Instead of our usual opening writeup, we’re trying something new. This week, we are including a 4-min convo of us talking about the NBA’s Startup Incubator and a company we’re bullish on from their 2025 Launchpad Cohort: Somnee - The Smart Headband that Fixes Your Sleep. Give it a listen and let us know what you think!
Sports-Tech Market Activity: Investors & Deals
Accelerators
NBA Launchpad selects five startups for 2025 tech R&D cohort focusing on officiating, player health, fan engagement, and sustainability (Feb. 3rd)
New Funds
Ariel Investments, a global asset manager. launches ‘Project Level’ fund for women’s sports investments (Jan. 31st)
‘Project Level’ secured early investment in NWSL’s Denver expansion team
Fund to be led by Managing Partner and Head of Investments, Jason Wright
Ariel Co-CEO adds to investments including White Sox, the Broncos, and the WNBA [SBJ]
Laton Ventures, the Türkiye-based gaming venture capital fund backing ‘Grand Games’, closes its first fund at $50M (Feb. 3rd)
Focusing on pre-seed and seed-stage gaming and app startups
Grand Games raised a $30M Series A just nine months after launch
Ranked among top 10 most active early-stage gaming VC funds globally in its first year [VentureBeat]
Cartan Capital, former tennis pro CiCi Bellis’ venture fund, launches second sports and health tech fund (Feb. 6th)
Shifting from a $10M pledge fund to a structured $40M fund
Co-investing alongside leading VC firms rather than leading rounds
Investing $1M–$2M per deal, focusing on Series A rounds within sports-tech, wellness, and fitness
Portfolio includes ai.io, Edge Sound Research, Proto Hologram, Springbok Analytics and TMRW Sports and others [SBJ]
Venture Capital
Mighty Bear Games, a Web3 gaming studio, raised $4M for 'GOAT Gaming' platform (Feb. 3rd)
Targeting hundreds of game launches, aiming to drive Web3 gaming on Telegram
Investors include TON Ventures, Karatage, Amber, and Bitscale, bringing total funding amount to $15M [GamesBeat]
Berry Street, a nutrition counseling platform that connects patients to insurance-backed dietitians, secures $50M in funding (Feb. 6th)
Fay, a digital nutrition therapy platform, secures $50M Series B funding to expand nutrition healthcare access (Feb. 6th)
Raised at a $500M valuation, bringing total funding to $75M
Enhancing provider tools and offerings for personalized nutrition services
Partnerships with major insurers like United Healthcare and Aetna; featuring a network of 2.3K+ registered dietitians
Investment led by Goldman Sachs; other investors include General Catalyst and Forerunner [Athletech]
The Game Company, a Dubai-based gaming studio, raised $10M through equity and token sales to build cloud gaming infrastructure (Feb. 6th)
Enhancing blockchain-based cloud gaming platform; integration to Web3
Previous funding includes $5M (2023) at a $40M valuation, plus $7.5M in token sales
Investment led by Telcoin, BullPerks, and Singularity DAO [VentureBeat]
M&A and Investments
Cosm, the shared reality venue company, eyes global expansion with $300M in funding (Feb. 6th)
Plans to expand to Atlanta and Detroit, launching in 2026; following recent openings in Los Angeles and Dallas
Raised $300M, including a $250M round last August at a $1B valuation
Received interest for opportunities in Asia, the Middle East, and Australia [SportsPro]
Nashville, Detroit, Houston, Philadelphia submit bids for final WNBA expansion spot before the Jan. 30 deadline (Feb. 1st)
Joining cities’ bids including Detroit, Nashville, Philadelphia, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Milwaukee among others
WNBA plans to announce its final expansion team later this year, ultimately hitting target of 16 teams by 2028 [FOS]
Voldex, a Roblox game developer acquires Brookhaven, the platform’s most popular game (Feb. 4th)
Brookhaven boasts 60B visits and 120M monthly players
Joining Voldex’s portfolio, expanding reach to 145M+ monthly active users
Deal backed by equity financing led by Raine, Makers Fund, and others; additional debt financing led by Shamrock Capital and Ares Management [Voldex]
EA Sports acquires optical tracking firm Tracab to enhance real-world data in gaming EA Sports FC and its digital platform (Feb. 4th)
Tracab’s system captures 600M data points per match, tracking 23 individuals and ball in real-time
