Event Startup Fever Notches $35M

Event startup Fever announced it has raised $35 million in a funding round led by Rakuten Capital.

Atresmedia, Accel, and former chairman of U.S. investments for Alibaba Group Michael Zeisser, also participated in the round, which brings the company’s total raised to over $70 million, according to Venture Beat. Previous investors include Flickr CEO Bernardo Hernandez; Real Madrid professional footballers Sergio Ramos García and José María Gutiérrez Hernández; and three-time Grammy Award winner Alejandro Sanz.

Headquartered in London, Fever is a live event creation and discovery startup that features places, pop-ups and experiences in cities around the world, including New York, Los Angeles, London, Manchester, Paris, Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Seville, Valencia, Málaga and Ibiza.

CEO and Co-founder Ignacio Bachiller said the money will be used to drive the company’s research and development efforts and market expansion, as well as bring on additional engineers and data scientists.

“The investment comes at an important time for Fever as we expand our platform … and shape the experience landscape,” he said, according to Venture Beat. “The round will cement Fever’s position as the go-to platform for consumers looking to discover new urban experiences.”

Users can search by topic to find nearby events, or browse personalized recommendations based on their interests in categories such as theater, concerts, nightlife, DJs, movies, sports, fashion, wellness, cultural tours and games. They can then book or reserve their spot at the events directly through Fever.

The company reported that its revenue growth exceeded 100 percent year-over-year following an expansion to Paris, Los Angeles, Lisbon, and Manchester last year, and that its more than 10,000 event listings now reach more than 12 million people each week.

“We have been impressed by Fever’s growth and success in reaching large digital audiences in major cities such as New York, Madrid and London — and most importantly the quality and leadership of their young team,” said Rakuten Capital Managing Partner Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel. “Fever’s innovative solutions uniquely position the company to capitalize on the fast-growing experience economy and have proven very valuable to digital marketers. We are excited to be part of Fever’s journey and look forward to exploring synergies with Rakuten’s global ecosystem.”