London-based startup Dice gets $6m in Series A funding

London startup Dice, a music ticketing service which specifically targets millennials, has announced the closure of a $6m Series A funding round.

The round, led by Evolution Equity Partners, also drew support from existing investors White Star Capital, Designer Fund and Kima Ventures. Lumia Capital and several angel investors involved in the music industry also participated in the round.

Dice, which sources tickets directly from artists, will use the fund to expand across Europe and North America and to continue developing its tech platform.

“Dice is a long­-term focused business and we’re solving hard problems around ticketing. We’re removing the barriers for real fans who are fed up of high ticket fees and limited access to primary tickets. With Dice, we’ve built a platform where discovering new artists is easy since both our human curation and algorithms surface those most relevant to you. DICE is obsessed with design, simplicity, transparency and innovation,” said Phil Hutcheon,the founder and CEO.

The firm, which currently employs more than 40 people, is building machine learning algorithms to produce a customised list of recommended outings for its users.

JR Smith, partner at Evolution Equity Partners, spoke about the decision to invest in the startup: “We see Dice as a transformational platform that utilizes the power of big data, machine learning and mobile to improve user experience for live music discovery and ticket purchasing and Dice  is a disruptive force from a business model perspective. Evolution Equity Partners are extremely excited to back them.”