FanAI Closes $8M Series A Investment Led By Japanese Trading House Marubeni

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• Data analytics firm FanAI closed an $8M USD Series A investment round led by Japanese trading house Marubeni Corporation, bringing the firm’s total raised capital to over $12.5M.
• Other investors participating in the round include Allectus Capital, CRCM Ventures, Courtside Ventures, GC Tracker Fund, M Ventures, Sterling VC, and GFR Fund.
• In October, FanAI hired former GumGum Sports founder and vice president as chief product & strategy officer.

Performance sponsorship data platform FanAI announced the closing of its $8M Series A financing round led by Japanese business conglomerate, Marubeni Corporation, to support FanAI’s continued expansion and growth.

Further investors participating in the funding round include Allectus Capital, CRCM Ventures, Courtside Ventures, GC Tracker Fund, M Ventures, Sterling.VC, and GFR Fund. The funding brings the company’s total raised capital to over $12.5M.

Marubeni’s investment is overseen by its innovation department, the Next Generation Business Development Unit. The unit sponsored and created Marubeni Ventures, which actively pursues corporate development in esports and entertainment, wellness, fintech, and other areas critical to Marubeni’s growth through 2030. FanAI is looking to expand partnerships to new markets in Japan and South Korea with the support of this group.

“Digital measurement based on real purchase data is a tremendous opportunity for brands as they optimize spend outcomes across entertainment and sports,” said Daniel Welt, vice president and general manager of Marubeni’s Next Generation Business Development Unit in a release. “Marubeni’s Next Generation Business Development sees FanAI as a strategic partner for the APAC region to bring leading platform analytics to that market.”

In October, FanAI hired Jeff Katz as chief product & strategy officer. Katz previously held several positions at artificial intelligence company GumGum, where he launched GumGum Sports and later served as vice president strategy & strategic partnerships for the department.