What Vertical Life does

Vertical-Life GmbH is a Brixen (Bressanone), Italy-based software company founded in 2013 that operates what it describes as the world's largest climbing platform, serving individual rock climbers, indoor climbing gyms, and climbing federations. The core offering is a freemium mobile app (iOS and Android) integrated with the 8a.nu community website, which together host over 581,000 registered members and nearly 18.8 million logged ascents; climbers can access route information, topos, training plans, challenges, and global rankings, with a Premium subscription tier priced at €4.99/month or €59.88/year unlocking offline content, detailed crag topos developed with local guidebook authors, and Zlagboard pro training plans.

Beyond the consumer app, Vertical-Life runs a B2B portfolio: Smart Climbing Gym is annual SaaS for indoor facilities covering route-setting, staff, and course-booking workflows; Smart Scorecard and Result Service provide competition scoring and event management for the IFSC and national climbing federations (686 scorecard events recorded); and Ninja Timer is a proprietary wireless speed-climbing timing hardware system sold at €1,750 per line set. The company also monetizes through brand advertising and marketing solutions sold to climbing equipment manufacturers and through an online shop.

Go-to-market combines a product-led growth motion (free app downloads via global app stores converting to in-app Premium subscriptions) with direct B2B sales to gyms and federations, sponsorship relationships with brand partners including La Sportiva, Mammut, Petzl, Black Diamond, Scarpa, Salewa, Adidas, and Tenaya, and hardware e-commerce via the Vertical-Life website. Leadership consists of co-founders Matthew Polig (CEO), Arno Dejako, and Maria Hilber (CFO). The company is privately held with paid-up share capital of €100,000, no disclosed venture funding, and operates from a single headquarters in Brixen serving a global user base across 19+ countries.

Name

Vertical Life

Legal name

Vertical-Life GmbH

Website

https://vertical-life.info

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Vertical-Life operates the world's largest climbing platform, serving rock climbers, indoor gyms, and climbing federations through a freemium mobile app, B2B gym-management and federation-scoring software, and proprietary speed-climbing timing hardware.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climbing Community & Gym Management Software

NAICS

Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (51929)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Vertical/Specialty Search (e.g., jobs, real estate, travel, products) (BPAMAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Climbing & Mountaineering Gyms/Guides (Indoor, Outdoor, Via Ferrata) (THAAAKAG)

Keywords

• Climbing community platform
• Climbing gym management software
• Climbing competition scoring
• Climbing training app
• Digital climbing topos

Headquarters

HQ city

Brixen

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Vertical-Life Premium Subscription: Monthly or annual subscription service providing access to premium climbing content including detailed topos, offline mode, training plans, gym topos, and challenges. Billed at €4.99/month or €59.88/year (44% annual discount). Includes 7-day free trial.
2. Ninja Timer Hardware Sales: Sale of the Ninja Timer wireless timing system hardware. Priced at €1,750 for 1 line (2 pads + base station) or €1,500 for 2 additional pads. This is a one-time hardware purchase with配套 software integration.
3. Smart Climbing Gym Software License: Annual license for climbing gym management software, renewed tacitly for 12-month periods. Includes route setting management, staff management, and course booking features for indoor climbing facilities.
4. Online Shop: E-commerce store selling climbing-related products through shop.vertical-life.info.
5. Advertising and Marketing Solutions: Marketing solutions enabling brands to reach the Vertical-Life climbing community through cross-media channels, targeting indoor and outdoor climbing audiences worldwide.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Vertical-Life operates a cloud-based climbing platform combining a consumer mobile app (iOS/Android) and 8a.nu community website for route discovery, ascent logging, rankings, training, and digital topos, with a freemium subscription upgrade. It additionally sells B2B Smart Climbing Gym management software, Smart Scorecard competition scoring (used by IFSC), and Ninja Timer wireless speed climbing timing hardware to indoor climbing gyms and federations.

Product overview

Vertical-Life is a comprehensive climbing platform consisting of multiple interconnected products. The core offering is the Vertical-Life App (iOS/Android), a mobile application for climbers that provides topo access, route logging, gym tracking, and community features. This core app is enhanced by Vertical-Life Premium subscription, offering unlimited topo access, offline mode, and Zlagboard pro plans. The B2B product suite includes Smart Climbing Gym (gym management software for facilities), Smart Scorecard (competition scoring), Result Service (federation competition management), and Ninja Timer (hardware timing system for speed competitions). The company also operates acquired brands including 8a.nu (climbing community) and Zlagboard (training platform). Additional offerings encompass rankings/game features, training plans, challenges, and an e-commerce shop.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 8a.nu: Climbing community platform and website for logging ascents, rankings, and climbing news
• Zlagboard
• Smart Scorecard
• Smart Climbing Gym
• Ninja Timer
• Smart Quickdraw

