Investment will accelerate global expansion of BillyQ, Poolhouse’s proprietary vision-processing platform developed with the team behind Hawk-Eye

Bluestone Equity Partners (“Bluestone”), the institutionally-backed global private equity firm focused on the Sports, Media & Entertainment industry, today announced that it has led a $55 million growth equity investment in Poolhouse, the technology-enabled cue sports company founded by Steve and Dave Jolliffe, the creators of Topgolf and Puttshack. The investment will fund the global expansion of Poolhouse’s proprietary technology platform, BillyQ, and the continued rollout of its premium, tech-enabled venues.

Poolhouse is bringing modern technology, game design, and data infrastructure to cue sports, one of the world’s oldest and most widely played social sports. With more than 200 million weekly players globally and an industry-estimated total addressable market of approximately $35 billion, cue sports represent a large, global participatory category that remains meaningfully under penetrated by technology.

At the center of the Poolhouse platform is BillyQ, a proprietary gameplay system developed over six years in collaboration with the team behind Hawk-Eye, best known for the computer vision technology used to track ball trajectories, support officiating, and enable broadcast replay applications across many major sports. Combining advanced projection with precision tracking, BillyQ overlays a responsive digital layer onto the pool table, enabling interactive gameplay, automated scoring, and real-time player analytics. The platform also incorporates a dynamic handicapping model that adjusts to player ability, allowing mixed-skill groups to compete on a more level playing field without altering the integrity of the game.

“Cue sports have extraordinary global reach and are inherently social, with a centuries-old foundation and millions of tables in use worldwide, yet the category has never had a scaled technology and data layer,” said Bobby Sharma, Founder & Managing Partner of Bluestone Equity Partners. “Poolhouse is building that infrastructure with a team that has already helped define modern competitive social entertainment. For Bluestone, this is a compelling opportunity to back exceptional operators in one of the largest global participatory sports categories, representing a multi-billion-dollar market, and to help build a category leader across venues, licensing, and the home.”

“We set out to build Poolhouse because we saw the same opportunity in pool that we once saw in golf: a beloved, mass-participation game that could be transformed through technology, design, and a better player experience,” said Steve Jolliffe, Co-Founder of Poolhouse. “Bluestone is the ideal partner for this next phase. Their portfolio of complementary sports, media, and entertainment businesses, combined with their global network and institutional approach, will accelerate our ambition to build a worldwide platform powering pool anywhere it’s played.”

A Global Rollout Underway

“Poolhouse is building a platform that can scale far beyond our branded venues, combining best-in-class hospitality with a proprietary technology layer designed to unlock new ways to play, compete, and engage with cue sports,” said Andrew O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer of Poolhouse. “With Bluestone’s partnership, we are well-positioned to accelerate our global expansion and establish BillyQ as the underlying infrastructure for cue sports worldwide.”

Poolhouse’s flagship London venue at Liverpool Street has opened to strong customer and critical reception. The company is seeing strong landlord interest in the US, including locations in New York City and Nashville, and has executed a franchise agreement with Signature Hospitality Group, a leading Australian hospitality operator.

While Poolhouse’s premium venues are the most visible expression of the brand, the broader opportunity is the technology platform itself. The capital raised will primarily fund the expansion of BillyQ beyond Poolhouse’s owned locations into hotels, traditional pool halls, casinos, bars, and other hospitality venues, and, over time, into the home – building a scalable, recurring revenue platform on top of a global installed base of tens of millions of tables.

Poolhouse also plans to launch a consumer version of BillyQ designed to bring gameplay, tracking, handicapping, and training into residential settings. With tens of millions of residential pool tables installed globally, the consumer product will further extend Poolhouse from a venue and licensing business into a direct-to-consumer platform.

Poolhouse Leadership

Poolhouse’s leadership team combines pioneers of competitive social entertainment with deep operating experience across premium hospitality and global technology distribution, including Co-Founders Steve and Dave Jolliffe, creators of Topgolf and Puttshack; Andrew O’Brien, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer; Ross Butler, Chief Operating Officer and former CEO and COO of Gaucho; Steve Lane, Head of Distribution and former Managing Director, International at Topgolf, where he helped scale Toptracer globally; and Paul Hawkins, founder of Hawk-Eye, who has led the vision-processing development behind BillyQ. The business is further supported by a strong investor base including DMG (Daily Mail Group) Ventures, Bolt Ventures, Active Partners (early investors in Soho House), Sharp Alpha and Emerging Fund.

Poolhouse marks the tenth investment from Bluestone’s inaugural $350 million fund. As part of the transaction, Bluestone Partner Walker Brumskine will join Poolhouse’s Board of Directors, and Principal Jake Harris will join as a Board Observer.

About Bluestone Equity Partners

Bluestone Equity Partners is a specialized private equity firm headquartered in New York City, built to bring institutional investment discipline to the global Sports, Media & Entertainment industry. Bluestone combines deep industry expertise, global perspective, differentiated access, and trusted relationships to partner with proven, high-growth businesses and management teams. The firm invests across the industry, working alongside its partners to accelerate strategic growth, strengthen market position, and build enduring value. For more information, visit www.bluestoneequity.com.

About Poolhouse

Poolhouse is the technology-enabled cue sports company founded by Steve and Dave Jolliffe, the creators of Topgolf and Puttshack. The company combines premium, tech-enabled venues with BillyQ, its proprietary global licensing platform developed in partnership with the team behind Hawk-Eye. BillyQ transforms traditional pool into an interactive, skill-rated, gamified experience and powers the Q-Rating, the world’s first automated handicapping system for cue sports. Poolhouse’s flagship venue is open in London, with additional locations in New York City, Nashville, and Australia underway.

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