Jake Paul’s micro-betting app Betr raises $50M Series A 

‘Our objective is to become the consumer company, product, and brand synonymous with micro-betting’

– Joey Levy, Betr co-founder and CEO

By Riley Kaminer

Is Jake Paul punching above his weight? Investors surely don’t think so.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer has raised a $50 million Series A round for micro-betting startup Betr alongside betting-industry tech veteran Joey Levy. The oversubscribed fundraise is a combination of a Florida Founders-led $30 million Series A earlier this year and an additional $20 million Series A1 led by two Miami funds, Aliya Capital Partners and Fuel Venture Capital.

The list of investors for this Series A reads more like a Met Gala guest list than a startup fundraise, including celebrities like Travis Scott and Dez Bryant alongside Florida-based stalwarts like 305 Ventures and Tampa Bay Ventures. The startup says that this funding will go toward product development and customer acquisition.

The app, which is currently in beta with plans to be released more broadly in coming weeks, calls itself the first direct-to-consumer micro-betting offering. They are trading off the idea that the betting industry has not kept up with the times, despite its new legal status in the U.S. 

“The experience still hasn’t changed!” Levy said in a blog post. “The core UX is still driven by things like moneylines, point spreads, and over/unders — the same foreign language that most people who have never bet on sports before do not understand.”

Betr changes this by offering discrete betting opportunities. Think of things as granular as pitches and at-bats of baseball games, and plays and dives of football games. The technology underpinning Betr’s app is developed by Simplebet, a machine learning-powered micro-betting startup that Levy also co-founded. The company hopes that focusing on these granular betting opportunities will gamify the sports betting experience, providing users with instant gratification. 

Paul, who has 70 million followers on social media and was the second highest earning YouTuber of 2021, brings his experience as an influencer and athlete to the table. The company also plans to launch a media arm alongside its tech team. In addition to partnering with influencers, Betr will be developing its own content through Paul’s new YouTube-based sports show, “BS w/ Jake Paul.”

“Our objective is to become the consumer company, product, and brand synonymous with micro-betting — and ultimately the category defining real money gaming consumer business in the U.S.,” commented Levy.

Miami plays a central role in Betr’s development. Levy noted that many executives “picked up their lives and moved to Miami to build Betr.” He also signaled that the company will be hiring local talent to fill out their team, which currently has 15 people. 

“As a Miami-based company, the local ties are especially meaningful and we’re excited to work toward being the preeminent consumer-facing startup that comes out of the state of Florida,” Levy said in a statement.

And Florida seems just as excited to welcome the duo to the Sunshine State.

Tom Wallace, Managing Partner at Florida Funders, commented: “With legalization expanding across the country, now is the time for Betr to enter the market and we couldn’t be more thrilled to lead this round.”

“Betr’s technology is leading the micro-betting community and it was an obvious choice for us to back the company, product, and brand in the booming tech hub of Miami,” Wallace continued. “In addition, with the brand reach of influencer and co-founder Jake Paul, Betr has an unmatchable go-to-market strategy built right in.”

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Riley Kaminer