HowFIT is a healthcare service jointly developed by Shinhan Life and Artificial Intelligence startup iPIXEL. Shinhan Life can enter the market by utilizing the technology of a promising startup, and iPIXEL gains business opportunities through securing a large partner like Shinhan. Profits from the app are also shared with health trainers, resulting in a “one-stone-three-kill” effect regarding coexistence with small business owners, a move that is in line with current ESG management trends.

HowFIT is an artificial intelligence (AI) home fitness service launched by Shinhan Life and iPIXEL at the end of last year. It analyzes users’ movements through their smartphone camera and coaches them to use the correct exercise technique. Users have their technique checked in real time, which is usually a disadvantage of exercising at home, and through live broadcasts can exercise in a fun, game-like manner.

The core of HowFIT is the motion recognition technology developed and owned by iPIXEL. iPIXEL is an artificial intelligence service development company founded in 2017 by CEO Sangsoo Lee, formerly of Neowiz. It provides AI-based object recognition solutions, home exercise services, and games based on Augmented Reality (AR). The two companies formed a relationship through “Shinhan Futures Lab”, an incubator program from Shinhan Financial Group that supports the scaling-up of startups with innovative ideas. Last year, iPIXEL was selected as a Futures Lab incubation company. Shinhan Life noticed its business model and made first contact for the initial meeting to take place. 

Using it’s experience of releasing HowFIT together with Shinhan Life, iPIXEL is “scaling-up”. It is preparing to enter the North American AI home fitness market, release games using Augmented Reality technology, and develop products combining K-pop dance with motion recognition technology.

CEO Sangsoo Lee said, “From a startup’s point of view, it is not easy to start a platform business due to the burden of marketing costs. Through forming a partnership with Shinhan Life, we gained the opportunity to enter the market directly and that was a great help in expanding our business”.