Bluestone Equity Partners has invested $20 million in Qloo, the cultural AI company backed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Elton John.
The deal closed last week. Prior to Bluestone’s investment, Qloo had raised $57 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. Investors include AI Ventures, AXA Venture Partners, and DiCaprio and John. Qloo’s valuation was not disclosed, while its clients include Netflix, Starbucks, Universal Music Group, and Michelin.
Founded in 2012, Qloo uses a database of more than 575 million touchpoints, plus a second database of 10 trillion consumer signals, to predict the sentiment and tastes of consumers around the world. The number of employees, excluding TasteDive, is more than 50, said Alex Elias, Qloo’s co-founder and CEO.
Bluestone’s $20 million investment is the second time this year that Qloo has raised money. The New York-based company raised $25 million in February. “We are in a strong position from a balance sheet perspective, and that allows us to consider opportunistic M&A,” Elias said. Fortune. In 2019, Qloo acquired TasteDive, a cultural recommendation engine.
Qloo plans to use some of the funding to launch a less technical, self-service interface early in the third quarter, Elias said. Qloo also plans to expand into new markets, with plans to “grow conservatively in sports and live events,” Elias noted. Sports teams can use Qloo to drive more ticket sales, identify people who are likely to be interested in their events and increase merchandise sales, he said. “All the value that could come from a much more nuanced understanding of fan tastes and preferences.” Ticketmaster is currently a customer, and Qloo plans to announce a major sports team as a customer soon, he said.
Qloo’s strategy fits perfectly with that of Bluestone, a private equity firm that targets transactions in the sports, media and entertainment sectors.
Bluestone was founded in 2023 by Bobby Sharma, a well-known sports executive who is a former vice president and general counsel of the NBA’s developmental league, aka the G League. He is also a former senior vice president, global head of basketball and strategic initiatives at IMG, the sports, fashion and media company owned by Endeavor.
Companies can use Qloo to gain efficiencies. For example, Epic Pictures used Qloo to decide where to distribute niche films based on taste factors. Equinox, the gym franchise, wanted to expand into hospitality and used Qloo to understand the local market and select restaurant partnerships. Qloo can also discern the musical preferences of Yankees fans who drink a certain type of beer, Sharma said. That information would help the Yankees advertise home games with that particular music, or provide targeted ads related to the music, or sponsor a music festival for that genre, Sharma said.
Qloo’s technology provides “a more detailed profile of a consumer so you have a more accurate understanding of where to find them from a marketing perspective,” Sharma said. Fortune.
Qloo is the fourth investment from Bluestone’s first fund, which raised $300 million in February 2023. The fund is more than a third invested. Bluestone is expected to close its second fund later this year, a person familiar with the firm noted. Bluestone has been busy in its brief 16-month existence. The firm has reviewed more than 800 deals, signed letters of intent with 12 companies and made investments in four of them, including Qloo, Sharma said.
Bluestone holds a minority stake in Qloo, Elias said. “They’ve been great partners, even before the investment… We almost see them as an extension of the team at this point.”
