History of SeatGeek in Timeline

SeatGeek is a mobile-first ticketing platform that allows users to buy and sell tickets for live events, including sports, concerts, and theater. Initially an aggregator of secondary market listings, SeatGeek has evolved to become both a secondary marketplace and a primary ticket provider, directly partnering with sports teams and venues. This transition has positioned SeatGeek as a competitor to established players like Ticketmaster by selling tickets directly on behalf of teams and venues.

2007: FanSnap Founded

In 2007, FanSnap was founded as an online search engine for live event tickets, based in Palo Alto, California. It aggregated event-level ticket data from various providers.

2008: Historical Context

Prior to SeatGeek, in 2008 Microsoft purchased Farecast, an airline ticket aggregation and forecasting site, in a similar manner to SeatGeek's DealScore algorithm.

2009: SeatGeek Founded and Launched

In 2009, SeatGeek was founded by Russell D’Souza and Jack Groetzinger during their participation in the DreamIt Ventures startup accelerator program. In September 2009, the company officially launched at the TechCrunch50 conference, earning recognition from VentureBeat and CNET. The company also received $20,000 in seed funding from DreamIT Ventures in May of 2009.

2010: Seed and Series A Funding Rounds

In 2010, SeatGeek raised several rounds of seed and Series A financing to expand its platform. During this period, SeatGeek's co-founders, D’Souza and Groetzinger, were recognized as being among Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s “America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs”.

December 2011: FanSnap Acquired by NexTag

In December 2011, FanSnap was acquired by NexTag.

2011: Continued Financing and Recognition

In 2011, SeatGeek continued raising rounds of seed and Series A financing to expand its platform. The company also announced an investment from Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary’s A-Grade Investments. SeatGeek's co-founders, D’Souza and Groetzinger, were also featured in Business Insider’s “Silicon Alley 100: New York’s Coolest Tech People.”

November 2013: FanSnap Acquired by SeatGeek

In November 2013, FanSnap was acquired from Nextag/Wize Commerce by rival ticket search engine SeatGeek for an undisclosed sum. As part of the acquisition, the main FanSnap ticket search engine was discontinued and rolled into SeatGeek's existing ticket search offerings.

2013: Acquisition of FanSnap and Partnership with Telecharge

In 2013, SeatGeek acquired FanSnap, a competing ticket search engine, discontinuing the FanSnap search engine and integrating it into their existing platform. Later in 2013, SeatGeek announced a partnership with Telecharge, a Broadway ticketing service.

2015: Series C Funding Round

In 2015, SeatGeek secured a $62 million Series C funding round led by Technology Crossover Ventures, which facilitated its expansion and direct competition with StubHub as a resale ticket marketplace.

2016: Entry into Primary Ticketing and MLS Partnership

In 2016, SeatGeek entered the primary ticketing market and signed a league-wide agreement with Major League Soccer (MLS) to create an open ticketing network. As part of the deal in July 2016, SeatGeek became the official ticketing provider for Sporting Kansas City.

2017: Expansion of Primary Ticketing and Acquisition of Toptix

In 2017, SeatGeek expanded its primary ticketing business by partnering with Seattle Sounders FC and becoming the primary ticketing provider for the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans. SeatGeek also acquired Toptix, an Israeli ticketing software company, in 2017.

2018: Partnerships with NFL, Dallas Cowboys and Manchester City

In 2018, SeatGeek became a distribution partner of the National Football League (NFL) and replaced Ticketmaster as the primary box office partner of the Dallas Cowboys. That same year, SeatGeek reached a naming rights agreement with the Chicago Fire’s stadium, renamed SeatGeek Stadium. Premier League club Manchester City also selected SeatGeek as its exclusive ticketing provider in 2018.

2018: Fast Company Recognition

In 2018, SeatGeek was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies” in the live events category.

2019: Partnership with Lord's Cricket Ground

In 2019, SeatGeek was appointed the official ticketing partner of Lord's Cricket Ground in London, marking its entry into the cricket market.

2019: Fast Company Recognition

In 2019, SeatGeek was named one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies” in the live events category.

March 2020: Liverpool F.C. Partnership and COVID-19 Lawsuit

In March 2020, Liverpool F.C. announced a primary ticketing partnership with SeatGeek. The company also faced a class action lawsuit over refunds for events canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. Later in 2020, it introduced “SeatGeek Adapt,” a suite of products designed to support social distancing, timed entry, and mobile concessions ordering at reduced-capacity venues.

2021: Broadway Partnership, New Board Member, and Product Launches

In 2021, Jujamcyn Theaters selected SeatGeek as its primary ticketing provider, marking the company’s first Broadway partnership. Former Women's National Basketball Association president Laurel J. Richie joined its board of directors in 2021. SeatGeek launched “Rally,” an in-app platform and debuted “SeatGeek Swaps,” a feature allowing ticket holders to return tickets for credit up to 72 hours before an event, also in 2021.

2022: New Ticketing Partners and Fast Company Recognition

In 2022, SeatGeek added new primary ticketing partners, including the Washington Commanders and Baltimore Ravens of the NFL, the Utah Jazz of the NBA, and the Florida Panthers of the NHL. That year, the company was also named one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies” in the live events category for the third time.

2022: Series E Funding Round

In 2022, SeatGeek raised $238 million in a Series E funding round led by Accel, with participation from Wellington Management, Arctos Sports Partners, and Qualtrics founder Ryan Smith, valuing the company at about $1 billion, after terminating plans to go public through a SPAC merger.

January 2023: End of Barclays Center Partnership

In January 2023, Billboard reported that Brooklyn Sports Entertainment Global ended its partnership with SeatGeek after technical issues led to disappointing concert ticket sales. Ticketmaster resumed ticketing at Barclays Center starting that year. SeatGeek CEO Jack Groetzinger cited the decision as an example of Live Nation’s ability to pressure venues that partnered Ticketmaster competitors during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on ticketing competition in January 2023.

February 2023: New Partnerships with Paciolan and MLB

In February 2023, SeatGeek replaced StubHub as the official secondary marketplace for Paciolan. That same month, Major League Baseball named SeatGeek its official ticket marketplace, giving the company partnerships across all major North American sports leagues and again displacing StubHub.

May 2023: Named to Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces

In May 2023, SeatGeek was named to Inc. Magazine’s list of Best Workplaces for the second consecutive year.

February 2024: Launch of Next Fan Up

In February 2024, SeatGeek launched Next Fan Up, which included an AI-powered “Smart Pricing” tool designed to help fans list and resell tickets more easily.

October 2024: Better Business Bureau Rating

As of October 2024, the Better Business Bureau gave SeatGeek an “F” rating, with 1,866 consumer complaints filed against the company over the prior three years. At the same time, the company held a 4.5 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot based on more than 14,000 customer reviews.

2025: New Ticketing System and Championships Partnership

During 2025, Premier League club AFC Bournemouth announced it would transition to SeatGeek’s ticketing system beginning with the 2025–26 season.

2025: Product Launches in 2025

In 2025, SeatGeek launched Concourse Maps, a venue navigation tool within its Rally platform that allows fans to locate concessions, merchandise, and other amenities. Later that year, it released Beyond the Seat, a feature designed to enhance ticket listings with richer visuals and details of premium experiences.

2026: Ticketing Partnerships with USGA and Philadelphia Union

In 2026, the United States Golf Association selected SeatGeek as the official ticketing provider for its championships, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, and U.S. Senior Open. In Major League Soccer, the Philadelphia Union entered into a multi-year partnership that will make SeatGeek its official ticketing partner beginning in 2026.