October 7, 2025 • 8 mins
Zwift is a massively multiplayer online cycling and running physical training program that enables users to interact, train, and compete in a virtual world.
Eric Min is co-founder and CEO of Zwift. He discusses using AI for the online cycling and running physical training program.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. You're listening to Bloomberg
Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Stenovek on Bloomberg Radio. Well,
Carol knows this. I do ride bikes a lot. You
do less than I used to, as much as I can, though,
and I'm a big swifter. It's well known among cyclists
(00:22):
as a way to train or compete when it's too
cold or ready to go ride your bike outside, or
you want to get a quick workout.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
It.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
It's like the majority of cycling that I do now
is on swift, Is it really? Yeah, yeah, it's like
much easier for me to get a good workout. It
too sometimes it is. It is you're just trying not
to fall off, which is very easy to do, you know,
very easy not to fall off. I mean, yeah, it's
not an issue. The appcnnect cyclist riding their bikes inside
to real time races and virtual worlds through a mobile device,
(00:48):
a computer, Apple TV, kind of anything. The company's raised
six hundred and twenty million dollars. Backers include KKR, Premiere Holdings,
Amazon's Alexa Fund, adding up to a market cap of
more than a billion dollars. We've got back with us
the co founder and CEO of Swift, Eric Minn. He
joins us from New York. Eric, welcome back. How are you.
It's good to see. We're going to work on getting
your audio all set up. You're in New York because
(01:10):
you've got a new map out. It's essentially an update
to the game that allows people to ride in different
play in a different place. We're going to get to
that in a second. But it's been close to a
year since we caught up, so I just wanted to
get an update on the business. So about a year ago,
you would just announced the Swift Ride. That's this thirteen
hundred dollars smart bike to get more people on the app.
Has it worked.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
You know, we started the business as a software company,
really discounting the hardware. We didn't want to be in
the hardware business, but it's just such an important part
of the overall experience. And I think after you know,
years of working hard and investing in hardware, I think
we really landed a product that resonates with with the masses.
(01:51):
So it's been very successful. This is our second year
and the sales have been very, very strong so far.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
We'll talk to us a little bit about how strong
they've been. Can you give us some idea in terms
of growth year over year, what kind of momentum you're seeing,
what kind of growth.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Yeah, so, you know, the hardware business is really just
to help facilitate the onboarding. You know, we've been we've
probably spent the last ten years figuring out how to
just remove friction in the whole onboarding and getting customers
to just get on swift. So we see this as
just a huge opportunity as we sort of widen the
(02:31):
audience from you know, sort of the core cycling enthusiasts.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
It's a broader audience.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
It just likes to ride bikes and and like to
exercise indoors, and cycling happens to be one of the
you know, the one of the most the easiest and
the safest and one that is most enjoyable, I think,
out of all the different activities.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
That are out there.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
But in terms of growth, we are seeing really a
strong growth in our both in our subscription and our revenues.
So yeah, we think that the hardware is an important
aspect of that. I think one of the early and
early early investors that I spoke to this was like
almost ten years ago. He said to me that the
(03:13):
right price point for this hardware, this is the you know,
the trainer part which he attached to the bike. Back then,
he said, five hundred dollars is the right price point.
And it's taken us ten years, a lawsuit, lots of
investment hardware to finally get to that price point. And
I can tell you that it's it's finally working.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
How much.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Well, go ahead, Carol, Well, I think I know you're
a private company and so you don't have to reveal
tons of metrics, but we are Bloomberg, you know, And
I am curious about what kind of growth you've seen
in terms of bike sales, because it does sound like
it's an important part just or your top line overall.
How much it's growing.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Yeah, so we've seen, you know, revenues grow, you know,
double digit growth. We're not we're sort of not in
that phase of growing doubling our business every year, and
that we had a crazy, crazy growth during COVID years.
I think now we're in sort of responsible growth and
I think you know, over over the last few years,
(04:14):
we sort of went through the painful adjustment of making
sure that the business is right size and the business
is really strong. Now we're very profitable and we have,
you know, plenty of capital.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
To invest in all sorts of areas.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
It was a blessing that and you know, it was
a blessing that we were able to raise a lot
of capitals. I don't think capital is the issue anymore.
It's really just where do we want to place our bets.
And I think it's it's uh yeah, it's it's business
the old fashioned way, right.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Well, it's not.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Every time I've spoken to you, year after year, you've
said you don't have to raise more capital, you don't
have to raise more capital. I think this is the
first time I've heard you say that you're very profitable though.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
This isn't the first year we're profitable, but is the
first year we are i'd say profitable in a meaningful,
meaningful sense. And that's because we've just become more efficient
as a business. You know, we've made a number of
mistakes in the past, and I think now we know
we're really good at and we're focused and investing in
those areas. And I think, you know, we're not going
(05:17):
to start us making expective investments like we did back
you know, perhaps a few years ago.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
So does that mean an IPO is on the horizon?
