The Raine Group

The Raine Group — Investment Research Overview The Raine Group is an integrated merchant bank and investment manager with approximately $2.8 billion in assets under management. Founded by former Goldman Sachs and UBS investment banking executives, Raine operates across two core business lines: (1) a premier M&A and strategic advisory practice focused on the sports, content, music, and gaming sectors; and (2) a principal investment business with dedicated growth equity, venture capital, and gaming fund strategies. Headquartered in New York, Raine has offices in Los Angeles, London, San Francisco, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, and Barcelona. Investment Thesis Raine's investment thesis centers on the intersection of media, technology, and entertainment — specifically the four verticals of Sports , Content , Music , and Gaming — with cross-sector capabilities in Advertising, Brands & Commerce, and Technology. The firm believes these sectors will continue to benefit from globalization and secular technology shifts, creating compounding growth opportunities for companies that sit at their intersections. Raine manages three distinct investment strategies: Gaming Fund : Dedicated early-to-growth stage investments in gaming, esports, and interactive entertainment Growth Equity : Later-stage capital for scaling media and entertainment businesses Raine Ventures : Early-stage venture capital across all four core verticals, led by Managing Partner Gordon Rubenstein Stage Focus Raine invests across multiple stages: Venture Capital (Raine Ventures) : Seed, Series A, and Series B — Gordon Rubenstein leads this arm, backed by his background founding Pacific Partners (a VC backed by George Soros and Sam Zell) and operating experience co-founding Astro Gaming (acquired by Logitech) and Accel Entertainment (Nasdaq: ACEL). Growth Equity : Series C and beyond, for companies with demonstrated traction that need strategic capital to scale globally. Gaming Fund : All stages within gaming, including early-stage startups and established studios. Check Size Raine's check sizes vary significantly by strategy: Raine Ventures : Typically $1M–$15M for early-stage investments Growth Equity : $15M–$100M+ for later-stage companies Gaming Fund : $5M–$50M depending on stage Recent reference data points: Midnite ($35M Series C, led by Raine, Jan 2026), Cypher Games ($30M Series A, led by Raine, Oct 2025). Lead Tendency Raine consistently leads investment rounds. They led Midnite's $35M Series C (Jan 2026), Cypher Games' $30M Series A (Oct 2025 — co-led with Play Ventures), and Kohort's fundraising round (Jun 2025). The firm uses its advisory network and industry expertise to add unique value as the lead investor. Recent Activity (2025–2026) Raine has been actively deploying across all three strategies: Investments: Jan 2026: Led Midnite's $35M Series C (esports/gaming platform) Oct 2025: Led Cypher Games' $30M Series A (gaming) Jun 2025: Led Kohort's fundraising round (consumer/gaming) Notable Portfolio Milestones: Jul 2025: Olo acquired by Thoma Bravo — a major exit for Raine from their restaurant tech investment May 2025: Portfolio company Tripledot Studios acquired AppLovin's entire mobile games business for $800M+, advised by Raine Advisory Highlights (demonstrating sector expertise): 2025: Exclusive advisor to Legendary Entertainment on its $150M strategic investment from Japan's TBS 2025: Lead advisor to Tripledot Studios on its acquisition of AppLovin's mobile gaming business 2025: Exclusive advisor to Premier Lacrosse League on ESPN's minority investment 2024: Financial advisor to Skydance and investor group on the $28B merger with Paramount Global 2024: Exclusive advisor to Manchester United on ~$1.65B minority investment from Sir Jim Ratcliffe 2024: Exclusive advisor to Chord Music Partners on its $1.85B sale Portfolio Highlights Raine has invested in 100+ companies across sports, content, music, and gaming. Notable portfolio companies include: Gaming: Midnite — Esports betting/prediction platform (active, Series C) Cypher Games — Social/casual gaming (active, Series A) DraftKings — Digital sports entertainment and daily fantasy (NASDAQ: DKNG, major exit/still active) Tripledot Studios — Mobile gaming studio ('Woodoku' creator; acquired AppLovin's mobile games business) Mythical Games — Blockchain-enabled gaming Carry 1st — Africa's leading full-stack mobile games publisher Voldex — Gaming studio Nex — Gaming platform Zebedee — Bitcoin-integrated gaming infrastructure Buildbox — Low-code/no-code mobile game development engine Dorian — Women-first game platform Fliff — Sports