Bilt bets on AI rewards to turn game day into local spending, CEO Ankur Jain says

Bilt built its business on rent rewards and is now pushing into local commerce by pitching itself as a "neighborhood operating system." The expansion pairs sports teams with nearby restaurants and bars, so that fan loyalty can translate into spending beyond the stadium. Jain's example of a free round of Corona at a local bar when a team wins shows how sponsors can fund offers through Bilt's platform without needing individual customer data.

The timing reflects the scale of the sports market. According to Houlihan Lokey, the global sports market generated an estimated $463 billion in revenue in 2024 and is projected to reach $610 billion by 2028. Sports-related travel alone generated $111.2 billion in direct spending in the U.S. in 2025, per the Sports Events and Tourism Association. Deloitte's 2026 outlook notes that AI is becoming central to how sports organizations operate, which aligns with Bilt's AI-driven approach.

For small businesses, Bilt argues AI can help manage fragmented software and attract repeat customers. The company says its AI Agents have completed more than 2 million real-world actions across more than 29,000 businesses, with 91% completed without human intervention in the past 30 days. Bilt frames the opportunity as $6.6 trillion in annual U.S. retail and food-services spending that occurs in person, though it remains to be seen how many teams and businesses adopt the expanded system.