Speaker 3 (05:27):
I think I think for us, we need some more
time to grow into a story like that. I think
what we just need to do is just create a
great business, great product experience, and I think hardware is
a big, big part of that.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I think they're exciting.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
We have an exciting uh product roadmap, both on the
software and the hardware side. I think for us going forward,
it's got to be side side to side by side,
but our focus will remain for the foresee of future
around the experience of cycling.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
So then, so, so what does that roadmap look like?
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Well, I mean, there's.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Just so much we can do on the on the
on the product side, the product experience side, and AI
is something that we're really investing heavily in. I think, uh,
you know, many people show up unbeknownst to them perhaps
to get into shape, and I think we've done. I
(06:24):
think we can do a much better job in demonstrating
how they can improve, quantifying those metrics, and showing progress.
I think every swift shows up as with should be recommended.
The best content given what they've done, you know, perhaps
the day before, the week wor of the month before.
So we're really investing in in training and personalized training.
(06:47):
So this is where AI comes in and this is
something that will start delivering this fall.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Hey, before we go, Eric, we've just got about a
minute or under a minute. How does the New New
York City map kind of fit into all of what
you were saying?
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Well, you know, I'm a New Yorker, so I'm super excited.
When we launched the business, we didn't start with Central Park,
so we landed that a number of years ago, and
this is the first expansion of the city.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
I'm really excited.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
We're going to Brooklyn, We're going to Times Square and
so this is a bit of no sluger for me.
This is my playground for many, many years. So we're
here in New York activating and launching the expansion.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Well, next time you hear Eric, come by. We always
love it when you join us on Bloomberg Business Week
Daily and give us an update on Swift. Once again.
Eric Mann, he's the co founder and CEO of Swift,
joining us this afternoon from New York.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
And there's the Hudson Tunnel in this man.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
No bikes allowed in that tunnel, Carol. Really Yeah, Casey
Neistat did it a few years ago, many years ago.
There's an old YouTube video of him doing that. Yeah,
it's kind of scary.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
I can only match.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Yeah, it's in there. Mm hmm
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. You're listening to Bloomberg
Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Stenovek on Bloomberg Radio. Well,
Carol knows this. I do ride bikes a lot. You
do less than I used to, as much as I can, though,
and I'm a big swifter. It's well known among cyclists
(00:22):
as a way to train or compete when it's too
cold or ready to go ride your bike outside, or
you want to get a quick workout.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
It.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
It's like the majority of cycling that I do now
is on swift, Is it really? Yeah, yeah, it's like
much easier for me to get a good workout. It
too sometimes it is. It is you're just trying not
to fall off, which is very easy to do, you know,
very easy not to fall off. I mean, yeah, it's
not an issue. The appcnnect cyclist riding their bikes inside
to real time races and virtual worlds through a mobile device,
(00:48):
a computer, Apple TV, kind of anything. The company's raised
six hundred and twenty million dollars. Backers include KKR, Premiere Holdings,
Amazon's Alexa Fund, adding up to a market cap of
more than a billion dollars. We've got back with us
the co founder and CEO of Swift, Eric Minn. He
joins us from New York. Eric, welcome back. How are you.
It's good to see. We're going to work on getting
your audio all set up. You're in New York because
(01:10):
you've got a new map out. It's essentially an update
to the game that allows people to ride in different
play in a different place. We're going to get to
that in a second. But it's been close to a
year since we caught up, so I just wanted to
get an update on the business. So about a year ago,
you would just announced the Swift Ride. That's this thirteen
hundred dollars smart bike to get more people on the app.
Has it worked.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
You know, we started the business as a software company,
really discounting the hardware. We didn't want to be in
the hardware business, but it's just such an important part
of the overall experience. And I think after you know,
years of working hard and investing in hardware, I think
we really landed a product that resonates with with the masses.
(01:51):
So it's been very successful. This is our second year
and the sales have been very, very strong so far.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
We'll talk to us a little bit about how strong
they've been. Can you give us some idea in terms
of growth year over year, what kind of momentum you're seeing,
what kind of growth.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Yeah, so, you know, the hardware business is really just
to help facilitate the onboarding. You know, we've been we've
probably spent the last ten years figuring out how to
just remove friction in the whole onboarding and getting customers
to just get on swift. So we see this as
just a huge opportunity as we sort of widen the
(02:31):
audience from you know, sort of the core cycling enthusiasts.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
It's a broader audience.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
It just likes to ride bikes and and like to
exercise indoors, and cycling happens to be one of the
you know, the one of the most the easiest and
the safest and one that is most enjoyable, I think,
out of all the different activities.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
That are out there.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
But in terms of growth, we are seeing really a
strong growth in our both in our subscription and our revenues.