gaming/social wagering Jagex — MMORPG studio (RuneScape creator) Content & Media: Propagate — Content production company (Joe Ravitch on board) Candle Media — Creator-driven digital entertainment (Joe Ravitch on board) Imagine Entertainment — Film and TV production (Joe Ravitch on board) Tastemade — Food and travel digital media network (Gordon Rubenstein on board) Moonbug — Children's digital entertainment (Blippi, CoComelon) Mediawan — European content production Televisa — Mexican broadcasting giant SoundCloud — Global audio streaming platform Wattpad — Storytelling platform Cheddar — Millennial-focused news network Music: Duetti — Music-tech financial services for independent music creators ($200M fund) Amuse — Mobile record company / artist distribution platform Music Infra — Music technology infrastructure startup Sports: PLL (Premier Lacrosse League) — US professional lacrosse league (ESPN deal) EASL — Men's pan-Asian basketball league DUPR — Global pickleball rating and technology platform Castore — Premium performance sportswear brand Technology & Other: Foursquare — Location intelligence and data VideoAmp — Media measurement and analytics Yieldstreet — Alternative investment platform Material Bank — Design materials sample marketplace (Gordon Rubenstein on board) Chalo — Bus ticketing and transportation management platform (India) Antenna — Video subscription analytics platform Bedrock Robotics — Autonomous systems for heavy construction equipment Team Co-Founders & Senior Partners: Joe Ravitch (Partner & Co-Founder, Los Angeles): Former Goldman Sachs senior partner with 16+ years covering sports, media, and TMT. Created the Yes Network, advised on MGM sale and NBA China spinoff. Board of Propagate, Imagine, and Candle Media. Jeff Sine (Partner & Co-Founder, New York): Former Vice Chairman and Global Head of TMT Investment Banking at UBS; prior Global Head of Media Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley. Brandon Gardner (Partner, Co-Founder & President) John Salter (Partner & Co-Founder) Deborah Mei (Partner & Co-Founder) Raine Ventures Leadership: Gordon Rubenstein (Managing Partner, Raine Ventures, San Francisco): Joined Raine in 2013. Previously founded Pacific Partners VC (backed by Soros, Sam Zell, KKR, Silver Lake, Freeman Spogli). Co-founded Astro Gaming (acquired by Logitech), Rave Digital Media (acquired by AMC Entertainment), Accel Entertainment (Nasdaq: ACEL). Boards: Happn, Tastemade, Antenna, Rock The Bells, Accel Entertainment, Material Bank. Aditya Harnal — Venture Capital Partner, Raine Ventures Landon Baker — Principal, Raine Ventures Other Key Partners: Fred Davis, Christopher Donini, Garrett Gomes, Erik Hodge, Anthony Kontoleon (joined Feb 2026), Colin Neville, Joe Puthenveetil (Co-Head EMEA), Todd Rosoff, Jason Schretter (Co-Head EMEA), Quincy Smith, Jake Vachal, Brett Varsov, Sherri Williams, Kevin Linker. Geographic Focus Global, with particular strength in: United States (primary, offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco) Europe (offices in London, Barcelona; co-heads for EMEA) Asia (offices in Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore) Africa (portfolio companies like Carry 1st; portfolio company in gaming) Investments span all geographies, reflecting a truly global platform. Decision Process Raine uses an investment committee process. With 18+ Partners and specialized sector teams across gaming, content, music, and sports, major investment decisions involve relevant sector partners. The large team structure allows for deep diligence and portfolio company support. Advisory vs. Investment Integration A key Raine differentiator is the integration of advisory and investment. The firm leverages advisory relationships to source deal flow and exits, while using investment stakes to deepen advisory mandates. This has produced significant returns: advising on the Paramount/Skydance merger ($28B), Manchester United's recapitalization ($1.65B minority), and multiple marquee sports transactions. Founder Preferences Raine backs founders and operators with deep domain expertise in their four core verticals. They value founders who can leverage Raine's global network and sector relationships to accelerate growth. Given their advisory business, they add particular value for companies that may be seeking M&A, strategic partnerships, or capital raises down the line. Anti-Thesis Raine avoids companies outside their sector focus (Sports, Content, Music, Gaming and their adjacencies). They are not a generalist fund and will not invest in deep tech, healthcare, fintech, or enterprise SaaS unless it directly serves their verticals.