Boom Fantasy raises $2m, acquires Draftpot

Boom Fantasy has closed a $2m (€1.8m) Series Seed round, while the firm has also acquired the primary assets of daily fantasy sports (DFS) rival Draftpot.

Founders Fund’s FF Angel led the funding round, with participation also from executives and owners from both sports broadcaster ESPN and North America’s Major League Baseball (MLB).

The new funding comes after a small seed investment by Mark Pincus, founder of Zynga, and other leading gaming angel investors back in 2015.

Cyan Banister, a partner at Founders Fund who led the latest round, said: “Boom Fantasy is incredibly fun, both for diehard sports fans and for casual fans who want something to root for.

“This was the first fantasy sports company that I was truly excited about; Boom Fantasy is poised to rapidly rise in an industry that has overcome regulatory scrutiny and expects substantial growth in the years ahead.”

Meanwhile, Boom Fantasy has finalised the acquisition of various key assets in Draftpot, a company that has raised $3m in funding.

Boom Fantasy said the deal will allow it to double its own user base, adding that the acquisition also includes Draftpot’s intellectual property such as technology and gameplay.

Assaf Einat, chief technology officer at Boom Fantasy, said: “With this acquisition and funding round, Boom Fantasy will have larger prize pools, exciting new gameplay, and even better customer support.

“We look forward to offering an unparalleled fantasy sports experience for our players.”

Related article: Boom Fantasy rolls out real-money product