EA aims to use Tracab’s tech to improve gameplay realism and alternative broadcast experiences within EA Sports App [SportsPro]
Los Angeles Golf Club secures investment from golf content brand Good Good Golf to drive fan engagement (Feb. 4th)
Other investors include Serena Williams, Giannis Antetokounmpo, among others
Good Good boasts 1.73M YouTube subscribers, recently launching apparel deals with PGA Tour golfers [SportsPro]
Tom Brady-backed Knighthead Capital and Indian Premier League’s Mumbai Indians owners secure ‘The Hundred’ stakes (Jan. 31st)
‘Oval Invincibles’ valued at £123M after a £61M bid from Reliance Industries
‘Birmingham Phoenix’ just over £80M with a £40M bid from Knighthead Capital
Final deals pending due diligence, with additional sales concluding next week [SportsPro]
Hudl, a game footage analytics platform, acquires volleyball highlights and analytics platform Balltime to enhance product offerings in the sport (Feb. 6th)
Introducing new metrics including ball trajectory, hit height, and speed, merging Balltime's 12 full-time employees into Hudl
Video analysis turnaround expected to improve from 8–24 hours to under 1-hour [SBJ]
Warner Music Group acquires controlling stake in premium music rights investing platform Tempo Music from Providence Equity Partners (Feb. 6th)
Catalog includes rights from artists like Bruno Mars, Wiz Khalifa, and Twenty-One Pilots
Providence Equity Partners to remain a minority investor and advisor
Moelis & Company acted as the financial advisor [WMG]
Photo Creds: Cosm.
Strategic Ventures
Hundred Health, a personalized longevity startup offering health insights at affordable costs, prepares for March launch, emerging from stealth (Feb. 4th)
Platform integrates biodata, wearables, genetic tests, and blood panels for tailored wellness plans
Smith, a seasoned entrepreneur, previously sold a majority stake in real estate transaction software SkySlope to Fidelity [Athletech]
Ferrari’s F1 star Charles Leclerc joins sleep health company Eight Sleep as investor (Jan. 31st)
‘Pod’ system tracks biometrics and optimizes sleep through temperature control
Ambassadors include Aaron Judge, Jimmy Butler, and Brock Purdy among over 300+ other athletes [Athletech]
Mulier Fortis, a new consultancy for sports, media, and tech, announced with focus on women's leadership (Jan. 31st)
Supporting women's sports and businesses with women in leadership roles
Founded by former Fox Sports VPs Raquel Braun and Lagen Nash, both with executive experience in gaming and media
Already advising two undisclosed clients—a pro sports league and a soccer-focused entertainment company [SBJ]
Portland’s WNBA & NWSL teams to share joint training facility, set to open 2026 (Feb. 6th)
First-ever facility to house two professional women’s teams under one roof
RAJ Sports investing $75M for the venue for Portland Thorns and the city’s new WNBA team, yet to be named
Total costs to reach $150M, including $75M in facility development and an additional $75M for infrastructure [FOS]
Fanatics & Boardroom, a Kevin Durant-founded sports media & entertainment platform, partner for ‘Chapter: Next’ launch, equipping athletes with business skills beyond sports (Feb. 6th)
A three-day career intensive program including mentorship, networking, USC-designed curriculum, and hands-on sessions with industry leaders
First event set for June 18-20th, in NYC, culminating at Fanatics Fest [Fanatics]
BodyPro, an athletic performance platform, establishes Indiana HQ, joining non-profit Sports Tech HQ Collective to drive Indiana’s sports hub (Feb. 4th)
Aiming to expand impact within collegiate and youth sports
Becoming the 38th company to join the Sports Tech HQ Collective
Reportedly enhanced coaching efficiency by 70%, the platform has supported 100+ sports organizations and 1,000+ teams across sports [Sports Tech HQ]
Magnifi, a video intelligence solutions company, partners with electric vehicle racing championship Formula E (Feb. 4th)
Integrating video technology to the track; focused on real-time race highlights to platform-optimized short-form videos, created with automated formats and localization [LinkedIn]
Job Board & Opportunities: Week of February 7th
Here are some cool roles we found and personally curated this week - enjoy!