As AI is transforming various sectors from banking to entertainment, a German startup believes it can revolutionize fitness too. Zing Coach has developed an AI-powered workout app that aims to be smart, adaptive, and personalized.
Based in Munich, with teams in Warsaw and Cyprus, the company raised $10 million in June 2024. It integrates proprietary health data, real-time adaptation, and computer vision to provide tailored exercise plans that evolve with each user’s needs.
Leading the company is new CEO Anton Marchanka, an entrepreneur with extensive experience in fitness tech, who envisions Zing as the start of a shift towards agentic AI in fitness. In a recent conversation, Marchanka shared more about the company’s approach.
**Adaptive Fitness Using Real-Time Data**
Zing Coach offers a personalized, data-driven exercise experience. It creates unique training plans based on individual body composition, fitness level, and workout history, using data from its Fitness Test and Body Composition Scan, as well as Apple Health.
Driven by AI, Zing adjusts each user’s program in real time, modifying intensity, complexity, and duration based on factors like fatigue and progress, whether at home or in the gym.
Featuring over 400 guided exercises, Zing Coach employs computer vision technology to track users’ movements, helping to improve form, prevent injuries, and achieve measurable results. The app customizes workouts considering available equipment, target muscle groups, and health restrictions, positioning itself as a smart companion evolving with its users’ goals.
Marchanka brings vast expertise in mobile marketing and product management. At Mosaic Group Holdings, he managed a portfolio of 20 mobile apps with 600 million users globally. Previously, he held roles as Vice President of Business Operations at Daily Burn and Vice President of Marketing at Apalon.
His experience covers portfolio management, product strategy, and digital user acquisition.
**The Next Generation of Health Apps: Personalization by Design**
Marchanka identifies three core trends in health and fitness:
– AI-powered personalization: From startups to large companies like Whoop and Oura, AI is creating hyper-personalized experiences.
– Data as a foundation: AI is ineffective without meaningful user data. Companies with access to proprietary health data will shape the future.
– Holistic health: Fitness now encompasses sleep, stress, nutrition, and mental well-being. Real results require addressing all these areas, not just training.
He notes a shift in focus:
“It’s no longer about losing 20 pounds by your wedding. It’s about how you feel throughout the process. Enjoying the journey matters just as much — if not more — than reaching the goal.”
Moreover, unlike the early app store days, there is more emphasis on the credibility of wellness apps, often lacking scientific rigor, personalization, and accountability. To prevent these issues, Zing collaborates with medical institutions in Switzerland, with content developed with experts, especially for users with specific conditions like joint injuries.
Marchanka mentions that AI enables a shift from cohort-based to individual personalization:
“Pre-AI, we grouped users based on demographics or behavior. Now, we can treat each user uniquely, just like a real doctor would.
We consider your heart rate, sleep, mobility, preferences, and craft the experience around you.
Our goal isn’t to replace human coaches. It’s to amplify their capabilities and make expert guidance scalable. AI agents should be extensions of real people, not substitutes.”
**”A Full Circle Moment” in Mobile Apps**
Regarding the mobile app market, Marchanka believes we are experiencing a “full-circle moment—reminiscent of the early 2010s when the app ecosystem was revolutionary.”
“That shift moved people from web to mobile. It created billion-dollar companies like Duolingo that could only exist because of the app ecosystem.”
He suggests we are on the brink of another paradigm shift: from apps to AI agents.
Zing is building an AI agent that could outperform even the most experienced human experts.
“This isn’t just buzz. We’re evolving from rigid, use-case-based applications to flexible AI agents that can reason, learn, and adapt. It’s like building tools to training companions.”
“In five years, I believe everyone will have their personalized AI assisting with everything from communication to decision-making. This changes the dynamic of software development and use,” Marchanka added.
I wondered about the implications for developers: are they becoming obsolete or more empowered? Marchanka recalled a former colleague’s observation that there are two types of developers: code writers and value creators.
Code writers, primarily translating specifications, are most susceptible to AI automation. However, value creators, who think in terms of architecture, systems, and impact, remain essential. AI reduces the mundane, repetitive tasks in app development, allowing developers to focus on higher-order thinking and solving meaningful problems.
“In my ideal team, we’d have a few highly capable developers managing the system’s architecture while the AI does the rest. I see software development evolving into more of a craft, or even art. Less code, more creativity,” he