Yahoo Acquires Alumni Startup Wagr

01 May 2023

Yahoo Acquires Alumni Startup Wagr

Re: Mario Malave (MBA 2020); Eliana Eskinazi (MBA 2020)

Topics: Sports-General Sales-eCommerce Business Ventures-Business Startups Business Ventures-Acquisition

Illustration by Drue Wagner

Last week, Yahoo announced that it had acquired the sports betting startup Wagr, which was cofounded by Mario Malave (MBA 2020) and Eliana Eskinazi (MBA 2020).

"Yahoo Sports offers us a stage to build products that will reach millions of loyal fans that have connected over fantasy sports for decades," Malavé said in the announcement. "The unique combination of Yahoo's scale and engagement creates opportunities for virtuous product loops between sports media and gaming. Joining Yahoo allows us to continue delivering on our mission to connect fandom to social gaming while elevating our ability to execute through expanded resources, new partnerships, and technological capabilities."

In a June 2022 Bulletin article, the cofounders shared that they began working on Wagr in the EC course Product Management with a mission to "reinvent sports betting as a fun, social, and inclusive experience for all sports fans, not just gamblers."

"We want to rewrite the narrative around sports betting to show the world it doesn't always have to be an ‘icky' or predatory experience," Malave told the Bulletin.