Shark Tank is the American adaptation of the business-investment format used by the British show Dragon's Den.
The US programme premiered on ABC in 2009 and presents entrepreneurs to a panel of wealthy investors. Instead of Dragons, the American series calls its investors Sharks, giving the adaptation its title.
Both programmes descend from the Japanese format Money Tigers. Their shared structure includes a business pitch, a requested investment, an offer of company equity and negotiations between the entrepreneur and investors.
The names of the investors and the exact production history differ between countries. Shark Tank should therefore not be treated as another title for the British programme: it is a separate American version of the international format.