Patrick Mahomes and Michael Jordan, the two pioneers of their respective fields, understand the value of investing. After all, the only way of shielding oneself from any upcoming economic downtrend is by recognizing which businesses have the potential of exponential growth, and then investing in them. Going by the same philosophy, back in 2021, Mahomes, Jordan, and a bunch of other celebrities had invested in Buzzer, a mobile-focussed sports streaming platform.
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Without a doubt, the sports streaming market has grown massively in the last few years and with heaps of people adopting the digital way of life, chances of growth in this field are immense. Hence, Buzzer was able to generate a whopping $20 Million in funding in 2021 from stars like Patrick Mahomes, Michael Jordan, Naomi Osaka, DeAndre Hopkins and a host of other athletes and celebrities. However, a little while ago, the company decided to shut down it’s mobile application.
Jordan, Mahomes-backed Buzzer is shifting its gameplay
Founded by a former Twitter employee named Bo Han, Buzzer succeeded in signing deals with top leagues like the NFL, NHL, NBA, and even ATP, in order to provide clips of live games and other personalized features to the users. The whole idea behind Buzzer is so impressive that after securing funding from the likes of Mahomes and Jordan in 2021, the company ended up raising another $20 a month ago.
Buzzer’s investors include Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, and Patrick Mahomes.
Funds tied to MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL and NHL team ownership groups also sit on the cap table, and could soon prove valuable in helping Buzzer enter a competitive enterprise market.
— ✏️Jacob Feldman (@JacobFeldman4) May 9, 2023
Tennis star Nick Kyrgios, Myles Garrett and Kevin Durant were among the new investors. As it turns out, in order to look out for new streams to generate revenue, Buzzer has taken a call to shut down its app. The company now aims to focus on providing tech to the teams, and to the networks that broadcast the sporting events.
Instead of restricting the tech built by Buzzer just to their app, founder Han aims at partnering with streaming services to broaden their horizons. “We truly believe that we can be a trusted partner for streaming services that really embrace curated, timely inputs for fans, especially young fans,” Han recently told Jacob Feldman of Sportico in an exclusive interaction.
Buzzer’s workforce has reduced drastically since 2021
Shifting focus from their own app in order to partner with the giants sounds like a lucrative idea, however, it also means that the company is doing away with several of its employees. Talking about the same, Han called the ‘app shutdown’ decision an emotional, yet necessary one to keep things going for the company.
“It’s a really emotional and difficult decision, particularly when it is tied to saying goodbye to such talented people,” Han claimed. As per Sportico, Buzzer had around 65 employees last year and now, the workforce has reduced to just 30. While some may think it is a matter of concern for investors like Mahomes and Jordan, Han is backing the new pivot in his gameplay with all his might and he sure has all the funds to pursue it.
As of now, there has been no update on exactly when the Buzzer app will shut down.
