In a serious transfer for U.S. sports activities gaming, Underdog has secured a $70 million first shut in its Collection C funding spherical, with the elevate anticipated to exceed $100 million.
The spherical is being led by Spark Capital, one in every of Silicon Valley’s premier enterprise capital corporations, and it values Underdog at $1.225 billion pre-money —practically triple its 2022 Collection B valuation.
The funding represents the biggest from a top-tier VC into the sports activities gaming house, signaling each confidence in Underdog’s trajectory and a broader shift in how enterprise capital is viewing the U.S. sports activities betting and fantasy sector.
Based in 2020, Underdog has shortly emerged as a standout in a saturated trade, due to a customer-first strategy and its uncommon place as the one main operator working by itself proprietary know-how.
This has allowed the corporate to iterate shortly, construct tailor-made experiences for American sports activities followers, and keep away from the third-party platforms generally utilized by opponents.
“We’re going to proceed to spend money on folks and product – and as quick as we are able to,” stated Jeremy Levine, CEO and founding father of Underdog. “There may be a lot extra to construct, and we’re going to maintain constructing.”
With practically 4 million prospects nationwide, Underdog is already the fourth most downloaded sports activities gaming app within the nation — spanning each fantasy sports activities and betting verticals. The corporate additionally operates a rising media arm, producing authentic content material like Gil’s Area, at the moment the fifth-largest each day sports activities present throughout all mediums.
In accordance with Will Reed, Common Accomplice at Spark Capital, the choice to again Underdog was pushed by a shared perception in product innovation and buyer obsession.
“Underdog has confirmed they will win the place it issues most: product,” he stated. “They’ve additionally proven they will entice prime expertise from gaming, tech, and sports activities. We see huge alternative forward and are thrilled to be on the journey with them.”
As competitors within the U.S. sports activities gaming house intensifies, this funding will assist Underdog scale product improvement, broaden its expertise pool, and reinforce its media presence — all with a watch towards making sports activities extra partaking for followers.
With Spark’s backing and a billion-dollar-plus valuation, Underdog is well-positioned to maintain disrupting an trade that’s solely starting to faucet its full potential.
