The founders of the controversial streaming platform Kick, which is under fire for live-streaming the death of a French content creator, are Australian crypto-billionaires who also sponsor a Formula 1 team. Ed Craven, 29, and Bijan Tehrani, 31, established Kick in 2022, alongside Stake.com, the largest crypto-backed online casino globally. The duo, known for their gaming enthusiasm, have amassed a combined fortune of $5.6 billion. Craven made headlines for purchasing two mansions in Australia for a total of $120 million.
The platform is embroiled in scandal after broadcasting the alleged torture of Raphael Graven, known online as Jean Pormanove, for ten days before he was found dead in Contes, Nice. Graven, a prominent Kick streamer, was infamous for ‘humiliation streams’ involving extreme violence. A counter on his final broadcast showed more than £31,000 raised.
The Rise of Kick and Its Founders
Kick, a platform similar to Twitch, was founded by Craven and Tehrani, who met as teenagers through the online game RuneScape. Their interest in cryptocurrency led to the creation of Primedice, a crypto dice game, and later the online casino company Easygo, before launching Stake.com. During the pandemic, Stake’s revenue skyrocketed from $100 million to over $2 billion, partly due to paying Twitch content creators to livestream gambling.
After Twitch banned Stake from advertising due to consumer protection concerns, Craven and Tehrani launched Kick as a competing service. The platform has gained notoriety for its lighter approach to content moderation compared to Twitch, although it claims to prohibit content depicting significant harm or violence.
F1 Sponsorship and High-Profile Connections
Craven became a sponsor of the Sauber F1 team last year, rebranding it as the Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. Kick and Stake have been major sponsors since the team rebranded from Alfa Romeo at the end of the 2023 season. Despite the scandal, Sauber released a statement expressing sadness over Graven’s death and trusting Kick to uphold its safeguards.
Canadian rapper Drake, who has been associated with Kick, reportedly deleted his account amid tensions with the platform’s co-founders. He, along with internet personality Adin Ross, is believed to be covering Graven’s funeral costs.
Controversy and Investigations
The controversy surrounding Graven’s death has sparked outrage, with many questioning why his account wasn’t banned earlier. Internet users reported that his last livestream showed him motionless under a bed cover. Previous streams allegedly featured him being slapped, strangled, and subjected to other forms of abuse.
Following the incident, Kick removed Graven’s channel and launched an investigation. In France, the junior minister for AI and digital technology, Clara Chappaz, condemned the violence and announced a judicial investigation. The matter was also referred to the digital regulator Arcom and France’s internet content reporting portal.
French media initially claimed Graven died after ‘ten days of torture’, but prosecutor Damien Martinelli revealed that medical examiners found no traumatic injuries. ‘The probable causes of death appear to be medical and/or toxicological,’ he stated.
Implications and Future Prospects
The scandal raises questions about the responsibilities of streaming platforms in moderating content and protecting users. Kick’s approach to content moderation is under scrutiny, and the platform’s future may depend on how it addresses these challenges.
As investigations continue, the incident highlights the broader issues of online safety and the ethical responsibilities of digital platforms. The outcome may influence regulatory measures and industry practices in the streaming sector.
Meanwhile, the personal lives of Craven and Tehrani remain largely private, despite their public business successes. Tehrani was reportedly in a relationship with Australian model Mila Mary in 2024, though little else is known about their personal affairs.
As the story unfolds, the world watches to see how Kick and its founders will navigate the fallout from this tragic event.
