Plano’s AI-powered health startup OxeFit will get increase from Dak Prescott, Jason Witten, Dez Bryant

0
460

Several current and past Dallas Cowboys players are taking part in the recent popularity of smart fitness equipment by throwing their names – and a little bit of money – behind a fitness startup in Plano.

OxeFit announced Wednesday that the $ 12.5 million raised in an investment round included investments from star athletes Dak Prescott, Jason Witten, Dez Bryant and Blake Jarwin, and Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. Prescott and Jarwin are current cowboys players. Witten and Bryant are former cowboy stars.

The company didn’t disclose how much money the athletes put into the business.

The funding round was led by venture capital firm Lydia Partners, whose managing director Mohammed “Rab” Shanableh is also co-founder, CEO and chairman of OxeFit.

The company hasn’t yet unveiled its first AI-powered exercise machines, but plans to do so sometime in February. According to the company, it is not even known what the physical product looks like.

The upcoming OxeFit products are called XP1 and XS1. They are being advertised as robotic fitness platforms that allow users to exercise with data-driven fitness programs and compete virtually with professional athletes and other users through an integrated online ecosystem called OxeLife.

“As a professional athlete currently rehabilitating from a serious injury, I see the incredible opportunity OxeFit offers athletes and their doctors and coaches to tailor activities to their specific needs,” Dak Prescott said in a statement.

“Our bodies are our livelihood and we have to do everything we can to stay on the field and perform at our best. I believe OxeFit will change the way athletes build strength and rehab from injury and I look forward to being a part of it. “

OxeFit co-founder and CEO Mohammed “Rab” Shanableh.(OxeFit)

The product description puts it in a digital fitness equipment category with Mirror – a home fitness company that bought LuluLemon for $ 500 million in June – and the wall-mounted resistance gym offered by Tonal.

OxeFit will focus on strength training, however, and plans to appeal not only to consumers who want high-tech exercise equipment in their homes, but also to top athletes, fitness clubs, and rehabilitation centers.

Another investor is the renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews, who heads the Andrews Institute for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Plano.

“I’ve spent my entire career helping athletes before and after injuries, and I believe OxeFit will revolutionize the way we interact with our patients outside of the clinic,” Andrews said in a statement.

Shanableh has 25 years of experience in the technology space and co-founded Affirmed Networks, which was sold to Microsoft for an undisclosed amount last year. At least one Affirmed Networks investor said the company had achieved unicorn status, meaning its valuation topped $ 1 billion.

OxeFit has 50 employees, evenly distributed between its offices in Plano and Pensacola, Florida. The company said both locations are growing.

A restaurant shows a Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox Software, has a replica of his office in the National Video Game Museum in Frisco.