Peloton has been on an acquisition spree. Why?

Over the past year, Peloton — the connected fitness firm and everyone’s favorite way to get yelled at by bike instructors — has seen its valuation explode nearly 4x to $31B.

To paraphrase Spideman, with great expectations come great responsibilities.

And Peloton is trying to meet those expectations by acquiring startups…

… in the hardware, AI, and wearables spaces

According to Bloomberg, Peloton quietly dropped ~$78m at the end of 2020 and earlier this year on:

• Aiqudo: AI-powered voice assistant technology.
• Atlas Wearables: Smartwatch maker that provides workout instruction and tracks fitness levels.
• Otari: A maker of interactive workout mats.

The tech and engineering talent gives Peloton options in the types of fitness-y services it can upsell from its core bike and treadmill products.

Peloton is spreading its wings

According to Pymnts, the company recently launched:

• A partnership with Adidas on a performance line of apparel
• On-demand fitness classes for its bike and the Peloton app

While Peloton just posted its first $1B+ quarter, it is seeing significant shipping delays on its bikes. The company’s December acquisition of fitness equipment maker Precor for $420m is meant to help meet the demand.

At the end of the day, if people can’t get yelled at by the bike instructors, these other acquisitions will be moot.