Netpulse has announced that it has raised US$13m (€11m, £9m) to develop new features and accelerate growth as it bids to dominate mobile technology in the fitness industry.

The San Francisco-based provider of mobile apps for health clubs saw its latest funding round led by August Capital, with participation from Javelin Venture Partners, Nokia Growth Partners and DFJ Frontier. The investment follows the Netpulse pattern of raising similar amounts every two years, such as US$15.6m in 2012 and US$18.6m in 2014

Netpulse has reported a 450 per cent increase in customers over the last year, during which it has launched Mobile Acquisition — a marketing extension to its club app designed to lower the cost of acquiring new members.

“The first quarter of this year was an exceptional realisation of many of the growth initiatives we’ve executed,” said John Gengarella, CEO of Netpulse.

“We successfully introduced our first suite of mobile acquisition products, expanded into new regions around the globe and strategically accelerated a robust partner ecosystem.

“With Netpulse experiencing significant demand for the mobile technology to engage club members, the timing was right to raise growth capital and accelerate the deployment of these advanced products."