Lucra Sports Raises $20 Million Without AI Thanks to ARK Invest

Lucra Sports and the Boldness of a Successful Fundraising

Earlier this year, Dylan Robbins, founder and CEO of Lucra Sports, achieved an unprecedented feat by convincing Cathie Wood and her ARK Invest Venture Fund to become the lead investor in a funding round for his startup. Lucra announced last month that it raised $20 million in a Series B round, led by ARK, with participation from several other venture capital investors. Robbins managed to attract ARK even though the fund had previously suffered heavy losses on a similar esports company, Skillz, a skill-based gaming platform in which the fund had heavily invested before divesting at a loss.

Moreover, Dylan successfully attracted this prestigious investor even though his company does not operate in the field that all VCs are currently pursuing: AI. Lucra offers white-label interactive gaming competitions as a new type of loyalty program for businesses serving consumers. Instead of earning points for a coupon, Lucra's customers host online tournaments with prizes or support friendly bets among their clients on who will win the games. Its clients include Five Iron Golf, Dave & Buster’s, and Chess King.

Strategies to Attract Investors

Robbins explained that there were two secrets to attracting a renowned investor under such conditions. First, be friendly with everyone, everywhere, because you never know when an informal conversation might turn into a major investment opportunity. The seeds of Lucra's fundraising journey were sown when Robbins was playing darts in a bar in New York. He met another man at the dartboard, and they enjoyed a few games together. "Six months later, we crossed paths again in the same bar. It was like, 'Good to see you. How's it going?' And we started chatting, and I asked him what he did for a living. He told me he worked at ARK," Robbins recalls. Robbins spoke to him about Lucra, and the contact introduced him to the ARK investment team, which ultimately invested a small amount in his Series A round.

Secondly, Robbins adjusted his pitch to include AI, even though Lucra is not an AI company. He presented the idea that AI could free up time for leisure, thereby increasing the appeal of his platform. This approach resonated with ARK, which then facilitated introductions to other investors.

An Ambitious Market and Challenges

Robbins also highlighted Lucra's ambitious vision, targeting a total addressable market (TAM) that potentially includes all Americans aged 18 to 70 who play games. Despite this, some investors deemed the TAM too narrow, serving as a reminder for Robbins to aim even higher. Ultimately, the success of Lucra Sports demonstrates that even in a market dominated by AI, innovative approaches and strategic relationships can lead to significant funding.

Fast forward a few years to the end of 2025, when AI had taken over venture capital funding like honeysuckle. Lucra Sports had truly found its footing with its white-label service. It was ready to raise a Series B to fuel its growth and new ideas, such as adding mini-games to its offerings. (Lucra had just invested in a mini-game development partner to build this capability.) But Robbins continued to hit a wall shaped like AI.

"We were raising funds in the fourth quarter of 2025, which was then, like now, a bit of the peak of the AI chaos," Robbins said. "One out of three times, during the initial exchanges, they would stop the meeting and say, 'Oh, we only invest in AI now. I don’t want to waste your time.' To the point that they wouldn’t even let me present." Others told him they only invested in AI after hearing the pitch.

Robbins then tried a new tactic. He adjusted his pitch and presentation to address AI right from the start. The revised pitch argued that if AI works, people will have more free time to play with friends at the bar or online — so his business would benefit — and if it doesn’t work, a non-AI-related bet starts to look like smart diversification. It was a hedge in either case.

"It was a small group of people who really took it seriously," he said about his pitch. ARK, fortunately, was part of that group. Once engaged, the lead investor made introductions to other VCs to help complete the round. All of this relied on solid business fundamentals, including "consistent year-over-year growth, not just a spike," he clarified.

The last lesson Robbins learned was that, especially for a non-AI-related company, VCs want to hear a big dream. Robbins had one: a total addressable market of anyone playing games of any type, from pickleball to Wordle. "So, our TAM is almost all Americans aged 18 to 70, right?" Robbins stated. Yet, he received a rejection from a VC that he printed and posted on the wall.

"I sent them our growth chart and our TAM, which was like crazy, with huge growth potential, billions of TAM. And the response was: 'The TAM is too small.' That was the response. As if our growth rate was too slow," he said. He noted that this served as a "reminder" to "think even bigger."

"I need to get into that mindset and really aim high if I want to raise venture capital," he added.