You don't need to be an AI startup to raise investment: The case of Lucra
Nowadays, adding the "AI" acronym to a startup pitch has become a prerequisite for raising capital. However, Lucra managed to secure a $20 million investment from Cathie Wood's ARK Invest without putting those two letters at the center of its pitch. This is reported by Techcrunch.com reports .
Lucra is a white-label platform that turns friendly competitions into loyalty programs for brands like golf courses, arcades, and pickleball clubs. Specializing in customer engagement through e-sports and gamification, this project captured the attention of major investors even without the AI trend.
On TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Julie Bort and Lucra founder and CEO Dylan Robbins discussed the secrets of this success. Notably, ARK Invest placed its trust in Lucra despite having previously experienced a failure with another company in the same sector.
This situation shows that in the technology market, it is not only AI projects that are relevant, but also other areas that generate real revenue and have a clear business model. You can follow new episodes of the Equity podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
