Velocity AI raises $1.95M for AI strength-training wearable ahead of CES

What's the deal? Velocity AIDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised more than $1.95 million to date ahead of the January 2027 CES debut of its AI-powered strength-training system. The round included San Diego-based Rising Tide PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, with participation from multiple family offices and other venture firms.

What's the endgame? The Carlsbad, California startup makes the Velocity Sensor, a wearable, and the Ve Coach app, which give lifters real-time feedback during workouts. Both debut products build on velocity-based training (VBT), a method used in professional programs that typically requires costly equipment and a trained coach.

Why now? The funding will support marketing, hiring, and R&D as Velocity carries pre-launch momentum into its CES debut in the Eureka Park section. Preorders for the Velocity Sensor are open at a discounted $149.99.

Velocity was co-founded by Navy SEAL veteran Max Darsonval and technology industry veteran Devin James. The idea came during one of Darsonval's SEAL deployments, where he lacked the coaches and measurement tools he had stateside. "The contrast between elite training and regular training was obvious, and I wanted to fix that, for everyone," he said.

The system measures movement to guide training and can adjust a prescribed workout based on a user's goals, available time, or a scan of the equipment in the room. "Traditional programming does not adapt to the day-to-day changes in health and readiness people actually experience," James said.

The signal: Velocity is pitching precision feedback to everyday lifters, a gap it says has persisted in consumer fitness for decades. Whether that elite-gym experience translates to a $149.99 sensor is the question CES buyers will answer.

Read more: velocitytraining.ai

Image credit: Velocity AI