Tivity Health acquires Pikesville’s Burnalong in a ‘growth investment’

Burnalong, a startup behind a wellness-focused platform, is among the latest Baltimore County-based tech to be acquired.

The acquisition brings Burnalong under the umbrella of Tivity Health, a company with a similar wellness focus across several brands. Burnalong had previously partnered with the Franklin, Tennessee-headquartered acquiring company to provide virtual programming through the latter’s Prime Fitness and SilverSneakers products. Burnalong  CEO Daniel Freedman referenced this relationship, as well as similar priorities, in comments emailed to Technical.ly.

“We know each other well as trusted partners with a shared mission and commitment to diversity and inclusion, and to reaching at-risk populations”, Freedman said.

Tivity Health’s mission, according to its website, is “to empower people, communities and partners through a shared passion to improve health and support life’s journey.” Richard Ashworth, the company’s president and CEO, also described the acquisition as reflective of the two companies’ shared foci.

“This was the next logical step in our relationship and in our ongoing digital transformation at Tivity Health,” he said via email. “We are aligned on mission and vision, with a similar passion for supporting physical activity and wellness. We appreciate the breadth and depth of the content and classes available through Burnalong’s platform, including programs that address specific chronic diseases.”

Since its inception, Burnalong has been expanding its health and wellness programming to offer fitness classes in over 45 categories. It also renewed the lease for its offices along Old Court Road in the 21208 zip code.

The company raised about $11 million across an early round and a Series A in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Its customers include companies, municipalities and health insurers who offer its platform as part of their wellness offerings to employees and members. Ashworth of Tivity affirmed that it was one of those clients.

“Burnalong is a dynamic digital fitness platform with an incredibly talented team, and we’ve been partnering with them for the past few years to provide virtual programming to our customers,” he said.

For Freedman, this acquisition functions as a “growth investment” that has already enabled eight new hires, taking the company’s total headcount to 56.

“And more are to come, as you’ll see from our careers page,” he added.