San Francisco, California-based running and cycling app maker Strava raised $18.5 million in a round led by Sequoia with participation from existing investors Sigma West and Madrone Capital Partners. This brings the company's total funding to at least $34.6 million.
Strava will use the funds to expand its service globally.
"Strava is building tomorrow's sporting network in the manner that Facebook and LinkedIn have developed today's social and professional networks," Sequoia Capital Chairman Michael Moritz said in a statement.
The company's mobile app, available on iOS and Android devices, syncs with GPS trackers including Garmin Forerunner, Soleus, Garmin Edge, and Timex Run Trainer, but can also work as a standalone app. Users can choose to track runs or bike rides with the free app and create routes, follow old routes, get stats on their runs, like distance, pace, speed, and elevation, and sync heart rate statistics through a participating activity tracker.
If users upgrade to Strava's premium offering, they can create custom leaderboards that match them against people in the same age or weight group, set weekly goals, or access a fitness analysis so they can workout more effectively.
Last year, Strava modified its app to make use of Apple’s M7 motion coprocessor a few months after Apple added the chip to its phones. And this year, the app announced that it would offer integration with Google's newly launched fitness app, called Fit, and Apple's health platform, HealthKit.
This summer, Strava announced a new service, called Strava Metro,which analyzes bike routes and commute patterns around the world. The company explained that the service is designed to help advocacy and government organizations understand how different communities bike around their city. Data for Strava Metro is based on uploads of millions of Strava members around the world. Strava sees 2.5 million new GPS-tracked activities and more than 300 billion GPS points, the company said.
