Fitt Insider

January 27, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• P&G acquires Wonderbelly, the digestive wellness brand with distribution at CVS and Target, moving to reposition digestive health as wellness

• Once Upon a Farm kicks off IPO roadshow targeting $200M+ raise at $760M valuation, testing whether premium mission-driven food brands can sustain consumer trust and growth

• Life Time reports preliminary Q4 & FY25 earnings, with revenue up 14% as revenue per member jumps double digits, planning to open 12-14 large-format clubs in 2026

• New racket sport Typti launches with backing from 80+ athletes including Drew Brees, targeting tennis players on pickleball courts as participation sports spawn new ecosystems

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

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Today, I'm joined by Dr. Muthu Alagappan, founder & CEO of Counsel Health.

Counsel Health is an AI-native virtual care platform combining medical AI with human doctors to provide accessible, high-quality guidance at a fraction of traditional costs.

In this episode, we discuss building the new front door to care.

We also cover:

• AI-native primary care via messaging

• AI vs. human roles in clinical decisions

• Redefining cost and access for personalized medicine

Subscribe to the podcast → insider.fitt.co/podcast

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Counsel Health's Website: https://www.counselhealth.com/

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The Fitt Insider Podcast is brought to you by EGYM. Visit EGYM.com to learn more about its smart fitness ecosystem for fitness and health facilities.

Fitt Talent: https://talent.fitt.co/

Consulting: https://consulting.fitt.co/

Investments: https://capital.fitt.co/

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:09) Muthu's background

(01:40) What is Counsel Health

(03:08) Patient interaction and care modules

(04:27) From AI to human doctors

(05:38) The clinician side

(06:45) The clinician cockpit

(07:47) The AI healthcare landscape

(09:16) Medical information vs. medical care

(10:38) Re-aggregating fragmented primary care

(12:00) The 10x doctor

(13:45) AI autonomy

(15:00) Will AI replace doctors entirely?

(16:45) Cognitive aspects of primary care

(18:59) Recent AI healthcare product releases

(20:30) Integration challenges

(22:00) Clinical use cases

(23:15) Patient adherence challenges

(25:45) Series A fundraising

(27:15) Scarcity and value in the AI healthcare era

(28:15) Business model challenges

(30:15) Improving quality, lowering cost, and improving access

(31:00) Prevention vs. primary care

(33:00) Wearables and lab data

(34:00) Full-stack convergence vs. singular focus

(35:45) What's next

(36:58) Conclusion

January 23, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Amazon launches Health AI for One Medical members, using LLMs to reference medical records and coordinate care as AI shifts from informational tools to embedded care coordination

• Lululemon pauses online sales of Get Low leggings after complaints they weren't "squat proof," marking latest quality issue amid leadership uncertainty and founder Chip Wilson's criticism

• New study finds sleeping fewer than seven hours per night impacts lifespan more than poor diet, inactivity, or loneliness — second only to smoking — yet only 7% of U.S. adults report feeling well-rested

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

January 22, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• AO Ventures invests in Padel Haus as the New York-based club operator expects U.S. padel players to double by 2030

• Ammortal adds seven athletes including Mike Trout and Freddie Freeman as ambassadors and investors, with recovery chambers now installed across NFL and MLB teams

• NOBULL raises $50M at $1B valuation with Tom Brady shutting down TB12 to launch NOBULL Nutrition, expanding beyond apparel into grass-fed protein and electrolytes

• Ultra raises $11M led by Left Lane Capital to scale nicotine-free performance pouches delivering energy and focus as functional substitutes gain traction

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

January 21, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Eventbrite reports 79% of Gen Z and millennials plan to attend more in-person events in 2026, gravitating toward spontaneous formats like run clubs and sauna raves over curated programming

• Meta puts Supernatural VR fitness app into maintenance mode, ending new content after layoffs and strategic shift toward AI, signaling broader risk for VR fitness category

• Merge Labs, co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, raises $252M to develop brain-computer interfaces starting with medical applications before expanding to consumer use

• Cream Co. Meats raises $8M to connect consumers with regenerative ranchers as concern over pesticides drives shift toward nutrient-dense animal protein and transparency

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

January 20, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Bathhouse expands with eight new locations over two years, entering Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, and more as recovery destinations blend hospitality and community

• Peloton and Respin Health report 84% symptom improvement in 60-day menopause program, positioning fitness platforms as legitimate care complements

• World Economic Forum warns global sports economy could lose $1.6T by 2050 due to declining activity and climate risk, calling for sport as preventative health infrastructure

• David Beckham's IM8 crosses $100M in first-year ARR, betting on simplification over more SKUs

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

Today, I'm joined by Carter Barnhart, CEO and co-founder of Charlie Health.

