Bathhouse Raises $35M From Imaginary Ventures to Fund Eight-City Expansion
The Glossier and Skims backer leads the social-sauna operator’s first institutional round, putting Bathhouse on track for 10 U.S. locations by 2028. An 85,000-square-foot LA flagship at the former Amoeba Music site is the centerpiece.
The thermal pool at Bathhouse’s Williamsburg location. Photo: Bathhouse
Bathhouse, the New York social-sauna operator that SaunaNews reported was on pace for $120 million in annual revenue last year, has raised $35 million from Imaginary Ventures to bankroll an eight-city national expansion.
Key Facts
- Round size: $35 million, disclosed via SEC filings
- Lead investor: Imaginary Ventures (Natalie Massenet and Nick Brown), the firm behind Glossier, Skims, and Reformation
- Expansion: Eight new U.S. locations over the next two years, per Fitt Insider
- Marquee project: An 85,000-square-foot complex at the former Amoeba Music site in Los Angeles, opening early 2028
- Other backers: 28 investors total, including NBA and NFL athletes via the PLUS Capital collective
Consumer-Brand Capital Meets the Bathhouse
The round is Imaginary Ventures’ first pure hospitality bet. The firm, co-founded in 2017 by former Net-a-Porter chief Massenet and Brown, has deployed more than $1 billion across consumer brands where physical experience and cultural identity overlap. Bathhouse fits that mold. Co-founders Travis Talmadge and Jason Goodman have turned thermal bathing into a nightlife-adjacent social ritual at two 35,000-square-foot New York locations in Williamsburg and the Flatiron District, with day passes starting at $39 and memberships running $145 to $225 a month.
Among the 28 backers are members of the PLUS Capital collective, a group that includes Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, Memphis Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart, and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf. The raise appears to be Bathhouse’s first institutional round; CB Insights pegs total funding at roughly $34.5 million.
Eight Cities in Two Years
New locations are planned for Philadelphia, Chicago, Downtown Brooklyn, Berkeley Heights (New Jersey), Minneapolis, Nashville, Stamford (Connecticut), and Los Angeles. The Minneapolis outpost, targeted for 2027, will span 45,000 square feet in the North Loop neighborhood with a 100-person sauna and rooftop pool.
The headline project is LA. Bathhouse has signed a 25-year lease at 6400 Sunset Boulevard, converting the former Amoeba Music building into an 85,000-square-foot complex with a 250-person sauna, 10 thermal pools, and a 30,000-square-foot outdoor rooftop. Design continues the Rockwell Group and Colberg Architecture partnership that shaped both New York locations.
A Crowding Category
The capital arrives as New York’s social-sauna field thickens. Vanity Fair coined the phrase “sauna wars” in January, tracking a surge of new entrants: Othership (roughly $20 million raised, three NYC locations planned by 2027), Lore Bathing Club (NoHo, opened January 2026), Schwet (Tribeca, spring 2026), and The Altar (Chelsea). Bathhouse’s $35 million makes it the best-capitalized pure-play operator in the group.
Why It Matters
When a venture firm known for direct-to-consumer brands puts money into a physical bathing venue, it reframes social sauna from wellness trend to investable real estate category. North America’s thermal bathing market sits at $1.61 billion, a sliver of Asia-Pacific’s $37 billion-plus. Imaginary is betting that gap closes, and that Bathhouse is the brand to close it.
The Bottom Line: Bathhouse now has the capital to move from a two-venue New York story to a national chain. Whether the “anti-spa” model plays outside the five boroughs is the question the next two years will answer.
Arlene Scott
Senior Wellness Correspondent & Hospitality Consultant
Arlene Scott brings over fifteen years of reporting and consulting experience across energy infrastructure, sustainable design, and thermotherapy-focused hospitality.
Full byline
Arlene Scott is a Senior Wellness Correspondent for SaunaNews.com, bringing over fifteen years of experience at the intersection of energy infrastructure, sustainable design, and thermotherapy. Her work focuses on the physiological benefits of passive heat therapies and the sustainable integration of sauna culture into modern wellness routines.
Arlene's background is rooted in the clean energy transition. She was a founding writer at MicrogridMedia.com, where she covered the technical and economic viability of desalination projects, microgrid deployments, and distributed renewable energy systems. During the mid-2010s, she was a regular contributor to Greentech Media (GTM) during its independent era — prior to the Wood Mackenzie acquisition in 2016 — reporting on the early integration of thermal energy storage and sustainable infrastructure.
Transitioning her focus from macro-energy systems to human-scale wellness, Arlene now applies her technical background to the hospitality sector. She operates as an independent consultant, advising boutique hotels and eco-resorts on the design, energy efficiency, and historical authenticity of commercial sauna and thermal spa installations. Her consulting work ensures that high-end wellness facilities balance traditional Nordic bathing principles with modern sustainable engineering.
Arlene holds a specialized certification in Applied Thermic Wellness from the Nordic Institute of Passive Heat Studies (NIPHS) and is a recognized associate member of the International Sauna Association (ISA). When she isn't reviewing the latest innovations in infrared technology or consulting on a new resort project, Arlene can be found tending to her own traditional wood-fired sauna in the Pacific Northwest. You can read her complete archive of essays on energy, wellness, and sustainable living at www.arlenescott.com.
