Keep

Corporate brand

Keep is a Chinese digital fitness brand built around a mobile exercise, training, social-networking, and fitness-commerce platform.

Last updated November 4, 2026

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Overview

Keep is a Chinese digital fitness brand operated by Beijing Calories Technology Co., Ltd. The business began as a mobile application for guided exercise and has developed into a broader fitness ecosystem combining workout videos, personalized training recommendations, activity tracking, social features, memberships, sporting goods, advertising, and physical fitness facilities. Its principal product is the Keep app, which allows users to select and follow exercise programs, monitor activities such as running, and share fitness-related content with other users. The company was founded in 2014 by Wang Ning, then a university student in his fourth year. Wang's motivation reportedly came from his own experience of losing 20 kilograms after researching and following an exercise regimen online. The name Keep was intended to express persistence, reflecting the idea that maintaining a routine is central to weight loss and long-term fitness. The app became available for download on 4 February 2015. It gained users rapidly, surpassing one million downloads within 105 days of launch. Keep's service model combines instructional content with behavioral engagement. Users can access fitness videos and personalized plan recommendations, receive daily incentives, evaluate their own progress, and record activities. Its social layer enables people to publish exercise routines, food images, appearance-related updates, and other fitness content. Running features include location and duration tracking, while GPS functionality can help users discover nearby Keep users. This combination of content, tracking, community, and commerce distinguished Keep from simpler exercise-video or activity-tracking applications. The brand also operates an e-commerce business selling exercise equipment and other sporting goods. Purchases through the app have been supported by Chinese digital-payment services including WeChat Pay and Alipay. Keep has described four principal revenue streams: sporting goods, advertising, its Keepland gyms, and app memberships. In March 2018, it opened its first gym in Beijing under the Keepland name. By the period described in the reference material, the company had 11 Keep-owned gyms, including nine in Beijing and two in Shanghai. The physical locations were intended not only to generate revenue but also to deepen relationships between online users and the brand. Keep attracted substantial venture investment during its expansion. Reported funding included Series B financing from GGV Capital, Series C financing from Morningside Ventures and GGV Capital with participation from Bertelsmann Asia Investments, and Series D financing from Goldman Sachs, Tencent, GGV Capital, and Morningside Venture Capital. The company expanded rapidly in 2018 but reduced its workforce by 15 percent in October 2019 amid a slowdown in China's economy. The reference material states that the company employed about 800 people in 2019. The platform reached more than 200 million users by September 2019 and had 18 non-Chinese-language versions at that time, with approximately 10 million users outside China. English, German, Japanese, and Spanish were among its supported languages. Keep also received high-profile recognition in Apple's Chinese retail and app ecosystem: Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the company's Beijing office in March 2017, and the app was included on Apple's 2015 Best of App Store list. A 2018 report cited in the reference material identified Keep as China's most downloaded fitness app during the relevant measurement period. Keep's growth has not eliminated challenges common to consumer fitness platforms. Commentary has criticized the large number of available courses as potentially overwhelming for beginners and questioned whether app-based programs consistently provide enough direction for users who require professional coaching. Other analysis noted a gap between downloads or memberships and sustained participation. For more advanced users, the need for specialized programming may also exceed what a general-purpose consumer app can provide. Nevertheless, Keep's combination of digital training, community, commerce, and gyms makes it one of China's most prominent examples of a platform-oriented fitness brand.

History

Keep originated in Beijing Calories Technology Co., Ltd., a company founded in 2014 by Wang Ning while he was a fourth-year university student. Wang's personal experience shaped the concept: after gaining weight, he researched exercise methods online and lost approximately 20 kilograms by following a self-developed routine. He subsequently framed persistence as the essential principle behind both weight loss and entrepreneurship, which informed the choice of the name Keep. The application was released for download on 4 February 2015. Its initial proposition was to make structured exercise more accessible through mobile video instruction. Rather than functioning only as a library of workouts, Keep incorporated recommendation and accountability mechanisms, including personalized fitness plans, daily incentives, self-evaluation, and progress tracking. The app exceeded one million downloads within its first 105 days. The service expanded into a community platform. Members could publish exercise routines, food-related photographs, appearance updates, and other fitness material. Users could also monitor running routes, locations, and durations. GPS features enabled discovery of nearby Keep users and supported social connections around exercise. This social functionality helped turn individual training into a participatory activity and gave fitness brands opportunities to run promotions and campaigns inside the platform. Keep added commerce by offering exercise equipment and other sporting goods through its application. Chinese payment services such as WeChat Pay and Alipay were supported for purchases. The company's business model eventually came to include four reported revenue categories: sporting goods, advertising, Keepland gyms, and app memberships. This diversification made Keep less dependent on advertising or app downloads alone and positioned the brand as an integrated fitness platform. The company raised venture financing during its expansion. Reported rounds included a Series B investment from GGV Capital; a Series C round involving Morningside Ventures and GGV Capital, with Bertelsmann Asia Investments participating; and a Series D round in July 2018 involving Goldman Sachs, Tencent, GGV Capital, and Morningside Venture Capital. In March 2018, Keep opened its first physical gym in Beijing. The gyms were branded Keepland, and the company later operated 11 Keep-owned locations according to the cited material, with nine in Beijing and two in Shanghai. The offline format was intended to build stronger brand loyalty by giving online users opportunities for in-person interaction and instruction. Keep received visibility from Apple's Chinese retail and software ecosystem. Tim Cook visited the company's Beijing office on 21 March 2017 and reportedly praised the app's reach. Keep was included on Apple's 2015 Best of App Store list and was installed by default on devices displayed in Apple Stores in China. A report covering July through September 2018 identified Keep as China's most downloaded fitness app during that period. By 2019, the company had approximately 800 employees, more than 200 million users, and 18 non-Chinese-language versions. About 10 million users were reported to be outside China, with English, German, Japanese, and Spanish among the available languages. The same period also brought signs of operational pressure. After increasing its workforce fourfold in 2018, Keep cut 15 percent of its employees in October 2019 as China's economy slowed. Reception was mixed. Analysts recognized the platform's combination of social networking and e-commerce as a differentiator in the fitness-app market. Critics, however, argued that the breadth of available courses could overwhelm beginners and that users might spend more time browsing than exercising. Other commentary questioned whether app users maintained long-term participation after downloading courses or buying memberships. More experienced athletes could also require professional guidance that a general consumer platform could not fully supply. These criticisms identify the central strategic challenge for Keep: converting broad digital reach into consistent exercise behavior and durable paid engagement.

