Bilt announced its acquisition of LAVA, a technology platform for sports and entertainment loyalty, on November 2, 2026, in a transaction valued at $300 million. The details come from Bilt's release.
What LAVA Does
LAVA builds technology that lets sports teams and entertainment venues recognize customers, deliver personalized benefits, manage loyalty programs and run real-time experiences across their existing systems. Bilt says the platform has more than 300 technology adapters. They span point-of-sale, identity, loyalty, ticketing, payments and other business systems.
The deal brings LAVA's relationships with 56 professional sports franchises across the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS into Bilt. The release names the Detroit Lions, Denver Nuggets, Carolina Hurricanes and LAFC among them.
What Bilt Says It Wants
Bilt describes the deal as a step beyond housing. Bilt says it connects more than 7 million members across residential communities with more than 50,000 merchant partners. Its founder and CEO, Ankur Jain, said "some of the most powerful communities in America are built around something else entirely: the teams we love."
LAVA also has what it calls Realtime AI technology. Bilt plans to combine its own AI agents with LAVA's real-time engagement technology to help coordinate personalized benefits and offers across businesses.
What Comes Next
Bilt says LAVA's capabilities are expected to be integrated into Bilt over time. It also says it expects to share more about its vision for neighborhood commerce and connected membership experiences soon.
The Takeaway
Watch for Bilt's next announcement on its plans for neighborhood commerce and connected membership. If you hold a Bilt card, you'll find what each card earns today in our Bilt Obsidian Card review and Bilt Palladium Card review.
