The $19B massage industry faces significant challenges in delivering consistent, high-quality experiences, with consumer satisfaction often varying dramatically between sessions. Access to skilled therapists remains limited by availability constraints and labor shortages across the wellness sector. Aescape addresses these pain points with its AI-powered robotic massage system that delivers precise, personalized treatments with every session. The company’s technology uses advanced sensors to map over one million 3D data points of a person’s body, enabling the robotic Aerpoints to replicate seven distinct massage techniques with the perfect pressure and temperature. Since launching with Equinox in New York City, Aescape has seen exceptional consumer adoption with high utilization and repeat rates, driving a notable spike in gym memberships and prompting a nationwide expansion to 60 locations. The system has quickly gained traction beyond fitness, with leading hospitality brands like Four Seasons, Marriott, and Ritz-Carlton adopting the technology to enhance their wellness offerings and drive additional revenue.
AlleyWatch sat down with Aescape Founder and CEO Eric Litman to learn more about the business, its future plans, recent $83M funding round, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We raised $83M in a strategic round, bringing our total funding to $128M
Valor Equity Partners led our latest funding round, and we’re honored to welcome them back as our lead investors. We also saw continued support from existing investors, including Alumni Ventures and NBA Champion and All-Star Kevin Love.
Tell us about the product or service that Aescape offers.
Aescape is the world’s first fully automated, AI-powered massage experience designed specifically for high-touch wellness environments. Our solution seamlessly integrates into spas, hotels, gyms, and wellness centers, enhancing operational efficiency and providing consistent, high-quality massages. This empowers businesses to extend their service hours, attract new demographics, and generate additional revenue, especially among customers who might otherwise be hesitant about traditional massage. Since launching publicly earlier this year, we’ve successfully partnered with global hospitality and fitness leaders, including Marriott, Four Seasons, Equinox, and Arch Amenities Group, along with top NBA and NFL teams, bringing our award-winning massage technology to major U.S. markets. As part of our recent funding announcement, we’re particularly excited about our nationwide expansion with Equinox. Following a highly successful pilot across New York, we’re now rolling out Aescape systems to 60 Equinox locations nationwide, marking a significant milestone in establishing AI-powered recovery as a core fitness and wellness amenity.
What inspired the start of Aescape?
I founded Aescape in 2017 because I personally experienced how difficult it was to get consistent, high-quality massage treatments. I had a bulging disc and chronic neck stiffness that impacted my quality of life, and as someone who traveled frequently, the lack of reliable massage options was frustrating. Every therapist had a different approach, leading to unpredictable results. I knew there had to be a better way, so I built a team of experts from Amazon, Apple, Tonal, Uber, and MakerBot, all with deep expertise in robotics, AI, and human performance. Together, we developed an AI-powered system that scans the body, mapping over one million 3D data points, and delivers a personalized, precise massage every time. The goal was simple: make high-quality massage more accessible, consistent, and available whenever people need it.
How is Aescape different?
Aescape is solving a massive problem in the wellness industry: accessibility and consistency. With a nationwide labor shortage and rising demand for high-quality recovery solutions, our AI-powered system provides a massage experience that’s always available, consistent, and designed to enhance operational efficiency for businesses. We are very intentionally not trying to replicate human massages. We are focused on delivering a mssage that offers deep, restorative work, fully controlled by you. It’s the perfect complement to existing wellness offerings in hotels, gyms, and spas, helping them extend service hours, generate new revenue, and attract a broader audience.
What market does Aescape target and how big is it?
We’re tapping into the rapidly growing $19B massage and recovery market, which continues to expand as more people prioritize wellness and self-care. We launched with select partners to establish the Aescape experience in recovery-focused environments, like high-end hotels, spas, and fitness leaders like Equinox, demand quickly grew from a broader range of businesses. To meet this demand, we’re introducing a new pricing structure that makes it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to bring the Aescape experience to their customers
What’s your business model?
We license our tables to partners. Our new two-tier model is designed to make Aescape more accessible to small and medium-sized businesses, allowing more partners to offer personalized recovery experiences that fit their needs. Here’s how it works:
- Aescape Essential – Created for partners outside the hospitality space, this includes our signature Aescape experience, featuring the trademark blue table, curated standard playlists, and our core app interface. Pricing is $5,500 per month with a $5 per massage fee, or $5,000 per month with the same $5 per massage fee for Essential Enterprise partners.
- Aescape Lux – Designed for partners offering an elevated member experience with exclusive amenities like pools, saunas, and refreshments. This experience includes a sleek charcoal table, a differentiated in-app experience, and custom Feed.fm playlists. Pricing is $5,500 per month with a $10 per massage fee, or $5,000 per month for Lux Enterprise partners with a $5 per massage fee.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
We’re focused on sustainable growth, operational efficiency, and ensuring our product delivers measurable value. With strong partnerships and a model that helps businesses scale without relying on additional labor, Aescape is well-positioned to weather economic fluctuations while continuing to drive innovation in the wellness industry.
What was the funding process like?
Rigorous but rewarding. We’re fortunate to have Valor as a partner, who makes a ton of sense for the business that we’re building. Their deep expertise in manufacturing and supply chain brings invaluable knowledge directly into our operations. The validation from our Equinox pilot, the growing labor shortage in the industry, and the undeniable demand for AI-driven wellness solutions also helped
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
One challenge was clearly communicating our unique value proposition and convincing investors of the market readiness for AI-powered wellness solutions. It required showing tangible proof of our successful pilots and measurable impact in premier hospitality and fitness environments.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Our investors saw the perfect storm of opportunity: a massive labor shortage, a booming wellness market, and a highly scalable AI-powered solution. Aescape is not just a product, it’s a category-defining technology that addresses real pain points for businesses and consumers alike. Add to that our proven partnerships and a world-class team, and it became clear this was a high-impact investment opportunity.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We’re focused on scaling operations, expanding nationwide, and deepening our partnerships with industry leaders like Equinox. Our new tiered pricing model will make it possible for more businesses to not only drive revenue, but bring Aescape’s massage to more customers. Our goal is to continue refining our AI-powered technology, optimizing user experiences, and making recovery more accessible than ever.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Focus on what truly matters: delivering value to your customers, optimizing operations, and doubling down on what makes your product indispensable. Strong customer relationships, operational efficiency, and market validation will help sustain growth and attract future investment.
Where do you see the company going in the near term?
The integration of robotics into everyday life is inevitable, and so is Aescape. We just happen to be leading the charge when it comes to robots safely and autonomously interacting with human bodies. We see Aescape becoming a staple in the wellness industry. Our nationwide Equinox expansion is just the beginning—we’re building momentum to make AI-powered recovery a standard feature in gyms, hotels, and wellness centers everywhere. The future of wellness is here, and we’re just getting started.
What’s your favorite winter destination in and around the city?
The theater. I’ve caught up on some great shows this season, including a quirky, off-Broadway musical homage to The Office, and the spectacular production of Sunset Boulevard at the St. James theater (catch it before it ends July 13)!
