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§ Private Profile · San Francisco, CA, USA
Contest automation software provider for fantasy sports and free-to-play gaming, streamlining contest creation and management.
Balto has raised $58.0M across 5 funding rounds.
Key people at Balto.
Balto was founded in 2017 by Nicky Montana (Founder) and Spencer Cassidy (Founder/Head of Growth) and Joel Karacozoff (Founder).
Balto has raised $58.0M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Based in San Francisco, California, Balto develops contest automation software designed to streamline the creation, management, and execution of fantasy sports games. Functioning as a business-to-business software provider, the platform delivers specialized tools for organizers to track and communicate with hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. This technology significantly reduces the manual labor traditionally required to run large-scale interactive contests, digital gaming platforms, and casual betting pools. Maintaining a lean scale of just five employees, the enterprise gained early backing from the prominent startup accelerator Y Combinator. The business was subsequently acquired by the sports-focused streaming service fuboTV, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker NYSE: FUBO, in December 2020 to launch their free-to-play gaming and online sports wagering offerings. Balto was founded in 2019 by Spencer Cassidy, Joel Karacozoff, and Nicky Montana.
Balto has raised $58.0M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $6.0M Series B in March 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2024 | $6M Series B | — | BlueRun Ventures, Eniac Ventures, IVP, Khosla Ventures, Maven Ventures, Resolute Ventures, Sierra Ventures, Social Capital, Telescope Partners, Noam Bardin, RAN Makavy | Announced |
| Aug 1, 2021 | $38M Series B | Riadh Dridi | Cultivation Capital, Dundee VC, Atreides Management, OCA Ventures, RingCentral Ventures, SaaS Ventures, Sandalphon Capital, Sierra Ventures, Stage Venture Partners, TIA Ventures | Announced |
| Oct 1, 2020 | $10M Series A | Sierra Ventures | Cultivation Capital, Dundee VC, Eniac Ventures, Jump Capital, OCA Ventures | Announced |
| Sep 1, 2019 | $3M Seed | Tamim Abdul Majid, Alex Rubalcava | Cultivation Capital, Dundee VC, Jump Capital, SaaS Ventures, Sandalphon Capital, TIA Ventures | Announced |
| Oct 1, 2018 | $1M Seed | — | Purpose Built Ventures, Alan Louie, Mike Greenfield | Announced |
Key people at Balto.
Balto was founded in 2017 by Nicky Montana (Founder) and Spencer Cassidy (Founder/Head of Growth) and Joel Karacozoff (Founder).
Balto has raised $58.0M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Balto's investors include BlueRun Ventures, ENIAC Ventures, IVP, Khosla Ventures, Maven Ventures, Resolute Ventures, Sierra Ventures, Social Capital, Telescope Partners, Noam Bardin, Ran Makavy, Riadh Dridi.
Balto is a contest automation software company acquired by FuboTV (NYSE: FUBO) in December 2020 as part of FuboTV’s strategic entry into the online sports wagering market[1][2][3]. Balto builds technology that significantly reduces the manual labor and time required to manage fantasy sports contests, providing easy-to-use tools for organizing, tracking, and communicating with hundreds or thousands of players[3]. Its product primarily serves sports entertainment platforms and fantasy sports operators, enabling them to efficiently run large-scale contests. The acquisition supports FuboTV’s plan to launch free-to-play gaming offerings initially, with a longer-term vision to integrate real-money wagering into its live sports streaming platform, leveraging Balto’s contest automation capabilities[1][2][7].
Balto was founded by Joel Karacozoff, Nicky Montana, and Spencer Cassidy, emerging from the Winter 2019 Y Combinator batch[3]. The founders brought backgrounds in startup growth, investment, and partnerships, with Karacozoff later leading YC partnerships at Stripe[3]. The idea arose from the need to simplify and automate the complex, labor-intensive process of managing fantasy sports contests, which traditionally required significant manual effort. Early traction was demonstrated by Balto’s ability to streamline contest management for large user bases, attracting FuboTV’s attention as it sought to expand into sports wagering and gaming[3][4][5].
Balto operates at the intersection of sports technology, fantasy gaming, and online wagering—a rapidly growing sector fueled by increasing legalization and consumer interest in sports betting in the U.S. The timing of Balto’s acquisition aligns with a broader market trend where streaming platforms seek to deepen user engagement through interactive gaming and wagering features. The online sports wagering market is projected to reach $155 billion by 2024, creating strong market forces favoring Balto’s contest automation technology integrated with live sports content[1]. By enabling free-to-play and eventually real-money wagering, Balto helps FuboTV differentiate itself in the competitive streaming landscape and influence the evolution of sports entertainment.
Going forward, Balto’s technology will be central to FuboTV’s expansion into online sports wagering, starting with free-to-play contests and evolving into regulated real-money betting integrated with live streaming. Trends such as the legalization of sports betting across more U.S. states, increasing consumer demand for interactive sports experiences, and the convergence of streaming and gaming will shape Balto’s trajectory. As FuboTV merges with Hulu + Live TV under Disney’s majority control, Balto’s contest automation capabilities could scale significantly, potentially influencing how live sports content is monetized and consumed across major platforms[2]. The acquisition marks a strategic foothold in a high-growth market, with Balto poised to be a key enabler of innovative sports wagering experiences.