A Series B funding round of $35 million announced by fantasy sports operator Underdog including funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and Acies Investments valued the company at $485 million.
Moving into Sports Betting
The funding round is expected to provide the funds necessary for Underdog to build innovative licensed sports betting products, expand its team with over 100 new employees and continue to innovate in fantasy sports over the next year.
Chris Grove from Acies Investments who also participated in the funding round outlined the biggest advantage Underdog has compared to sportsbooks is that a “typical sportsbook is spending over $500 to acquire a customer” while Underdog does the same for just “a fraction of that.”
“Underdog’s success is driven by the company’s focus on building new, innovative games and delivering amazing customer experiences. As the company moves into licensed sports betting, I believe that the unique focus on product and experience will reshape the industry.”
Chris Grove, Acies Investments
Acies Investments and BlackRock joined a prominent group of investors in Underdog, including the likes of Mark Cuban, Kevin Durant, Odell Beckham Jr., Breon Corcoran, Mitch Garber, Eilers & Krejcik, Liontree Partners, Kevin Carter, Mark Pincus, Kygo, Sv Angel, The Chainsmokers, Steve Aoki, Nas, Future and many others.
Quality Products, Customers First
Underdog’s president and chairman Jeremy Levine revealed the main driving force behind the company’s winning recipe since its inception was the idea of “building quality products and putting customers first,” and the firm is more than happy to continue on the same path of innovation and “Build new experiences from the ground up” across fantasy sports, sports betting and any other vertical.
“This funding round gives us the fire power to continue to build, and build we will. We’re thrilled that funds and accounts managed by BlackRock are participating in our Series B as we continue towards our vision.”
Jeremy Levine, President and Chairman, Underdog
A relatively new player in fantasy sports, it took Underdog just over two years to acquire valuable users and even introduce the largest season-long fantasy prize pool ever, the $10M NFL Best Ball tournament, with a mammoth $2 million prize for the player finishing first.