Karate
9 known investors
Karate Combat is a full-contact striking league that combines live-action Karate with CGI environments built on Epic Games' Unreal engine, featuring elite black belts competing across eight weight divisions. Its events are streamed and broadcast to over 100 countries.
Also known as Karate Combat Β· KC Β· Sensei Ltd
Investors Β· 9
Also in the syndicate Β· 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Karate Combat is a live-action, full-contact martial arts sports league that stages professional karate bouts inside immersive CGI environments rendered with Epic Games' Unreal gaming and virtual production engine. Olympic medalists, national champions and other black belts compete across eight weight divisions for a Karate Combat World Championship, with title holders across divisions including welterweight, lightweight, bantamweight, middleweight, heavyweight, women's bantamweight and women's strawweight. The league says its live broadcasts marked the first time a sports league blended extensive real-time virtual effects with real-life athletics.
Alongside the league, Karate Combat operates a consumer mobile application (iOS and Android) built around the $KARATE token and "Up Only Gaming," in which fans vote on fighters ahead of events, accumulate tokens when their picks win, and climb leaderboards without staking losses. The company describes itself as the first sports league structured as a decentralized autonomous organization, with token holders able to use smart contracts, web and mobile apps to vote on fighters, earn additional tokens and boost fighters' potential prize pools above contracted pay. Karate Combat has also launched a Layer 2 blockchain called UP, which has been extended to other leagues including the A7FL and the Underground Bowling Association.
Corporate structure spans multiple offshore entities: site notices reference Sensei Ltd, a Seychelles international business company (registration number 233778), while the league states it is owned by the Sensei Foundation, a Cayman Islands foundation company, described in one release as a subsidiary of Sensei Foundation BVI, a trust established in the British Virgin Islands.
Founding story
Robert Bryan co-founded Karate Combat after a career investing in public and private markets, including founding Metaval Capital and founding and serving as interim CEO of medical-device cybersecurity firm MedSec; he previously worked at Cyrus Capital, Magnetar Capital and BHR Capital and began his career at Goldman Sachs.
Business model
The league produces and distributes its own combat-sports events, which are streamed and broadcast internationally through third-party distributors, and monetizes fan engagement through a free-to-play token application and event sponsorship (for example, Origin sponsoring the main prize pool at KC 54 in Dubai).
Sources describe broadcast and streaming distribution across more than 100 countries, event sponsorship of prize pools, and a $KARATE token ecosystem tied to the Up Only Gaming app; specific revenue lines are not detailed.
Traction
As of the April 2023 funding announcement, the league reported 4.5 million followers, 10 million views per event, broadcast in over 100 countries, and approximately 100 full-time exclusive fighters, including world champions such as Rafael Aghayev, Raymond Daniels, Luiz Rocha and Ross Levine, with UFC Hall of Famer Bas Rutten as lead announcer.
Latest developments
Karate Combat's UP Layer 2 blockchain added the A7FL as a new league, with Up Only Gaming available on the Season 11 Championship game starting June 20, and a second UP Layer 2 showcase covering nine Underground Bowling Association matches beginning April 19. The league also announced KC 62 at its Bonk Studios venue in Miami, Florida, headlined by Sam Alvey versus Uriah Hall.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Positions itself as the world's premier full-contact striking league and the first sports league structured as a decentralized autonomous organization; press materials cite over one billion impressions from worldwide press mentions.
Combination of real full-contact karate with real-time virtual effects and a fan-governance token model, described by an investor as 'videogames meet MMA', with fan voting that can increase fighter prize pools beyond contracted pay.
Technology
Live bouts are composited into CGI environments using Epic Games' Unreal gaming and virtual production engine and XR technology. The league also runs UP, a Layer 2 blockchain, and the $KARATE token with smart contracts, web apps and mobile apps for fan voting, rewards and governance.