2019
User base exceeds 200 million
[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
Keep had more than 200 million users by September 2019, alongside international-language versions and users outside China.
2019
Workforce reduction
[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
The company reduced its workforce by 15 percent in October amid China's economic slowdown.
2018
Keepland launches
[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
Keep opened its first physical gym in Beijing in March, extending the brand from mobile services into offline fitness.
2018
Series D financing reported
[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
Keep received a reported Series D investment involving Goldman Sachs, Tencent, GGV Capital, and Morningside Venture Capital.
2017
Apple-related visibility increases
[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
Tim Cook visited Keep's Beijing office, and the app benefited from inclusion in Apple's app-store recognition and Chinese retail-device displays.
2015
Keep becomes available for download
[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
The Keep fitness application launched publicly on 4 February 2015.
2015
One million downloads reached
[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
Keep surpassed one million downloads within 105 days of launch.
2014
Beijing Calories Technology is founded
[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
Wang Ning founded Beijing Calories Technology, the company behind Keep, while he was a university student.

Products and positioning

A digitally enabled fitness ecosystem combining guided workouts, personalization, activity tracking, social participation, fitness commerce, memberships, and selected offline gym experiences.

Digital fitness platform · 2015
Keep mobile app
Keep's core mobile application provides guided fitness videos, exercise programs, personalized recommendations, self-evaluation tools, and daily engagement features. It is designed to support users across different exercise goals while combining training content with progress monitoring and community functions.
Social fitness service · 2015
Keep social fitness community
The social layer allows users to share exercise routines, food images, appearance-related updates, and other fitness activity. Running and GPS functions support route tracking and discovery of nearby users, helping connect individual workouts with a broader online community.
Fitness commerce
Keep sporting-goods marketplace
Keep sells exercise equipment and related sporting goods through its digital platform. The commerce operation complements the training content by allowing users to purchase products associated with home exercise and fitness routines, with Chinese mobile-payment options cited in the reference material.
Physical fitness gyms · 2018
Keepland
Keepland is Keep's offline gym concept. The first location opened in Beijing in March 2018, and the company later reported 11 Keep-owned gyms, concentrated in Beijing and Shanghai. The format was intended to convert digital engagement into in-person relationships and strengthen brand loyalty.
Digital subscription service
Keep memberships
Memberships form one of Keep's reported revenue streams and provide a paid layer within its broader fitness platform. The reference material does not specify the exact package structure, pricing, or current availability.

Brand decisions

2019
Workforce reduction during economic slowdownStrategy
Background
Keep had expanded its workforce substantially in 2018, while China's economy was experiencing deceleration.
Action taken
The company laid off 15 percent of its workforce in October 2019.
Aftermath
The cited material records the reduction and reports that Keep had approximately 800 employees in 2019, but does not provide later operational or financial outcomes.
Source
2018
Expansion into physical gymsStrategy
Background
Keep sought to deepen loyalty and create offline relationships for users who had primarily interacted with the brand through its app.
Action taken
The company opened its first Beijing gym under the Keepland name and expanded to locations in Beijing and Shanghai.
Aftermath
The reference material states that Keep had 11 company-owned gyms, including nine in Beijing and two in Shanghai.
Source

Recent events

2019
Keep reports more than 200 million users[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
Other
The platform had exceeded 200 million users by September 2019 and reported international versions and users outside China.
2019
Keep reduces workforce by 15 percent[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
Leadership change
Keep laid off 15 percent of its workforce in October 2019 after rapid staffing growth in the preceding year and amid an economic slowdown in China.
2018
Keep opens its first Keepland gym[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
Other
Keep opened its first physical gym in Beijing in March 2018, beginning an offline expansion designed to strengthen engagement with its online community.
2017
Tim Cook visits Keep's Beijing office[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
Other
Apple CEO Tim Cook visited Keep during a China trip and praised the company's reported reach. Keep was also included in Apple's 2015 Best of App Store list and was installed by default on devices in Apple Stores in China.
2015
Keep fitness app launches for public download[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
Product launch
The Keep mobile fitness application became available for download on 4 February 2015.
2015
Keep surpasses one million downloads within 105 days[1]Keep (app)en.wikipedia.org
Other
The app passed one million downloads within 105 days of launch, demonstrating rapid early adoption.

Sources17 sources

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