Products and services

• Vertical-Life App Free mobile application (iOS and Android) for climbers providing access to crag topos, route and ascent logging, gym tracking, training plans, challenges, rankings, and community features.
• Vertical-Life Premium Subscription add-on (€4.99/month or €59.88/year) offering unlimited topo access, offline downloads, detailed approach information, gym topos with route updates, challenges, rankings, and Zlagboard pro plans. Includes a 7-day free trial.
• Smart Climbing Gym B2B gym management software for indoor climbing facilities providing route setting management, staff management, course booking, and customer-facing features integrated with the Vertical-Life app. Sold as an annual license.
• Smart Scorecard Competition scoring service used by IFSC and other climbing federations for real-time scoring, results management, and display at climbing competitions.
• Ninja Timer Interactive, cable-less wireless timing system for speed climbing competitions, speed training and timed events. Features WIFI-enabled setup, smartphone/tablet control, multiple competition modes (speed, silent, judged, event), IFSC-compliant audio cues, and one-hundredth of a second measurement accuracy. Priced at €1,750 for a 1-line kit (2 pads + base station) or €1,500 for 2 additional pads.
• Result Service End-to-end competition management software for climbing federations providing event organization, scoring, and results distribution.
• Vertical-Life Shop E-commerce storefront selling climbing-related products and merchandise to consumers globally.

Quantifiable outcome

• 581,047 registered members and 18,767,198 total ascents logged on the platform
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IFSC (International Federation of Sport Climbing)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFSC uses Vertical-Life's Smart Scorecard competition scoring service for managing and displaying results at IFSC World Cup and Championship events. This partnership provides professional-level competition management for the international climbing competition circuit.
• La SportivaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLa Sportiva is listed as a partner brand in the Vertical-Life marketing solutions ecosystem, suggesting advertising or promotional partnership to reach the climbing community.
• MammutminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMammut is listed as a partner brand in the Vertical-Life marketing solutions ecosystem. Mammut also sponsors training plans feature on the platform.
• PetzlminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPetzl is listed as a partner brand in the Vertical-Life marketing solutions ecosystem for climbing equipment advertising.
• AdidasminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAdidas is listed as a partner brand in the Vertical-Life marketing solutions ecosystem.
• TenayaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTenaya is listed as a partner brand in the Vertical-Life marketing solutions ecosystem.
• ScarpaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerScarpa is listed as a partner brand in the Vertical-Life marketing solutions ecosystem.
• SalewaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSalewa is listed as a partner brand in the Vertical-Life marketing solutions ecosystem.
• Black DiamondminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBlack Diamond is listed as a partner brand in the Vertical-Life marketing solutions ecosystem.
• Local Guidebook AuthorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVertical-Life partners with local guidebook authors to create Premium topos. These authors provide detailed climbing information including routes, approach directions, and access details that are integrated into the Vertical-Life app. The partnership ensures accurate, locally-verified climbing information.
• Ingo Filzwieser (Pro Coach)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVertical-Life has teamed up with professional climbing coach Ingo Filzwieser to develop and deliver state-of-the-art training plans for ambitious climbers through the Vertical-Life app.
• BergzeitminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBergzeit is listed as a partner brand in the Vertical-Life marketing solutions ecosystem.
• ISPOminorGTM or Marketing PartnerISPO is listed as a partner brand in the Vertical-Life marketing solutions ecosystem.
• Tirol (Regional Tourism)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerTirol regional tourism is listed as a partner in the Vertical-Life marketing solutions ecosystem.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mountain Project: The largest free climbing route database and community platform in the United States. Mountain Project directly competes with Vertical-Life's 8a.nu community and topos offering, serving outdoor climbers with route logging, comments, and tick lists.
• TheCrag: A global climbing route wiki and community platform with extensive topo coverage worldwide. TheCrag competes head-on with Vertical-Life Premium topos and 8a.nu on the international climbing community and route information axis.
• Perfect Wall: Climbing gym management software offering route-setting, member management, and check-in functionality. Perfect Wall is the most direct competitor to Vertical-Life's Smart Climbing Gym B2B product, serving the same indoor climbing facility customers.
• Kaya Connect: Climbing area discovery and community platform offering guides, topos, and route information across international destinations. Overlaps with Vertical-Life's outdoor discovery and topo features for international climbers.

Emerging players

• Zlagboard (legacy independent): Climbing-specific training and hangboard platform. While Vertical-Life acquired the Zlagboard brand, the underlying training-board hardware market and adjacent training apps (e.g., Crimpd, Lattice) represent adjacent competitors for climber training monetization.
• Glofox: Boutique fitness and gym management software serving studios including some climbing gyms. Glofox overlaps with Smart Climbing Gym in gym management functionality but serves a broader fitness-studio customer base.
• CompuLE: Competition management and timing systems used previously by IFSC and other sport federations. CompuLE competes with Vertical-Life's Smart Scorecard and Ninja Timer for climbing competition scoring and timing contracts.
• Lattice Training: Climbing-specific online coaching and training platform offering structured plans and assessments. Lattice competes with Vertical-Life's training plans feature and Zlagboard for climbing training monetization.

Broad incumbents

• Strava: The dominant activity-tracking social network used by climbers for general activity logging. Strava is a broad incumbent that could expand deeper into climbing-specific features and compete with Vertical-Life's ascent-tracking and community value proposition.
• AllTrails: The leading outdoor discovery platform for hiking and outdoor activities with a large international user base. AllTrails competes for outdoor advertising budgets and could expand into climbing route discovery, challenging Vertical-Life's audience monetization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCWkmBrwOfCT9h15MiPJrrWw
• Facebookfacebook.com/vertical.life.climbing
• Instagraminstagram.com/vertical.life.climbing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vertical Life