ARK Invest Venture Fund, led by founder Cathie Woods, has made its inaugural lead investment in an early-stage startup, Lucra. Woods expressed enthusiasm for the investment during a recent TechCrunch interview. Lucra has created a software platform that transforms corporate loyalty programs into interactive, eSports-like events, such as tournaments where customers can compete, bet, or win cash and giveaways. Clients include Five Iron Golf, Chess Kings, and Dave & Busters. Lucra recently raised a $20 million Series B, with ARK Fund as the lead investor and contributions from Alumni Ventures, Astralis Capital, Harlo Equity Partners, Simplex Ventures, SeventySix Capital, and WTI.
Despite never leading a startup deal before, ARK Invest Venture Fund is an SEC-regulated interval fund, allowing investments from as little as $500, although shares are not publicly traded and only sold on specific quarterly dates. Woods mentioned Nick Grous, the fund’s director of research, as a challenging person to impress with potential deals, due to past experiences like the troubled investment in Skillz. Unlike Skillz, Lucra operates as a B2B platform, providing interactive eSports loyalty programs.
ARK had previously participated in Lucra’s Series A, becoming familiar with CEO Dylan Robbins and the company’s model. Robbins faced intense scrutiny from Grous and ARK’s investment committee, yet his thorough understanding and resilience impressed them, alongside the company’s strong financial outlook and ARK’s familiarity with the sports-betting and gamification space. ARK holds shares in several companies, including Epic Games and Discord, and is actively involved in AI investments while seeking opportunities in potentially overlooked areas.