two-way coaching becomes the new USP
D
oes the acquisition of VAY by Nautilus confirm we’re at the dawn of a new era in fit tech? We think it does.
VAY is a specialist in AI and motion
capture and its proprietary technology
enables computers to understand
human movement using cameras, such as those built into smartphones.
VAY then provides personalised,
AI-driven feedback on reps and form, improve their exercise outcomes.
Nautilus plans to integrate VAY into its
JRNY platform to offer coaching and form
nautilus
in real-time, to coach the user and
The acquisition of VAY enables Nautilus to deliver live feedback
tracking and expects the upgrade to enable it to scale JRNY to the point where it
represents 20 per cent of revenues by 2026. Before the acquisition, VAY was
system agnostic, but it’s not yet clear whether Nautilus will share VAY or keep it solely for its own use.
Up to this point, the majority of digital
We expect content providers to move to providing two-way coaching as rapidly as they can As a result, it’s ever more challenging
fitness offerings from both B2B and
for companies to gain a clear
deployed a one-way model – either
strong investor story – in this space.
direct-to-consumer providers have
live or on-demand – where participants ‘consume’ content but have little or no engagement with the provider.
Even where some level of interaction has
been possible, this has primarily been set up
for general engagement and has not typically delivered technical coaching to the user. We’re now expecting other content
competitive advantage – and build a
The advent of increasingly sophisticated
AI is bringing technical coaching within the reach of more fit tech content
suppliers and as a result, we expect twoway services to emerge as a new and
powerful USP for the early adopters, as the drive to stay ahead continues.
There will be a race to acquire businesses
providers to graduate from a broadcast-
such as VAY that can deliver ready-made
model as rapidly as they can.
disruption in the fast-emerging fit tech sector.
only model to a two-way coaching
The fit tech sector is growing fast, with
investments announced seemingly every
week, making it a highly competitive market.
+44 (0)1462 431385
fittechglobal.com
solutions, heralding a new period of
l More www.fittechglobal.com/VAY.
Liz Terry, editor, FitTech @elizterry
@FITTECHGLOBAL
FACEBOOK.com/fittechglobal
fittechglobal.com 2 2021
5
