- FanUp — an innovative mobile gaming company (U.S. and India) — recently announced the successful close of its oversubscribed Seed II Round of $4 million. These are the details.
FanUp — an innovative mobile gaming company (U.S. and India) — recently announced the successful close of its oversubscribed Seed II Round of $4 million led by a group of industry titans, including Accomplice (DraftKings, Skillz), Alumni Ventures Group (Circle – Crypto), John Albright (co-founder, Relay Ventures, lead investor in The Score), Ruttenberg Gordon Investments, and The Carpenter Family (former owners of the Philadelphia Phillies).
This notable roster of investors was captivated by FanUp’s game-changing approach and appeal to young professionals and casual fans. And since launching its app (iOS) in February 2021, FanUp has expanded exponentially, achieving monumental success and traction with customers, acquiring more than 100,000 users, surpassing $5 million in revenue and 45 million views on TikTok.
FanUp has engaged segments of fans other apps have failed to with 52% of its user base being women and 34% of customer acquisition organic. And users can’t get enough — launching the app in all 50 states and every Canadian province 12 times a day with 35 daily touch points, from contests and parlays to GIF battles and group play.
FanUp’s latest round of funding offers rocket fuel for marketing and growth across sports, esports, pop culture, and brand partnerships, building upon the popularity of in-app interactions with Fanatics, Peloton, Mirror, Nike, Louis Vuitton, and Lululemon. And FanUp will also expand its all-star team, which brings deep industry expertise in gaming, product design, technology, and D2C at Fortune 100 companies.
KEY QUOTES:
“As sprachgefühl (shprak-ge-fool) defines the essential character of a language, we’ve re-defined the character and natural idiom of gaming by variegating the gaming experience to include perspectives that appeal to every type of fan, specifically 18- to 34-year-olds, who help grow our industry. The Seed II raise is a catalyst that helps us on our journey to even greater accomplishments moving forward.”
“I want to thank our team, who have the same voracious appetite for winning that I do. We’re inspirited by our traction, investors, success, and, most of all, by our customers and their feedback. We have something special here, and I look forward to our Series A in 2023.”
“We’re far from the copestone, but going to take it all the way. I’d say we just received a kickoff, took it out of the end zone and had a pretty good return to the 35-yard line. Still have some big plays to make before we can celebrate in the end zone.”
— Tej Bodiwala, founder and CEO at FanUp
“FanUp is like Nadal at the French Open or Federer at Wimbledon — it just wins! It’s exciting to invest in a team that consistently crushes all their goals. The app is brilliant, with the best UI and innovation in the game. We look forward to being an integral part of FanUp, and believe that FanUp will continue growing towards being a mobile gaming empire for every type of fan.”
— David Ruttenberg, Managing Partner, Ruttenberg Gordon Investments
