Apex Rides secures £420k to pair studio workouts with any Bluetooth-enabled bike
This article covers Apex Rides, a UK-based healthtech startup, which has closed a £420,000 funding round and pivoted from selling its own at-home bikes to an open, hardware-agnostic app that connects to any Bluetooth-enabled bike. The move aims to remove hardware barriers and broaden the startup's addressable market for immersive studio-style workouts by reaching users who already own compatible equipment.
Apex Rides, a UK-based healthtech startup, has closed a £420,000 funding round as it shifts from selling its own at-home bikes to an open, hardware-agnostic app that connects to any Bluetooth-enabled bike. The move aims to remove hardware barriers and broaden the company’s addressable market for immersive studio-style workouts.
Why it matters
Apex’s pivot reflects a broader shift in the connected fitness market away from vertically integrated hardware models toward software-first experiences. By decoupling its app from proprietary bikes, Apex can reach users who already own equipment, make workouts more affordable, and compete on content and community rather than device sales.
For UK founders and investors, the change is notable because it reduces capital intensity for growth. Software-led fitness products can scale distribution more quickly than hardware-dependent models, which has implications for fundraising, unit economics, and international expansion.
Inside the product
Originally launched with its own at-home bikes and a companion app, Apex Rides is developing an open fitness ecosystem that lets its immersive class experiences pair with any Bluetooth-enabled bike. The technical change is straightforward: the app becomes the control and content layer, using standard Bluetooth protocols to read cadence, resistance and other telemetry from compatible devices.
Funds from the round will be used to accelerate product development and to support the transition to an app-first model, including improving device integration, class content and user experience. The intent is to position Apex as a software layer for the growing population of connected fitness users worldwide.
Who are the investors?
Apex Rides raised £420,000 from a mix of strategic angels and venture capital firms. FundMyPitch facilitated the round by making warm introductions between the founder team and its network of angels, VCs and family offices, and helped maintain momentum through the process.
In the announcement, Steven Mooney, CEO of FundMyPitch, said:
Massive credit to Charlie and the Apex Rides team. They ran a sharp, professional process from start to finish, clear story, strong investor materials, fast follow-ups, and total clarity on the round. That professionalism really shone through and helped bring a mix of strategic angels, funds and VCs into the raise. Our role is simple, make the right warm introductions and help keep momentum, the team’s execution is what converts interest into committed capital.
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Charlie Lucas, Co-founder of Apex Rides, said:
Opening up Apex so it works with any Bluetooth-enabled bike is a pivotal step, it makes the experience far more accessible and unlocks a much bigger market. FundMyPitch were instrumental in closing this round, they made high-quality introductions quickly, kept momentum throughout, and helped us get the raise over the line.
Lucas frames the change as both an accessibility play and a commercial one: removing the need to buy bespoke hardware should lower customer acquisition friction and open new distribution channels, such as partnerships with gyms, bike manufacturers and platform marketplaces.
The bigger picture
Apex’s move sits within a contested space that includes large incumbents and numerous niche content-first entrants. Market dynamics favour companies that can combine sticky content with broad device compatibility. For UK healthtech founders, the path from hardware to software reduces manufacturing risk and can align better with investor appetites for recurring-revenue models.
The round also underscores the ongoing role of networks such as FundMyPitch in connecting early-stage founders to diverse capital sources, from angels to institutional VCs. Expect more UK fitness and healthtech startups to explore hardware-agnostic strategies as competition and customer preferences evolve.
This deal is another example of how London and UK founders are iterating on earlier pandemic-era fitness business models, seeking global reach through software while leaning on local investor networks to bridge early funding gaps across Europe.
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