U2 guitarist The Edge is among the latest investors in Irish ticketing start-up Coras.
Ahead of the platform’s launch, due to take place in late 2017, private equity firm Atlantic Bridge led a $1.9m funding round, with The Edge being one of several participants, alongside Hambro Perks and Elkstone Capital.
The Dublin-based company, which sees itself as a disruptor in the ticket sector, said that through its API integration, customers will be able to purchase relevant inventory through third-party websites.
Coras’ chief executive, Mark McLaughlin, said: “We’re very happy to have Atlantic Bridge lead this investment, combined with all the other investors that participated in the round. Their experience in launching and scaling global technology companies will prove invaluable to Coras.
“We believe that ticketing will no longer solely be the domain of traditional ticket agents, but will broaden to encompass other market leading brands, and we are looking forward to driving that transformation. If you’re a supplier such as a theatre, promoter, museum or sports team that wants to sell tickets through an increased distribution network or a distributor that wants to sell tickets with your core product or service, please get in touch as we would be excited to work with you.”
Coras has already secured its first ticket inventory partners, including Nimax Theatres and Ambassador Group. The company says it wants to move the industry away from a static distribution model, where customers are forced to go to a limited number of websites, to a responsive model to “match consumers’ changing lifestyles.”
Chris Horn at Atlantic Bridge said: “Atlantic Bridge is delighted to welcome Coras to our growing portfolio of early-stage companies in the University Fund. The company strongly represents the commercial strength of world-class academic research undertaken in Ireland, and illustrates how the University Bridge Fund can accelerate the global growth of such opportunities.”