Strava acquires powerhouse AI-training platform Runna, and Garmin should be panicking

• Strava has acquired Runna
• The company says nothing should change for users in the short term
• It could impact the paid subscription of both platforms

Two of the best fitness apps for runners and the great outdoors are joining forces. Strava has announced that it has acquired AI-powered running platform Runna.

Strava says it has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Runna, combining the biggest fitness community on the planet with Runna's impressive training chops.

Strava CEO Michael Martin said that following unprecedented Strava growth in 2024, "it was the right time to look for complementary businesses that could create even greater value for our users," describing Runna's personalized training plans as "a perfect fit" for the company.

Runna CEO and co-founder Dom Maskell said the group was "delighted" to be joining Strava and will continue to focus on bringing users the most customized and personalized training plans available. More specifically, Maskell says the investment from Strava "allows us to make even more improvements to everything we do at Runna, benefiting runners worldwide."

The future of Strava and Runna

On paper, the move is a huge boon for both parties, but users of Runna and Strava are likely to be more cautious in their optimism, as the world of subscription-based fitness apps continues to throw up surprises and changes.

Recently, Garmin announced Connect+, a subscription platform that includes some pretty woeful AI insights and other features locked behind a paywall. If the merger of Strava and Runna is going to pay off for users, how the two brands manage the process will be crucial.

With Garmin swinging and missing so hard on its Connect+ subscription, Strava and Runna getting this right could spell disaster for the former. Strava and Runna offer more enticing subscription packages on paper that could make a combined offering unstoppable.

In comments made to The Verge following the acquisition, Martin said, "Effectively, nothing changes for the user out of the gate." He went on to say that the plan for the acquisition is "to invest further into growing the Runna app, invest in the Runna team, and then continue to operate them as independent but in an integrated fashion."

He also confirmed that users could expect to see changes as early as the coming weeks, while Runna's Maskell said, "The ambition is to do things where it makes sense" and hinted that more seamless integration between the two apps would be smoother for users, according to the report.

Garmin wouldn't be drawn on plans for subscription prices in the interview, but Martin pointed towards Strava's acquisition of Recover Athletics as a guide model, hinting Runna could be included in Strava's overall subscription offering. Whether that would impact the price remains anyone's guess.

Strava's CEO actually dropped a hint about the acquisition a few days ago. In a r/Strava QnA, someone said, "Would love to see Strava provide race predictions and dynamic training plans, similar to Runna," to which Martin replied with a simple wink emoji. So it turns out that this news was staring us right in the face.

Comment from r/Strava

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Stephen Warwick is TechRadar's Fitness & Wearables writer with nearly a decade of experience covering technology, including five years as the News Editor of iMore. He's a keen fitness enthusiast and is never far from the local gym, Apple Watch at the ready, to record his latest workout. Stephen has experience writing about every facet of technology including products, services, hardware, and software. He's covered breaking news and developing stories regarding supply chains, patents and litigation, competition, politics and lobbying, the environment, and more. He's conducted interviews with industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. Outside of work, he's a massive tech and history buff with a passion for Rome Total War, reading, and music.