The $19B therapeutic massage trade faces important challenges in delivering constant, high-quality experiences, with shopper satisfaction typically various dramatically between classes. Entry to expert therapists stays restricted by availability constraints and labor shortages throughout the wellness sector. Aescape addresses these ache factors with its AI-powered robotic therapeutic massage system that delivers exact, customized therapies with each session. The corporate’s know-how makes use of superior sensors to map over a million 3D knowledge factors of an individual’s physique, enabling the robotic Aerpoints to copy seven distinct therapeutic massage methods with the right strain and temperature. Since launching with Equinox in New York Metropolis, Aescape has seen distinctive shopper adoption with excessive utilization and repeat charges, driving a notable spike in fitness center memberships and prompting a nationwide growth to 60 areas. The system has shortly gained traction past health, with main hospitality manufacturers like 4 Seasons, Marriott, and Ritz-Carlton adopting the know-how to reinforce their wellness choices and drive further income.
AlleyWatch sat down with Aescape Founder and CEO Eric Litman to be taught extra concerning the enterprise, its future plans, current $83M funding spherical, and far, way more…
Who had been your buyers and the way a lot did you increase?
We raised $83M in a strategic spherical, bringing our whole funding to $128M
Valor Fairness Companions led our newest funding spherical, and we’re honored to welcome them again as our lead buyers. We additionally noticed continued assist from present buyers, together with Alumni Ventures and NBA Champion and All-Star Kevin Love.
Inform us concerning the services or products that Aescape presents.
Aescape is the world’s first absolutely automated, AI-powered therapeutic massage expertise designed particularly for high-touch wellness environments. Our answer seamlessly integrates into spas, resorts, gyms, and wellness facilities, enhancing operational effectivity and offering constant, high-quality massages. This empowers companies to increase their service hours, entice new demographics, and generate further income, particularly amongst clients who would possibly in any other case be hesitant about conventional therapeutic massage. Since launching publicly earlier this 12 months, we’ve efficiently partnered with world hospitality and health leaders, together with Marriott, 4 Seasons, Equinox, and Arch Facilities Group, together with prime NBA and NFL groups, bringing our award-winning therapeutic massage know-how to main U.S. markets. As a part of our current funding announcement, we’re notably enthusiastic about our nationwide growth with Equinox. Following a extremely profitable pilot throughout New York, we’re now rolling out Aescape programs to 60 Equinox areas nationwide, marking a big milestone in establishing AI-powered restoration as a core health and wellness amenity.
What impressed the beginning of Aescape?
I based Aescape in 2017 as a result of I personally skilled how troublesome it was to get constant, high-quality therapeutic massage therapies. I had a bulging disc and persistent neck stiffness that impacted my high quality of life, and as somebody who traveled continuously, the dearth of dependable therapeutic massage choices was irritating. Each therapist had a unique method, resulting in unpredictable outcomes. I knew there needed to be a greater method, so I constructed a workforce of specialists from Amazon, Apple, Tonal, Uber, and MakerBot, all with deep experience in robotics, AI, and human efficiency. Collectively, we developed an AI-powered system that scans the physique, mapping over a million 3D knowledge factors, and delivers a customized, exact therapeutic massage each time. The purpose was easy: make high-quality therapeutic massage extra accessible, constant, and accessible each time individuals want it.
How is Aescape totally different?
Aescape is fixing an enormous downside within the wellness trade: accessibility and consistency. With a nationwide labor scarcity and rising demand for high-quality restoration options, our AI-powered system supplies a therapeutic massage expertise that’s at all times accessible, constant, and designed to reinforce operational effectivity for companies. We’re very deliberately not making an attempt to copy human massages. We’re centered on delivering a mssage that provides deep, restorative work, absolutely managed by you. It’s the right complement to present wellness choices in resorts, gyms, and spas, serving to them lengthen service hours, generate new income, and entice a broader viewers.
What market does Aescape goal and the way massive is it?
