MrBeast’s Shark Tank debut: $250K for 55% of the company behind an AI-powered ball

MrBeast walked onto Shark Tank and walked out owning most of a ball company: he and Beast Industries CEO Jeff Housenbold paid $250,000 for 55% of Sperry Labs, the company behind an AI-powered foam ball called Ball 2. The episode, titled “Beast Mode,” was the Season 18 premiere and aired on ABC on Sept 30, according to Net Influencer and Dexerto.

ABC had announced back in July that the two would join this season as guest Sharks, alongside names like Mindy Kaling and J.J. Watt.

Wait, what is Ball 2?

It’s a foam ball packed with sensors that track throws, spins and bounces, and it talks to a companion app over Bluetooth. You describe a game out loud and the app’s AI makes up the rules on the spot, per Net Influencer. On the show, the founders built a game called “10 Feet of Death” live.

Co-founders Andrew Brown and Kevin Langdon are first cousins from rural Pennsylvania, Dexerto reports. The AI version sells for $69.

How the deal went down

Pitching jointly as “Team Beast,” MrBeast and Housenbold opened at $300,000 for 66%. The founders countered at 51%, and both sides landed on $250,000 for 55%, according to Dexerto and Net Influencer. That’s a lot more company than the founders came in offering, in exchange for a lot more muscle.

That muscle is the point. Housenbold made the pitch for why Beast Industries is the right partner:

We already have a toy company. We distribute in Walmart, in Target, on Amazon.— Jeff Housenbold, on Shark Tank (via Dexerto)

What MrBeast said

He was into it, with one big caveat about the price. He said he could see himself “back when I was 13, 14 years old, you know, talking to the AI,” and added: “I actually see this being very fun,” per Dexerto. But he also warned: “I do see a lot of people going, ‘Wow, $69 for a ball.'”

After beating Lori Greiner in a ball-shaking contest, he said it “worked way better than I was expecting it to work,” Kotaku reports. After the handshake, Housenbold said he couldn’t wait “to make TikToks with these things.”

Not every Shark was sold

Kevin O’Leary held back, arguing the product would live or die on a viral moment, Kotaku reports. Lori Greiner was skeptical shoppers would want it, and then lost that shaking contest to MrBeast. Even Langdon admitted: “If you put this next to another ball on a shelf it’s a tough sell.”

For context, Net Influencer reports the company had sold about $74,000 worth of balls, roughly 1,300 units, since the first units shipped in December 2025.

What happens next

The deal was made on TV; the next step is Ball 2 meeting Beast Industries’ distribution. And if the ball ever shows up in a MrBeast video, that “viral moment” O’Leary said it needs could take care of itself.