So yeah, we think that the hardware is an important
aspect of that. I think one of the early and
early early investors that I spoke to this was like
almost ten years ago. He said to me that the
(03:13):
right price point for this hardware, this is the you know,
the trainer part which he attached to the bike. Back then,
he said, five hundred dollars is the right price point.
And it's taken us ten years, a lawsuit, lots of
investment hardware to finally get to that price point. And
I can tell you that it's it's finally working.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
How much.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Well, go ahead, Carol, Well, I think I know you're
a private company and so you don't have to reveal
tons of metrics, but we are Bloomberg, you know, And
I am curious about what kind of growth you've seen
in terms of bike sales, because it does sound like
it's an important part just or your top line overall.
How much it's growing.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Yeah, so we've seen, you know, revenues grow, you know,
double digit growth. We're not we're sort of not in
that phase of growing doubling our business every year, and
that we had a crazy, crazy growth during COVID years.
I think now we're in sort of responsible growth and
I think you know, over over the last few years,
(04:14):
we sort of went through the painful adjustment of making
sure that the business is right size and the business
is really strong. Now we're very profitable and we have,
you know, plenty of capital.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
To invest in all sorts of areas.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
It was a blessing that and you know, it was
a blessing that we were able to raise a lot
of capitals. I don't think capital is the issue anymore.
It's really just where do we want to place our bets.
And I think it's it's uh yeah, it's it's business
the old fashioned way, right.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Well, it's not.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Every time I've spoken to you, year after year, you've
said you don't have to raise more capital, you don't
have to raise more capital. I think this is the
first time I've heard you say that you're very profitable though.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
This isn't the first year we're profitable, but is the
first year we are i'd say profitable in a meaningful,
meaningful sense. And that's because we've just become more efficient
as a business. You know, we've made a number of
mistakes in the past, and I think now we know
we're really good at and we're focused and investing in
those areas. And I think, you know, we're not going
(05:17):
to start us making expective investments like we did back
you know, perhaps a few years ago.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
So does that mean an IPO is on the horizon?
Speaker 3 (05:27):
I think I think for us, we need some more
time to grow into a story like that. I think
what we just need to do is just create a
great business, great product experience, and I think hardware is
a big, big part of that.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I think they're exciting.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
We have an exciting uh product roadmap, both on the
software and the hardware side. I think for us going forward,
it's got to be side side to side by side,
but our focus will remain for the foresee of future
around the experience of cycling.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
So then, so, so what does that roadmap look like?
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Well, I mean, there's.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Just so much we can do on the on the
on the product side, the product experience side, and AI
is something that we're really investing heavily in. I think, uh,
you know, many people show up unbeknownst to them perhaps
to get into shape, and I think we've done. I
(06:24):
think we can do a much better job in demonstrating
how they can improve, quantifying those metrics, and showing progress.
I think every swift shows up as with should be recommended.
The best content given what they've done, you know, perhaps
the day before, the week wor of the month before.
So we're really investing in in training and personalized training.
(06:47):
So this is where AI comes in and this is
something that will start delivering this fall.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Hey, before we go, Eric, we've just got about a
minute or under a minute. How does the New New
York City map kind of fit into all of what
you were saying?
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Well, you know, I'm a New Yorker, so I'm super excited.
When we launched the business, we didn't start with Central Park,
so we landed that a number of years ago, and
this is the first expansion of the city.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
I'm really excited.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
We're going to Brooklyn, We're going to Times Square and
so this is a bit of no sluger for me.
This is my playground for many, many years. So we're
here in New York activating and launching the expansion.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Well, next time you hear Eric, come by. We always
love it when you join us on Bloomberg Business Week
Daily and give us an update on Swift. Once again.
Eric Mann, he's the co founder and CEO of Swift,
joining us this afternoon from New York.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
And there's the Hudson Tunnel in this man.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
No bikes allowed in that tunnel, Carol. Really Yeah, Casey
Neistat did it a few years ago, many years ago.
There's an old YouTube video of him doing that. Yeah,
it's kind of scary.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
I can only match.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Yeah, it's in there. Mm hmm
Hosts And Creators
Tim Stenovec
Carol Massar
Popular Podcasts
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com