A Tyneside tech firm launched by motorsports fans who met in a bar queue has been sold to a US group in a multimillion-pound deal.
Grid Finder had been a hobby project, launched by founder Tom Stapley-Bunten in late 2020, designed to help online racing gamers find communities to race with across Playstation, XBOX and PC on games such as F1, Gran Turismo and Forza. His plans stepped up a gear when he met his co-founder Nikhil Patel at a tech networking event put on by Ignite at By The River Brew Co in Gateshead.
At the same social event they got talking to angel investor Kevin Beales – and soon after Mr Beales went on to lead Grid Finder’s pre-seed investment round of £200,000 in April 2022. Now, just 19 months after first receiving local angel investment, Grid Finder has been acquired by US-based motorsports group, RAFA Racing Club in a transaction understood to be worth several millions of pounds, in a majority cash deal.
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Tom Stapley-Bunten, CEO, said: “Becoming part of the RAFA family of brands opens up huge opportunities for the team and the platform. Grid Finder now has the resources and supported vision to provide immense value to the online racing space. I’m incredibly proud of our entirely self-taught team for building something with so much potential in such a nascent market. With RAFA Racing’s passion, vision and resources, we’ll be able to scale our product to serve a global community of racing fans.
“I am so grateful for the tech and start up support eco system that is being championed in the North East of England. It’s been great to feel part of a growing movement of creative thinkers in Newcastle and I’m so glad that we’re able to continue to hire from our local talent pool.”
Grid Finder spent much of 2022 working in its community management platform before opening a £1.5m seed round, receiving £425,000 from Creative 海角视频 and RAFA Racing Club’s venture arm, Maximo Capital, using the cash to take on six staff.
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Since then, the platform has grown to host over 3,000 racing communities with over 500,000 drivers using the platform to find online racing.
The firm’s new owner RAFA Racing Club is building a network of venues, content and experiences for motorsports and sports car fans around the world, and Grid Finder will play a pivotal role in building tech capability across the RAFA family of brands.
The Grid Finder team plans to scale the platform throughout 2024, providing more tools for its users, with the team saying they all plan to stay with the business for the foreseeable future and continue to be based in Newcastle whilst they grow the team and build the platform.
Rafael Martinez, principal, Maximo Capital & RAFA Family of Brands, said: “It is an exciting time for our young but rapidly expanding company as we look to do our part in creating a world and community in motorsports where everybody belongs and everybody wins. Bringing Grid Finder onto our platform not only takes our ability to make massive strides towards that mission but it also cements our position in the tech space where we see a massive growth potential for our RAFA family of brands.”
Kevin Beales said: “I am thrilled to see Grid Finder have the opportunity to achieve their tremendous potential, as part of the RAFA family of brands. Tom, Nikhil and the team have established Grid Finder as one of the North East’s most innovative and exciting start up and it’s been a privilege to share their journey so far. But most of all, it’s incredible news that they can accelerate their growth here in the region, and be an inspiration to tech start ups across the region.”
Jo York, CEO, Ignite, added: “It’s been a pleasure working with Tom and Nikhil over the pre-accelerator and accelerator programmes. Their progress has been incredible - from working as a new team on day one of our 2022 Pre-Accelerator, to now completing a seven-figure exit. From the first day of the pre-accelerator, Tom and Nikhil reacted really well to being challenged, pivoting their idea in response to new customer insights. They absorbed all the content and made the most out of every opportunity put in front of them. It’s wonderful to see Tom and Nikhil now supporting and mentoring other founders now, as they have become invaluable members of the North East tech community.”