Go-to-market
Distribution is via international broadcast and streaming partners including Eurosport, Globo's Combate, MatchTV, BeIN Sports, CBS Sports and ESPN Deportes, supported by social following, a mobile app, a Discord community, and named league ambassadors such as Bas Rutten, Georges St-Pierre, Lyoto Machida and Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson.
Combat-sports viewers, particularly younger fans, plus crypto-oriented users who participate in token-based prediction and governance through the app.
Geography
Broadcast and streamed to over 100 countries. A funding release was issued from Road Town, British Virgin Islands and one report placed the company in New York; events referenced include KC 54 in Dubai and KC 62 at Bonk Studios in Miami, Florida. Corporate entities are registered in the Seychelles, Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands.
History
Founded in 2018, Karate Combat built a full-contact striking league broadcast internationally. In April 2023 it raised $18 million led by BITKRAFT Ventures to support the May 10, 2023 launch of the Karate Combat Up Only Gaming App and $KARATE token. It subsequently launched the UP Layer 2 blockchain and extended Up Only Gaming to other leagues, and has continued to stage numbered events including KC 54 in Dubai and KC 62 in Miami.
Compiled by commissioned research from 12 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Timeline Β· 15
launches, deals, and filingsKC 62 featured Sam Alvey versus Uriah Hall and Assli versus Martins, marking the opening of Karate Combat's Bonk Studios in Miami, Florida.
The A7FL was added to Karate Combat's Layer 2 blockchain UP, with Up Only Gaming available on the Season 11 Championship game starting June 20.
Karate Combat fans could play Up Only Gaming on nine Underground Bowling Association matches beginning Saturday April 19 at 10AM ET, in the second UP Layer 2 showcase.
Origin, described as the premier launchpad on Hedera, sponsored the main prize pool for Karate Combat's KC 54 event in Dubai and raffled 15 million $KARATE tokens.
The league integrated blockchain technology via its Layer 2 network UP and launched Up Only Gaming for token-based fan interaction and gamified, risk-free predictions on fight outcomes.
The league amended its ruleset to permit 12-to-6 elbows as part of rule evolutions in 2024-2025.
Karate Combat announced in January 2024 that it would stage professional grappling matches in the pit ahead of karate fights under the Pit Submission Series name; the first bout took place on January 26, 2024.
The company announced a May 10 launch of its Up Only Gaming mobile app and $KARATE token, letting fans collect free tokens, vote on fighters, and boost fighter prize pools.
The company scheduled the launch of its Up Only Gaming app and the $KARATE governance token, allowing fans to collect free tokens, vote on fighters, earn tokens without risk of loss and boost fighter prize pools.
Karate Combat announced an $18 million funding round led by BITKRAFT Ventures with participation from Delphi Digital, The Operating Group, Alpha Wave Global, Hashkey, Lattice, M13, Santiago R Santos, RookieXBT and others; prior investors included the league's founders, Not Boring Capital and Keyboard Monkey. Proceeds were earmarked for the May 10 launch of the Karate Combat App and $KARATE token.
$18M source β
The league announced it would become a DAO in which stakeholders have a say in how the organization is run.
The league struck new domestic broadcast deals and an expanded deal with pan-European broadcaster Eurosport.
beIN SPORTS acquired rights to Karate Combat and broadcasts its seasons in 37 countries.
The league's first event was held in Miami Beach, Florida, establishing seasonal formats, multi-fight cards and championship pathways.
Karate Combat was founded in 2018 as a full-contact striking league blending live-action karate with CGI environments powered by Epic Games' Unreal Engine.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
βΈResearch sources Β· 12
primary sources listed
- Karatekarate.com Β· web
12 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Karate do?
- Karate Combat is a full-contact striking league that blends live-action karate with CGI environments and a fan-governed token app.
- Who are Karate's investors?
- Karate's investors include Alpha Wave Global, Bitkraft Esports Ventures, Lattice Capital, BITKRAFT Ventures, Cypher Capital, M13, Not Boring Capital.