Katalyst

Market position

Katalyst presents itself as the first and only FDA-cleared full-body EMS product for consumer use in the United States and as the first to bring EMS training to an at-home format. Its investor Stripes noted that the founder and team spent seven years developing the product to bring EMS to U.S. consumers, and cited a waitlist of more than 75,000 people as evidence of demand.

Positioning rests on regulatory status — the first and only FDA clearance for a full-body EMS device sold to consumers — combined with an at-home, no-impact, no-weights format that the company says delivers a full-body workout in about 20 minutes without the wear and time cost of conventional training.

Technology

Low-frequency electrical muscle stimulation delivered through a wearable garment set covering major muscle groups, synchronized with functional movement instruction via an on-demand iPad application. The company describes its device as the only full-body EMS product cleared by the FDA for consumer use.

Go-to-market

Direct-to-consumer sales through the company's own online store with preorder reservations limited to one suit per order, supported by press coverage, celebrity association and investor endorsement, and an app-based trainer-led content experience.

Consumers seeking time-efficient strength training at home, including older adults and people with limited physical capability or joint tolerance; the company also frames use cases around healthy aging and longevity, GLP-1 and weight-loss users, female health, golf performance, and rehabilitation or pre-surgical conditioning.

Geography

Operations centered in the United States, with roots in Berlin, Germany and an early studio presence in the Seattle area. The company characterizes the U.S. as the world's largest wellness market while noting full-body EMS is already mainstream internationally, with over 13,000 studio locations worldwide, more than 2,500 of them in Germany, and growth markets including China, Korea, UAE, Japan, Spain, Italy and Brazil.

History

After groundwork in Germany, the team relocated to Seattle in 2017 once visas were approved and hired former members of the Microsoft Band team to build the first-generation product. Following an initial FDA clearance for a prescription device, Katalyst opened studios in the Seattle area, obtained a second FDA clearance, raised a seed round, and accumulated customer data across 25,000 training sessions over about two years. Concluding that a premium connected home fitness device was the better use case, the company rebuilt the product experience and in February 2020 received the first FDA clearance for a direct-to-consumer full-body EMS device, coinciding with pandemic supply-chain disruption. A closed beta preceded an early access program launched in summer 2021. In October 2022 the company announced a $26 million Series A. A September 2025 third-party account describes layoffs, cash shortages and a CEO departure, and states that investor Brendan Kennedy became the new owner of Katalyst and published a public letter pledging to honor existing orders and restore customer trust.

Risks & controversies

A September 2025 third-party report documents an unresolved warranty replacement for a customer order acknowledged as defective in March 2025, with repeated unanswered escalations through August 2025. The same account states Katalyst was contending with layoffs, cash shortages and a CEO resignation, and that new owner Brendan Kennedy issued a public letter acknowledging failures and pledging to honor existing orders. Preorder terms also disclose that delivery timelines are estimates subject to manufacturing and supply-chain changes and that canceled preorders forfeit priority.