Venus Williams supports a French startup that incentivizes walking.

      Venus Williams is best known for being one of the greatest tennis players in history, but she is also a dedicated founder and angel investor. In her latest business venture, Williams has invested in the French startup WeWard.

      WeWard is a free application that provides real-world rewards for walking. It monitors your steps and allows you to earn points, referred to as “Wards,” which can be redeemed for gift cards, donations, or discounts. The aim is to motivate individuals to be more active while benefiting from their everyday movement.

      Williams has invested an undisclosed amount in the business and will also serve as an ambassador. In return, WeWard has pledged to donate $25,000 to her charity, CARE, and will organize a month-long “Venus Williams Championship,” where participants can unlock up to $40,000 in donations by achieving step goals.

      “A significant aspect of maintaining wellness and activity is simply moving your body in any way possible, and with WeWard, walking becomes an enjoyable and rewarding activity,” stated Williams, whose investment portfolio also includes the French social investing app Shares and Pelago, a British startup addressing substance abuse through “virtual clinics.”

      In addition to physical rewards, users can collect virtual trading cards, known as WeCards, located at certain places on the map, similar to Pokémon Go. Users can compete with friends or participate in virtual leagues, tracking their progress on leaderboards and earning gold, silver, or bronze medals based on their activity levels.

      The objective is to encourage individuals to walk more frequently and farther — and it appears to be effective. The company reports that around 6.5 million WeCards are collected each day by the approximately 20 million users of the app.

      Walking initiatives

      WeWard’s CEO, Yves Benchimol, co-founded the startup in 2019 with Nicolas Hardy and Tanguy de la Villegeorges. The company has primarily been self-funded, except for a few hundred thousand euros obtained in seed funding in 2020.

      Although WeWard has not raised significant capital, it has distributed substantial amounts to users. So far, the company claims to have given $20 million back in cash to users and $1 million to charitable partners.

      WeWard earns revenue through retail partnerships, advertising, and features like “Playtime,” which allows users to gain additional rewards by engaging with third-party mobile games directly through the app.

      WeWard is part of a growing group of pro-walking fitness startups. Competitors include Walk15, a Lithuanian company that has tested its technology with public healthcare services. Walk15’s co-founder and CEO, Vlada Musvydaitė-Vilciauske, expressed her ambition to create “a pharmacy for walking.”