What San Francisco Unicorns does

San Francisco Unicorns is a privately held Major League Cricket (MLC) franchise and one of six charter members of the US professional T20 cricket league, founded in 2023 by Venky Harinarayan and Anand Rajaraman. The team is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with Los Altos listed as the registered city, and plays home matches at Oakland Coliseum, serving Bay Area cricket fans, the South Asian diaspora, and tech-oriented sports audiences.

The franchise generates revenue across four primary streams: match-day ticket sales at home venues, sponsorship and commercial rights (anchored by Qualys as front-of-shirt sponsor through 2027 and Persistent Systems as the 2026 Re(AI)magining Partner), broadcasting and streaming income via the league's deal with India's JioStar, and merchandise sales. The franchise's cost structure includes a $350,000 per-season cricket pitch installation at Oakland Coliseum and multi-million-dollar stadium rental fees, with an MLC-wide salary cap of $1.1 million per team.

Strategically, the Unicorns are positioned at the intersection of US cricket's commercial expansion and the Bay Area's tech ecosystem. The franchise's 2026 moves include signing Ravichandran Ashwin as the first Indian international in MLC history, extending the Qualys partnership, and launching an AI-and-data-analytics collaboration with Persistent Systems that includes the 'Persistent Coaches' Corner' content series. Operating with 1-10 employees, the franchise is sub-scale but benefits from league-wide investment exceeding $150 million and the approaching LA28 Olympics as a demand catalyst for professional cricket in the United States.

Name

San Francisco Unicorns

Legal name

San Francisco Unicorns

Website

https://sfunicorns.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

San Francisco Unicorns is a privately held Major League Cricket franchise founded in 2023, serving Bay Area cricket fans and the South Asian diaspora through T20 match entertainment, sponsorship partnerships, broadcasting, and merchandise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Sports Franchise

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211)

akta.pro primary industry

Cricket Leagues (MPAKAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Franchise Ownership Groups & Multi-Club Organizations (Multi-team owners, holding companies) (MPAKABAJ), Team Sports Matches (Club & National) (MPAGAMAB)

Keywords

• Professional cricket franchise
• T20 league matches
• Live sports entertainment
• Team merchandise sales
• Matchday ticketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Altos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Match Revenue: Revenue generated from ticket sales at home games played at Oakland Coliseum and other venues. The franchise hosts approximately 10+ home matches per season as part of the 34-match MLC tournament.
2. Sponsorship and Commercial Rights: Commercial partnerships including kit branding, in-stadium signage, and digital assets. Key partners include Persistent Systems (Re(AI)magining Partner) and Qualys (Major Partner through 2027).
3. Broadcasting Rights: Revenue from broadcast and streaming deals for MLC matches. The league secured expanded broadcast partnerships including a two-year deal with India's JioStar.
4. Merchandise Sales: Revenue from team merchandise including jerseys, apparel, and accessories sold to fans. Qualys partnership includes merchandise branding rights.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

San Francisco Unicorns operates a Major League Cricket (MLC) franchise that competes in the T20 cricket league, hosting home matches at the Oakland Coliseum. The franchise sells match tickets, team merchandise, and broadcast content, while generating commercial revenue from sponsorship deals such as those with Persistent Systems and Qualys.

Product overview

San Francisco Unicorns is a Major League Cricket franchise team, not a technology product company. The organization operates a cricket team that competes in the MLC T20 league, playing matches at venues including the Oakland Coliseum and Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. The franchise has strategic partnerships with technology companies (Persistent Systems for AI/data analytics, Qualys for sponsorship) but does not offer a software product, platform, or technology service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MLC Home Match Tickets Admissions to the San Francisco Unicorns' home fixtures during the Major League Cricket T20 season, hosted at Oakland Coliseum, aimed at local fans and visiting spectators.
• San Francisco Unicorns Team Merchandise Branded jerseys, apparel, and accessories sold to fans through the team's own storefront and sponsor channels, including co-branded merchandise with partners such as Qualys.
• Broadcast and Streaming Access Distribution of San Francisco Unicorns MLC matches to national and international cricket audiences via broadcast and streaming partners such as JioStar.

Quantifiable outcome

• Third place finish in 2025 MLC league stage with 7 wins from 10 matches
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Persistent SystemsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026Persistent Systems, a digital engineering and enterprise modernisation company, serves as the Official Re(AI)magining Partner for the 2026 Major League Cricket season. The partnership integrates AI and data analytics into the franchise's operations and fan engagement. Persistent gains brand visibility through on-field perimeter boards, team kit branding, and a branded content property called 'Persistent Coaches' Corner', while also exploring AI applications in cricket performance and fan engagement. The collaboration aligns with Persistent's strategy to expand AI-led capabilities in North America.
• QualyscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 9 March 2026Qualys, a Bay Area cybersecurity company, has extended its Major Partner status with San Francisco Unicorns through the 2026 and 2027 Major League Cricket seasons. The front-of-shirt sponsorship began in 2025, with Qualys receiving prominent branding across jerseys, merchandise, matchday advertising, and exclusive access to the team and coaches under the two-year agreement. Both organizations cite alignment toward fostering elite cricket and sport growth in the region as the foundation for the renewed partnership.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MI New York: Co-founding Major League Cricket franchise that competes in the same six-team MLC T20 tournament. Operates an identical business model — matchday revenue, sponsorships, broadcast rights, and merchandise — making it the most directly comparable peer.
• Washington Freedom: Co-founding MLC franchise playing in the same six-team US T20 league. Directly comparable on league economics, talent acquisition, sponsorship pipeline, and broadcast monetization.
• Los Angeles Knight Riders: Co-founding MLC franchise backed by the same Knight Riders group that owns the IPL's Kolkata Knight Riders. Competes in the same league with the same T20 match and sponsorship economics as the San Francisco Unicorns.
• Texas Super Kings: Co-founding MLC franchise affiliated with IPL's Chennai Super Kings. Operates the same T20 franchise model with identical league revenue and sponsorship mechanics as the Unicorns.
• Seattle Orcas: Co-founding MLC franchise and direct league peer, sharing the same six-team league structure, salary cap, broadcast deal, and franchise economics as the San Francisco Unicorns.

Broad incumbents

• Kolkata Knight Riders (IPL): Co-owner of MLC's LA Knight Riders and one of the most valuable IPL franchises globally. Relevant as a benchmark for cross-border franchise branding and the multi-league commercial model the Unicorns operate within.
• Chennai Super Kings (IPL): IPL powerhouse and parent brand of MLC's Texas Super Kings. Comparable as a benchmark T20 franchise with established sponsor, merchandise, and broadcast economics that inform valuation of emerging franchises like the Unicorns.
• Mumbai Indians (IPL): Flagship IPL franchise and parent brand of MLC's MI New York. Sets the global benchmark for T20 franchise economics, sponsorship valuations, and brand-led fan engagement that the Unicorns and other MLC teams are emulating.

Others

• San Francisco Giants: Bay Area incumbent MLB franchise competing with the Unicorns for the same regional sponsorship dollars, broadcast carriage, and live-entertainment share of wallet. Useful as a benchmark for local-market sponsorship pricing rather than direct competition.

Emerging players

• Trinbago Knight Riders (CPL): Caribbean Premier League franchise under the same Knight Riders group as LA Knight Riders. Comparable as an emerging T20 franchise in a non-traditional cricket market, mirroring the Unicorns' positioning in the US.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SFOUnicorns
• Facebookfacebook.com/SFUnicorns
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/san-francisco-unicorns

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about San Francisco Unicorns