FitBit raises $43m to stay ahead of the pack FitBit, the maker of health and fitness tracking devices, has raised $43m in venture capital funding, as large competitors like Apple and Samsung prepare to enter the "wearable technologies" field. The latest financing round involving SoftBank Capital, SAP Ventures, and Qualcomm Ventures was revealed in a regulatory filing on Tuesday and brings FitBit's total financing to $96m. The company said it will use the money to build its team. Since launching in 2008, FitBit has seen a wave of other companies launch their own gadgets, from large companies such as Nike to start-up companies like Misfit Wearables. In recent months, smartphone rivals Apple, Samsung, and Google have all been rumoured to be working on "smart watches," which could incorporate the kind of fitness tracking capabilities pioneered by start-ups such as FitBit. Manufacturers are expected to ship almost 44m fitness monitors this year, with that number forecasted to grow to 56m annually by 2017, according to IHS research firm. "Fitness monitoring is big business, spanning the glamorous world of famous sports figures, to the burgeoning fitness industry, to the realms of clinical and military research," said Shane Walker, senior manager for consumer & digital health research at IHS. Customers carry FitBit's pedometer, the size of a couple pieces of chewing gum, or wear its new wristband to track daily activity, sending a feed to the person's smartphone of steps taken, calories expended, weight and other metrics. Employers and insurance companies are increasingly interested in the potential benefit such data can have on improving health and lowering healthcare costs. Several companies have made bulk purchases of the original FitBit pedometer to distribute to employees as part of their corporate health and wellness programmes. The funding comes on the heels of investments in two health tracking software start-ups. MyFitnessPal, a calorie and fitness tracking mobile app, raised $18m from Kleiner Perkins and Accel Partners. Glow, a new fertility tracking app from Max Levchin, launched last week with $6m in funding from Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz.