Aescape is launching the The Aescape Experience to the U.S. market in late 2023. The Aescape Experience is aimed to fill the widening labor shortage and demand for massage therapy through intelligent technology that helps people to feel and live better longer. Upon launch, The Aescape Experience is anticipated to transform the massage experience for hospitality, wellness, and fitness industries, in addition to providing intuitive solutions and services for the $17.6B US massage therapy industry.
As the pool of available therapists continues to shrink and healthcare services drives toward greater measurability, the hospitality, wellness, and athletic markets need new solutions to structural, industry-wide challenges. Recent research from the International Spa Association shows that the U.S. massage therapy industry is experiencing revenue loss of up to $4 billion annually due to a shortage of more than 29,000 therapists, with 82 percent of resort/hotel spas and 71 percent of day spas reporting staff shortages. Aescape aims to solve this and help grow the industry by providing operators with a scalable, reliable solution that augments the labor shortage, acts as a support tool for massage therapists and athletic trainers, and gives consumers a consistent, beautiful, data-driven approach to recovery. The company has also received $30 million Series A funding round led by Valor Siren Ventures and Valor Equity Partners, with participation from new investors such as Fifth Wall and Alley Robotics Ventures, and from existing investors such as Crosslink Capital, Alumni Ventures, and NBA Champion Kevin Love. “Our team at Aescape is working to bring beautifully-designed, fully automated, therapeutic massage and wellness experiences to market with a solution that combines innovative research, revolutionary technology, and a holistic approach to physical wellness and recovery,” says Eric Litman, founder and CEO of Aescape. “This funding means that our partners are not only investing in our shared vision and world-class team, but also in the future of the wellness industry overall. We're grateful to our investors for believing in our dream, and we look forward to launching The Aescape Experience in 2023.”