We’re tapping into the quickly rising $19B therapeutic massage and restoration market, which continues to broaden as extra individuals prioritize wellness and self-care. We launched with choose companions to ascertain the Aescape expertise in recovery-focused environments, like high-end resorts, spas, and health leaders like Equinox, demand shortly grew from a broader vary of companies. To satisfy this demand, we’re introducing a brand new pricing construction that makes it simpler for small and medium-sized companies to convey the Aescape expertise to their clients
What’s what you are promoting mannequin?
We license our tables to companions. Our new two-tier mannequin is designed to make Aescape extra accessible to small and medium-sized companies, permitting extra companions to supply customized restoration experiences that match their wants. Right here’s the way it works:
Aescape Important – Created for companions exterior the hospitality area, this consists of our signature Aescape expertise, that includes the trademark blue desk, curated commonplace playlists, and our core app interface. Pricing is $5,500 monthly with a $5 per therapeutic massage charge, or $5,000 monthly with the identical $5 per therapeutic massage charge for Important Enterprise companions.
Aescape Lux – Designed for companions providing an elevated member expertise with unique facilities like swimming pools, saunas, and refreshments. This expertise features a modern charcoal desk, a differentiated in-app expertise, and customized Feed.fm playlists. Pricing is $5,500 monthly with a $10 per therapeutic massage charge, or $5,000 monthly for Lux Enterprise companions with a $5 per therapeutic massage charge.
How are you getting ready for a possible financial slowdown?
We’re centered on sustainable progress, operational effectivity, and guaranteeing our product delivers measurable worth. With sturdy partnerships and a mannequin that helps companies scale with out counting on further labor, Aescape is well-positioned to climate financial fluctuations whereas persevering with to drive innovation within the wellness trade.
What was the funding course of like?
Rigorous however rewarding. We’re lucky to have Valor as a accomplice, who makes a ton of sense for the enterprise that we’re constructing. Their deep experience in manufacturing and provide chain brings invaluable information immediately into our operations. The validation from our Equinox pilot, the rising labor scarcity within the trade, and the plain demand for AI-driven wellness options additionally helped
What are the largest challenges that you simply confronted whereas elevating capital?
One problem was clearly speaking our distinctive worth proposition and convincing buyers of the market readiness for AI-powered wellness options. It required exhibiting tangible proof of our profitable pilots and measurable affect in premier hospitality and health environments.
What components about what you are promoting led your buyers to jot down the test?
Our buyers noticed the right storm of alternative: an enormous labor scarcity, a booming wellness market, and a extremely scalable AI-powered answer. Aescape isn’t just a product, it’s a category-defining know-how that addresses actual ache factors for companies and customers alike. Add to that our confirmed partnerships and a world-class workforce, and it grew to become clear this was a high-impact funding alternative.
What are the milestones you propose to attain within the subsequent six months?
We’re centered on scaling operations, increasing nationwide, and deepening our partnerships with trade leaders like Equinox. Our new tiered pricing mannequin will make it doable for extra companies to not solely drive income, however convey Aescape’s therapeutic massage to extra clients. Our purpose is to proceed refining our AI-powered know-how, optimizing consumer experiences, and making restoration extra accessible than ever.
What recommendation are you able to provide corporations in New York that do not need a recent injection of capital within the financial institution?
Give attention to what actually issues: delivering worth to your clients, optimizing operations, and doubling down on what makes your product indispensable. Sturdy buyer relationships, operational effectivity, and market validation will assist maintain progress and entice future funding.
The place do you see the corporate going within the close to time period?
The mixing of robotics into on a regular basis life is inevitable, and so is Aescape. We simply occur to be main the cost on the subject of robots safely and autonomously interacting with human our bodies. We see Aescape turning into a staple within the wellness trade. Our nationwide Equinox growth is just the start—we’re constructing momentum to make AI-powered restoration an ordinary characteristic in gyms, resorts, and wellness facilities in every single place. The way forward for wellness is right here, and we’re simply getting began.
What’s your favourite winter vacation spot in and across the metropolis?
The theater. I’ve caught up on some nice exhibits this season, together with a unusual, off-Broadway musical homage to The Workplace, and the spectacular manufacturing of Sundown Boulevard on the St. James theater (catch it earlier than it ends July 13)!
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