Sleeper is leading a new wave of fantasy sports apps focused on building personal connections and community engagement. Originally launched in 2015 as a platform for fantasy football, Sleeper now hosts over 3 million active users across leagues for football, basketball, esports, and college brackets. The app stands out for its intuitive interface and social features like in-app messaging and chatrooms that facilitate trash talk and camaraderie.
Sleeper was founded by engineers Ken Wang, Weixi Yen, Henry Leung, and private equity investor, Nan Wang. The founders' backgrounds in building scalable consumer products helped Sleeper gain quick traction. Within three years, Sleeper became the fastest organically growing fantasy sports platform in the U.S. It also ranks in the top 50 in user retention across all apps, with people spending 20-40 minutes daily interacting in leagues. Sleeper has raised $40 million to-date from top investors like Andreessen Horowitz and prominent athletes such as NBA stars Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant.
The company now has over 80 employees and plans to expand into more sports while enabling features like in-app payments. While mega-platforms like ESPN and Yahoo dominate the fantasy landscape, Sleeper's social focus provides a unique value proposition. However, user-generated content comes with risks like moderation that Sleeper will need to navigate as it scales. Joining Sleeper's small but rapidly growing team gives prospective employees the chance to have an outsized impact on a sports community poised to reshape how fans connect through their shared passion.
2015
Founded
50-100
Employees
Series C
Stage
$400M
Latest Valuation
$50-100M
Total Funding
Sep 16 2021
Last Fundraise
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