MAGIC AI, an innovative AI personal trainer, has announced a $2.5 million investment led by Fasanara Capital. SFC Capital have also invested along with a who’s who of British angel investors, including Richard Branson, JustPark CEO Anthony Eskinazi, Signal AI co-founder Miguel Martinez, and COO of Citigroup Cameron Dick. The company will use the funding to launch their fitness product across the UK.
Fitness for the family
The product was inspired by CEO and co-founder Varun Bhanot’s own journey. Losing a quarter of his body fat, he appreciated the results of his work but realised that personal training could be old-fashioned, expensive, and inconvenient. It prompted him to investigate how it might be possible to provide the personal training experience using AI and hardware.
The result is MAGIC, the UK’s first personal trainer. What looks like a full-length mirror actually contains MAGIC’s proprietary technology, ReflectAI, and when it’s used creates an immersive fitness experience. It allows celebrity athletes and sports stars to appear inside the mirror, offering what feels like a one-to-one personal training programme.
And the unit can cater for any preferences and any family member. It offers strength, boxing, dance, yoga, and sports techniques, giving users a full training experience within their own home.
A personal session with celebrities
MAGIC works in a similar way to other ‘magic mirrors’. Placing the screen behind a one-way mirror means that the reflection can be overlaid with data or, as in MAGIC’s case, videos of trainers. MAGIC adds to this with ReflectAI, which uses an embedded camera to track your training. It means it can do things like monitor your movements, offering immediate feedback on things like posture and form, and can react to your movements, whether it’s simply counting your repetitions or simply pausing when you need a rest. The result is a workout that responds to you.
However, it also creates the opportunity for people to work out with some of their favourite athletes. MAGIC has gathered an all-star team to form its starting lineup. It means that users can practice batting technique with Sir Alastair Cook, and then dancing with Strictly Come Dancing Katya Jones. Other athletes who will be offering training on the platform include Team GB’s Asha Philip and Desiree Henry, and England Rugby’s Celia Quansah. Together, it means that MAGIC users will have training opportunities that would simply be unavailable in real-life.
Fasanara Capital CEO Francisco Filia said, “as AI continues to transform the way we live and work, MAGIC and their ReflectAI technology is at the forefront of this exciting trend as consumers demand more personalised health and wellness experiences.” And this reflects Varun Bhanot’s search for a more affordable way to offer personal training. MAGIC AI point out that a purchase using buy now, pay later, means that their product can provide a month’s training for a whole family for less than the cost of a single personal training session.
MAGIC can currently only be seen at Selfridge’s London store and the Situ Live demonstration shop at London Westfield. However, the funding will help Magic expand their offer across the UK, so it can help people get fitter, and perhaps even help the next generation of top athletes start their training with their heroes.
