Voxbet, the creator of innovative software that allows customers to speak or type their bets, has secured strategic funding from a powerhouse group of international investors, led by Matt Davey and Tom Waterhouse.

This key investment arrives courtesy of Davey’s leading investment vehicle, Tekkorp Capital, alongside Waterhouse’s investment fund, Waterhouse VC.

Tekkorp Capital also leverages the expertise and experience of two senior former Fox Bet and William Hill executives in Robin Chhabra and Andy Clerkson.Voxbet is a technology company that enables sports bettors to speak or type what they want from a sportsbook, whether that’s a bet, a market or a tip.

This journey reflects what customers are already accustomed to everywhere else online. Consequently, this financial validation from some of the sector’s most prescient players lights a fire under Voxbet’s goal to transform the user experience for sports bettors of every generation and territory.

The fresh financing will be used to drive Voxbet’s growth internationally, supporting the rapid development of its proprietary natural-language technology, across both voice and text services, and bolstering its product roadmap over the coming 12 months.Davey is recognised as one of the industry’s most astute investors and dealmakers, having overseen more than ten mergers and acquisitions.

Previously, he was CEO of SG Digital, the digital division of Scientific Games Corp. following a $631m purchase in 2018 by Scientific Games of NYX Gaming Group Ltd, where Davey also previously served as CEO. More recently, Davey’s SPAC, Tekkorp Digital, announced its $250m initial public offering last October, with a view to pinpointing a high-growth betting and gaming company with which to merge.Chhabra and Clerkson have also been in the vanguard of corporate-acquisition activity within the digital gaming landscape for over a decade, defining progressive pathways around corporate strategy, M&A, and scale-up success stories.

Waterhouse founded Waterhouse VC in August 2019 to leverage the advantages of his past 20+ years of industry experience. The fund has an outstanding team of investment expertise, as well as in-house technical talent with past operational experience in the industry.

The fund invests globally across publicly listed and private gaming and wagering businesses, with a particular focus on B2B suppliers to operators. The team profiles businesses that are agile enough to get to the top of operators’ product pipelines.Accordingly, this consequential consortium combines for a peerless track record in building, investing and stewarding innovative digital companies to greater scale and dominant positions in the ever-evolving global gaming ecosystem.

Matt Davey, CEO at Tekkorp Capital, commented: “At Tekkorp Capital, we provide a natural habitat for transformative, high-growth igaming businesses. We’ve observed Voxbet’s impressive development, but have been particularly impressed with their recent strides in the field of speech recognition and natural-language processing, which afford them a material head start in this rapidly evolving industry. I expect they will continue to improve and consolidate their existing product offering for geographical expansion. These transformative steps cohere with our own vision around the catalytic power of tech in digital sports betting.”

Tom Waterhouse, CIO of Waterhouse VC, said: “The Waterhouse VC Fund aims to generate capital growth by holding long-term strategic investments in companies that can truly shape the future of the sports betting industry. Voxbet’s technology immediately improves and delivers a step change in the UX for international customers, so their credentials leapt off the page.”

Jonathan Power, Founder of Voxbet, added: “We’re thrilled to be joined on our journey by such excellent company. In leveraging their collective understanding and expertise, alongside an extensive network of long-standing relationships, Voxbet is instantly better-placed to strategically identify and execute on our next important steps. The team’s members have been involved in some of the most defining and instructive transactions in the sector, invariably creating significant shareholder value in the process. Naturally, they bring invaluable advisory acumen beyond their respective investments.”