(Photo : Hannah Madison)

On November 27, thrash-metal icons and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Metallica played the inaugural Triller Triad Combat, an innovation in combat sports from Triller Fight Club, the professional boxing league founded by Triller co-owner Ryan Kavanaugh.

It was apparently the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the two.

Metallica and Triller have announced that the legendary band will become an investor in TrillerNet, the parent company of Triller, Verzuz, Triad Combat, Triller Fight Club, Fite and other leading media brands. The two sides did not disclose terms of the investment.

"Metallica, like Triller, shares the same passion for disrupting the status quo. We are ecstatic to have them as a partner, investor, and now a shareholder," said Mahi de Silva, TrillerNet's Chief Executive Officer. "Metallica has always rocked, and we see this signal as a true recognition of the power of the Triller effect," de Silva continued.

Kavanaugh and Bobby Sarnevesht made a controlling investment in Triller in 2019 and have been expanding the larger TrillerNet business outward since. Determined to shake up the moribund fight game, Kavanaugh launched Triller Fight Club as a new kind of event, featuring bouts between legendary fighters, and up-and-comers, of different combat disciplines, interspersed with A-list musical acts, including Justin Bieber and others. In November, Kavanaugh invented again, creating the three-sided Triller Triad Combat ring, which creates more fan-pleasing action between the combatants.   

The Triller app reaches more than 350 million users worldwide. Unlike other popular short-video apps, the Triller app encourages its influencers to post content created on the app across different social media platforms-and uses proprietary AI technology to push and track their content virally to affiliated and non-affiliated sites and networks, reaching millions of additional users. The app's AI technology also allows users to make professional edits in their videos. 

Metallica joins an all-star lineup of music industry figures who are Triller investors, including Marshmello, The Weeknd, Snoop Dogg, and Lil Wayne. Other Triller investors include notable music industry executives, such as Shawn Gee (President of Live Nation Urban); Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith (Chief Executive Officer of TDE); Abe Burns (President of Maverick Digital); James Prince (CEO of Rap-a-Lot Records), and Believe Digital, among others.

"Metallica's music is a natural fit with combat sports, and in Triller, we've found the perfect partner," said Cliff Burnstein, Co-Manager of Metallica. "The event opened our eyes to myriad possibilities, and we see greatness ahead for Triller. This investment represents our confidence in that shared future."

The November hybrid boxing-MMA and live music event drew a packed stadium, with fights inside the triangular ring featuring Derek Campos, Frank Mir, Matt Mitrione, Mike Perry, and Kubrat Pulev. 

Over the past year, Triller's Triad Combat and Fight Club have sold more than 3 million pay-per-views, making it one of the top-selling combat sports and entertainment platforms.

In addition to the Triller app, TrillerNet owns Verzuz, the live-stream music platform launched by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland; Amplify.ai, the leading customer engagement platform; Fite, the premier global PPV, AVOD, and SVOD streaming site; and Thuzio, a leader in B2B premium influencer events and experiences. Thuzio, which was co-founded by former NFL great Tiki Barber, was TrillerNet's most recent acquisition.