Charlie Health provides virtual intensive outpatient treatment for serious mental health and substance use disorders — serving children, teens, and adults across 40 states.

In this episode, we discuss making life-saving behavioral healthcare accessible at scale.

We also cover:

• Securing over 850 insurance contracts

• Proving the ROI of virtual intensive treatment

• Leveraging group-based connection for healing

Subscribe to the podcast → insider.fitt.co/podcast

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Charlie Health Website: www.charliehealth.com

Charlie Health is Hiring across all roles - reach out to join the team

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The Fitt Insider Podcast is brought to you by EGYM. Visit EGYM.com to learn more about its smart fitness ecosystem for fitness and health facilities.

Fitt Talent: https://talent.fitt.co/

Consulting: https://consulting.fitt.co/

Investments: https://capital.fitt.co/

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:15) Charlie Health's mission

(03:10) Proving virtual intensive treatment works

(05:06) COVID as the catalyst

(06:33) Building a world without suicide

(07:10) The care model

(08:25) Community-based referral network

(09:00) Personalized matching and group-based treatment

(10:15) Connection as the foundation

(11:15) Long-term outcomes tracking

(12:26) Insurance accessibility

(13:20) Quality care at scale

(14:32) Transparency

(16:00) Building trust with clinicians

(17:05) Core values

(19:00) Bridging the gap in behavioral healthcare

(20:30) Trust as the foundation of data collection

(21:20) Success stories to combat stigma

(22:35) Destigmatizing high-acuity mental health

(24:15) Moving the needle through shared stories

(26:00) AI augmenting clinician work

(27:50) Charles the AI scribe

(29:00) AI vs. human connection

(30:15) Expansion

(31:30) KPIs

(32:27) Profitability and scholarships

(33:10) Learn more and join the team

(33:40) Conclusion

January 16, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• EGYM merges with Playlist (Mindbody and ClassPass parent) to create $7.5B platform backed by $785M, turning fragmented fitness tools into unified OS

• Verdane makes largest-ever investment in Clue a women's health and period tracking app with100M+ global downloads

• Ultrahuman partners with Click Therapeutics to launch migraine tool integrating wearable data with digital therapeutics

• Cancer survival rate hits historic 70% with survivors expected to exceed 22M by 2035, creating new demand for long-term survivorship care

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

January 15, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Gallup survey finds 29% of Americans say healthcare cost is the nation's most urgent health problem, with 23% calling the U.S. system "in a state of crisis"

• Fullscript and Oura partner to integrate smart ring data into clinical workflows for 125,000 providers, turning wearables into everyday decision-making tools

• NVIDIA and Eli Lilly announce AI innovation lab with plans to invest up to $1B over five years to reinvent drug discovery and manufacturing

• Nike signs pro pickleballer Anna Leigh Waters as its first pickleball partnership, targeting growth at the intersection of lifestyle, performance, and community

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

January 14, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Neko Health plans to open its first U.S. location in NYC this spring, bringing its 60-minute preventative body scan to the U.S. after raising $260M and logging 300K+ global signups

• Tom Brady named Chief Wellness Officer of eMed's GLP-1 care platform, joining athletes like Serena Williams and Charles Barkley in endorsing weight-loss and wellness brands

• Pomelo Care raises $92M Series C at $1.7B valuation to expand from maternity into women's and children's care, already supporting nearly 7% of U.S. births

• U.S. digital health startups raised $14.2B in 2024 with fitness and wellness attracting $2B, led by Oura's $900M round as investors back platforms combining engagement, data, and recurring use

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]