• Tonal, a developer of smart weight-based home exercise systems, has received an undisclosed investment from the basketball player LeBron James. The company also announced the athlete as a brand partner, along with the launch of a campaign featuring him.

• James now joins Tonal’s 30+ athlete investors and brand ambassadors, including Serena Williams, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, Drew Brees, and Maria Sharapova, among others.

<ul><li> Analyst QuickTake: We see a growing number of athletes and celebrities investing in connected fitness products in the recent past. Tonal’s latest USD 250 million Series E funding round in April this year too was joined by several athlete investors including Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Maria Sharapova, Mike Tyson, and Sue Bird. In addition to Tonal, other connected fitness products manufacturers such as Hydrow (September 2021), FightCamp (June 2021), CLMBR (June 2021), and OxeFit (February 2021) too have received investments from celebrities and athletes.</ul>