Bathhouse Raises $35M From Imaginary Ventures to Fund Eight-City Expansion

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. For a deep look at the mechanical, structural, and code complexity behind facilities of this scale, see our analysis of what bathhouse development actually requires.

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.