Flex AI Shuts Down Amid Market Saturation
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
The Vancouver-based fitness startup is winding down operations after failing to secure an acquisition and exhausting its funding.
Flex AI, a Vancouver-based personal training app, is shutting down, as BetaKit reported. In a March 24 email obtained by BetaKit, co-founder and CEO Amin Niri informed staff and contractors that the startup was winding down operations after efforts to secure an acquisition failed and the company ran out of money.
Founded in 2018 by Niri and former COO Connor Gill, Flex AI utilized patented AI and real-time, on-device computer vision to provide exercise form feedback and adaptive fitness plans. A 2022 job posting indicated the company had reached nearly one million users, and BC Business reported in 2020 that the firm had raised $2 million.
Niri told BetaKit that the company ended active operations in March 2026. He acknowledged the difficulty of creating a sustainable business in "crowded categories," noting that some markets are "almost impossible to win in, economically."
This collapse occurs within a broader health and fitness app market that is growing but intensely competitive. BetaKit notes that Business of Apps reported 540 million users and $3.4 billion in annual revenue for the sector in 2025. However, a Fortune Business Insights study pointed to high market saturation and user retention as major challenges for firms developing such apps. Flex AI faced competition from firms including GymStreak in the UK, FitnessAI in New York, and Fitbod in San Francisco.
BetaKit also reported that several contractors were owed payments dating back to January. Niri told BetaKit he used personal family loans to resolve these outstanding obligations, admitting the wind-down was handled poorly.