AI Agents Take Over The Gym With $500 Million In Crypto-Fueled Backing

Forbes

09-07-2025

Having an AI Agent Provide Personal Training
A new AI-Agent powered fitness experience just launched—one that makes having a top-tier personal trainer as easy as pressing play.
I've always dreamed of having a personal trainer. But let's be honest: between unpredictable schedules and the dollar-per-hour price tag (or lots more dollars if you're aiming for top-tier coaching), it's rarely practical. And when I do find an hour free, it always seems to be the same hour everyone else wants.
That's why I'm paying attention to what Interactive Strength Inc. (Nasdaq: TRNR) and Fetch.ai just launched—and why I think every business leader should too.
In a move that blends AI, blockchain, and personalized wellness, TRNR—maker of the smart fitness brands CLMBR and FORME—is partnering with Fetch.ai to power a new kind of AI-enhanced workout experience.
Fetch.ai, a decentralized blockchain-backed AI platform. Fetch.ai uses AI agents that can act on behalf of individuals, organizations, or devices to facilitate various tasks like trading, transactions, and communication within its ecosystem.
According to CV VC, in 2025 alone, AI agent projects (the kind powering Fetch.ai-style digital twins) have raised $1.39 billion—a 9.4% increase over 2024—while on‑chain activity related to these autonomous tools is up nearly 86%, with some 4.5 million daily wallets interacting with them
At the core is something that sounds futuristic but is becoming real fast: autonomous AI agents and digital twins of elite trainers.
This isn't just an upgrade to fitness tech. It's the emergence of what I call agentic experiences—where AI doesn't just automate, it adapts, coaches, and evolves with you.
And in TRNR's case, it's all backed by a bold $500 million crypto treasury strategy that could set a new standard for digital transformation.
Goodbye Static Videos, Hello AI Intelligent Workouts
Fitness has always been deeply personal—but fitness content has rarely been able to keep up.
Most workout apps today still rely on pre-recorded video sessions, generic training calendars, and minimal real-time interaction. It's personalization at the surface level. TRNR is flipping that model by deploying Fetch.ai's autonomous digital agents to create fully customized training flows on demand.
Trent Ward, CEO of TRNR, shared with me the future, 'Every piece of equipment becomes intelligent with its own AI agent—capable of delivering a 45-minute session in the voice of your personal trainer, responding in real time to your performance, and adapting every rep to your goals. This is the future of fitness: always available, always evolving.'
Trent Ward, CEO of TRNR
Here's how it works: Fetch.ai's agents can generate dynamic video sessions, tailored to the user's preferences, real-time performance, and feedback from smart fitness equipment. They can speak in the voice of a recognizable trainer, structure the workout based on your past activity, and adapt on the fly—all without human involvement.
According to Market.us, the Global Smart Fitness Market size is expected to be worth around USD 8.0 Billion By 2033, from USD 2.1 Billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 18.4% during the forecast period from 2024 to 2033.
It's not just convenience—it's scalability. The same AI agent that guides a beginner through a gentle stretch session can switch gears and push a pro athlete through a high-intensity interval round. It learns. It adjusts. It delivers.
The Power of the AI Digital Twin
One of the most exciting aspects of this collaboration is the digital twin technology.
Imagine being trained by Harley Pasternak, the celebrity fitness coach to stars like Rihanna and Lady Gaga. Normally, you'd need to clear your schedule, fly to L.A., and write a very large check. Now, imagine capturing Harley's workout philosophy, voice, pacing, and motivation style—and replicating it through AI.
That's what digital twins make possible. These virtual replicas allow elite trainers to scale their presence infinitely, turning a high-touch, high-cost service into an accessible digital experience for millions. A digital twin can mimic your golf swing or that so needed squat.
Digital Twins driven by AI Agents can help you get that golf swing ready for the season
For TRNR, this unlocks an entirely new revenue stream. For users, it means no more compromise between cost and quality. And for the fitness industry, it may represent a turning point in how services are delivered and consumed.
Solving Real Problems with Agentic AI
This partnership isn't just cool—it's solving real problems.
The two biggest pain points in personal training today? It's expensive, and it's hard to schedule.
AI agents change that.
They don't sleep. They don't get booked up.
And when designed right, they can be just as motivational and adaptive as their human counterparts.
What we're seeing here is the rise of agentic AI workflows—a term that describes AI systems capable of taking initiative, making decisions, and driving outcomes independently. In the TRNR + Fetch.ai model, AI agents take on everything from session planning and instruction to performance tracking and feedback analysis.
For businesses watching this space, it's a real-world case study of how AI can do more than just automate tasks. It can drive entire customer experiences—personalized, scalable, and smart.
AI Backed by Blockchain: The $FET Treasury Move
Beyond the AI capabilities, there's a financial innovation embedded in this story that's just as important.
TRNR has committed to building what it says will be the largest publicly listed U.S. crypto treasury focused on an AI token—specifically, Fetch.ai's $FET. The initial investment of $55 million (led by ATW Partners and DWF Labs) signals a strong belief in Fetch.ai's long-term potential, but it also suggests something bigger: a new model for how corporate treasuries may evolve in the age of decentralized finance. It's the combination of AI and Blockchain.
As Humayun Sheikh, CEO of Fetch.ai, explained to me, 'AI is unlocking real-world utility for crypto, turning tokens into gateways for intelligent agents. When access to an undervalued asset also enables AI-powered automation, the value multiplies."
Humayun Sheikh, CEO of Fetch.ai
Rather than parking reserves in traditional assets, TRNR is putting its capital behind the very digital infrastructure it relies on. It's an alignment of technology, finance, and product that few companies have pulled off—yet.
This kind of treasury strategy could soon become a blueprint for other firms embracing AI and Web3 ecosystems. By holding and leveraging digital tokens tied to their core tech stack, companies gain both strategic and financial exposure to the ecosystems they help build.
Why This AI Agent Matters for Business Leaders
If you're a business leader wondering what all this means beyond fitness, here's the bottom line:
What excites me most is how these trends intersect. We're no longer just talking about AI and blockchain as buzzwords. We're seeing their convergence in a way that brings real utility to consumers—and new business models to companies.
Fitness might be the first mover here, but the ripple effects will reach far beyond the gym. Coaching, healthcare, education, entertainment—any industry that relies on human interaction could be transformed by agentic AI and digital twin infrastructure.
And if Fetch.AI and TRNR's vision is any indication, the transformation won't just be digital.
It will be deeply personal—and infinitely scalable.
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