New Minnesota Timberwolves co-owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have raised another $20 million towards a ticketing startup called Jump Platforms.
The startup's latest funding round, led by venture capital firm Forerunner Ventures and joined by Courtside Ventures, Will Ventures and Mastry Ventures, brings its VC total raised to $30 million, according to Fortune. Additional investment came from British Colombia-based design firm, MetaLab and sports venture capital firm, Drive by DraftKings.
Lore presented L.A.-based Jump Platforms in October 2022 at the Tech Crunch Disrupt conference. The main idea: Sell seats that free up after people have left mid-game so that attendees already at the game can have the option to upgrade their seating when it becomes available. Lore called the service dynamic real-time ticketing and has applied for a number of technology patents for Jump.
Bloomberg reported Wednesday that various team owners and executives have been in conversations with Jump management about the technology. The events industry is currently dominated by big players such as Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Ticketmaster, and has drawn public scrutiny after sales for a Taylor Swift tour went awry. (The Minnesota Legislature is also considering imposing new rules on the industry.)
According to Rodriguez and Lore, they began considering the industry in 2020 after trying to buy New York Mets tickets and finding out that there was much to be improved.
“As Alex and I began exploring ownership opportunities with sports teams, we spoke to industry execs and began seeing first-hand how many teams were missing the mark when it came to their fan experience,” Lore told Bloomberg. “We quickly realized that there were so many untapped opportunities to rethink the entire fan journey.”
Besides ticketing, Jump plans to offer fan services such as e-commerce, content and event experiences, Bloomberg reported.
Rodriguez and Lore are best known locally for their $1.5 billion plan to buy Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx. Alex Rodriguez is also active in real estate, buying several properties.
