Funding will accelerate expansion of community-driven wellness platform that’s pioneering the movement from nightlife to “daylife”

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Sweatpals, the community-driven fitness platform transforming how people build meaningful connections through movement, today announced it has raised $12 million in funding led by Patron, a16z speedrun, and Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Ventures. The investment will fuel Sweatpals’ national expansion and platform development as it launches tools that help gyms, studios, instructors, and wellness hosts turn their communities into thriving social ecosystems, in turn helping like-minded people find each other through fitness.

As Americans increasingly trade late nights for early mornings, the way people socialize is changing. Only 54% of adults now drink alcohol, the lowest rate ever recorded, while younger generations are choosing wellness and movement as their new way to find community. Sweatpals is leading that shift by pioneering the “daylife movement” – where wellness experiences replace nightlife as the primary way people connect, helping people meet, move, and build real friendships through shared fitness experiences instead of drinks or swipes.

Sweatpals empowers users to not only discover fitness classes, events, and communities, but also become hosts themselves, creating sustainable income streams while building authentic connections in their communities. Sweatpals brings, on average, 30% additional customers to each host on the platform.

“When I first saw Sweatpals, I immediately recognized it as the future of how we connect,” said Kevin Hart, entertainer and founder of HartBeat Ventures. “As someone who’s built my career on bringing people together through entertainment, I see Sweatpals doing the same thing through fitness. They’re leading a movement that makes wellness accessible, social, and fun, and it’s exactly the kind of innovation that excites me as an investor.”

“Sweatpals represents a fundamental shift in consumer social behavior,” said Andrew Chen, General Partner at a16z speedrun. “While others focus on digital engagement, Sweatpals drives real-world community formation with built-in monetization. They’ve cracked the code on making community building both meaningful and economically sustainable.”

Co-founded by Salar Shahini and Mandi Zhou, two tech entrepreneurs who personally experienced the power of fitness and movement in creating belonging, Sweatpals has rapidly become a home for studios owners, event organizers, and everyday people seeking connection through movement.

“We’re building the infrastructure for human connection in an increasingly lonely world,” said Salar Shahini, Founder and CEO of Sweatpals. “This funding allows us to accelerate our vision where every gym, studio, park, and community space becomes a hub for meaningful relationships – where daylife becomes as iconic as nightlife once was.”

The new capital will accelerate:

• Studio, Gyms & Event Tools: Launching innovative platform features for studios, gyms, memberships and event organizers.
• Nationwide Expansion: Expanding to 12 new markets by early 2026.
• Host Monetization: Enhancing features that help hosts and organizers earn more through their communities.
• Social Tools: Bridging the gap between attending a fitness experience and connecting with like-minded people.

“What excites us most is how Sweatpals empowers everyday people to become community leaders and entrepreneurs,” said Mandi Zhou, co-founder of Sweatpals. “We’re seeing yoga instructors, run club organizers, and fitness enthusiasts turn their passion into purpose – building communities that truly change lives.”

The investment also included participation from Max Mullen (Instacart co-founder), WndrCo (Jeffrey Katzenberg, founder of Dreamworks Animations), Antler, Pear, and Deb Liu (Facebook Marketplace, Ancestry CEO). This funding round brings Sweatpals’ total funding to $17.2M.

“Sweatpals is turning wellness into the new social currency,” said Amber Atherton at Patron. “They’re bridging tech, community, and culture to create lasting change in how people connect – that’s a movement worth backing.”

Sweatpals is available nationwide and growing rapidly, with a presence in 24 cities and plans to launch in 12 more markets by early 2026. From studios to social clubs, Sweatpals is becoming the go-to platform for the next generation of community-first wellness experiences.

About Sweatpals

Sweatpals is a marketplace for IRL fitness experiences that transforms how people build meaningful connections through movement. Sweatpals is pioneering what it coined as the ‘Daylife’ movement – making wellness the new social currency. Sweatpals is backed by leading investors including a16z speedrun, Patron, Founders of Instacart and HotelTonight, and Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Ventures. Learn more at www.sweatpals.com.

SOURCE Sweatpals

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