Empathic AI training platform TRAIT receives €1 million in seed funding
Berlin — TRAIT, the innovative training app, has received around €1 million in a seed financing round from HTGF, the angel club better ventures and other private investors. The funding will support the further development of their AI training platform, which offers a personalized and empathetic training experience for runners. The Berlin-based start-up has made it its mission to help people achieve their individual training goals and lead a more sustainable, active and fulfilling life. At the heart of the company is the desire to combine science-based training with a sense of community. The team’s research found that people weren’t reaching their goals because of a lack of statistics or training sessions, but because their plans either lacked flexibility or they didn’t have a support network when they needed it. These are two important issues that TRAIT addresses so that no one is left behind when life gets in the way. The start-up relaunched its training app for runners today under the new name “TRAIT”. The previous version of the app achieved considerable growth with highly individualized running training plans and a virtual coach — downloads increased by 178% annually. The team around founders Raphael Jung and Matthias Ettrich built on this with the aim of providing runners with even more tailored support. The seed funding will enable TRAIT to realize its vision of an empathetic and adaptive training environment that focuses not only on performance but also on the well-being of runners. The founders want to set a new standard in the industry with their app by emphasizing the importance of human interaction and social support. “With TRAIT, we have developed an app that behaves as empathetically and understandingly as a human coach would. We help people to find access to sport again. We use sports science and AI training and combine them with social “standing up for each other”. With the support of HTGF, selected business angels from better ventures and other private investors, we are ready to revolutionize the way people think about being fit,” explains Raphael Jung, co-founder and CEO. “We are excited about TRAIT’s vision and approach to create an empathic and adaptive AI training platform for athletes that strengthens people not only physically but also mentally,” says Johannes Dierkes, Investment Manager at HTGF. About TRAIT TRAIT is based in Berlin and was founded by Raphael Jung and Matthias Ettrich. Since 2021, the company has operated under the name “Twaiv” and focused on AI-generated, adaptive training plans before relaunching under the name TRAIT in July 2024. Since its foundation, the company has experienced rapid growth with an annual increase in downloads of 178%. Trait has received around € 1 million in seed financing from HTGF, the angel club better ventures and other investors. About High-Tech Gründerfonds The seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) finances technology start-ups with growth potential and has supported more than 750 start-ups since 2005. With the launch of the fourth fund, HTGF has around 1.4 billion euros under management. The team of experienced investment managers and start-up experts supports the young companies with know-how, entrepreneurial spirit and passion. The focus is on high-tech start-ups in the fields of digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences, chemistry and related business areas. To date, external investors have invested around EUR 6 billion in the HTGF portfolio in more than 2,000 follow-up financing rounds. In addition, the fund has already successfully sold shares in more than 180 companies. Fund investors in the public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, KfW Capital, and 45 companies from a wide range of industries.