The rise of the athlete-founder

Sports stars take stakes in sports startups, launch VC funds   [view entire message](   www.wellfound.com Headlines The rise of the athlete-founder Win or lose, Argentinian superstar [Lionel Messi]( will step off a World Cup pitch for the last time on Sunday and start fielding pitches of another kind. Earlier this year Messi launched his own VC firm in San Francisco, birthplace of the pitch deck. He joins a growing list of marquee athletes, teams, and sports leagues across the globe that are investing in early stage sports tech companies. It includes Croatian soccer legend [Luka Modric]( who owns part of a fan social media app, and Modric’s club team, [Real Madrid]( team Real Madrid has a new partnerships ( with Ōura Health to track player sleep and recovery. In England, Liverpool ( is dabbling in NFTs.), which signed a deal with wellness tracking startup Ōura Health to equip players with IoT devices that monitor their sleep. [Cristiano Ronaldo,]( perhaps the biggest name in world sports, took part in a recent $20M Series A round for a Spanish language fantasy sport startup Draftea. In England, [Liverpool]( dabbles in NFTs. Meanwhile, in the U.S., recent MLS league winner [Los Angeles FC]( teaming up with tech company GENEFIT to gain training insights from players’ physiological datapoints. In the NBA, star [Steve Nash]( fronts a fitness app, [Magic Johnson]( leads “digital teams” in a new NFT league, and [LeBron James]( pushes a performance training platform. [Kevin Durant]( has his own VC firm. Even the [NBA]( is investing in startups. Not to be outdone, the [NFL]( launched its own startup investment fund with Microsoft. The [Los Angeles Dodgers]( baseball team, too, has its own startup incubator. So does Australia’s [pro tennis league](. Tennis champ [Serena Williams]( owns a sponsorship startup, while [Bille Jean King]( invests in the next big thing in sports tech. Golfers [Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy]( own a sports media tech company. Cricketer [Shikhar Dhawan]( just launched a $75M sports tech investment fund. Will Ventures, a Boston-based venture capital firm co-founded by former [NFL player Isaiah Kacyvenski]( closed a $150M fund to invest in early stage sports tech. [Sapphire]( a marquee VC firm, launched an entire investment arm that's backed by Major League Baseball. After Sunday, it’ll be another four (OK, 3.5) years to see the world’s best compete in the beautiful game again. Here’s hoping for some beautiful returns in the meantime. ⌃ Trending Wellness for the win Health tech and sports tech are closely related. Companies that specialize in things like performance and training improvement for athletes could easily be billed as both. Of course, physical health is the top priority for athletes. Now, a myriad of startups are looking to bring pro level care to the masses. Health and wellness is a hot industry with consumers and investors alike. Companies in the space raised a [whopping $44B]( last year during a so-called “[home workout revolution”]( that also saw [mindfulness]( soar to new heights. Other areas of healthtech innovation include new approaches to treating [chronic lifestyle diseases](. Apps like Headspace and Calm are tackling sleep and mindfulness, while [subscription box services]( such as TheraBox are bringing customers better nutrition and better appearance. [14 Startups Revolutionizing the Fitness Industry in 2022 →]( E-sports shoots & scores The gaming industry is rapidly growing and showing no signs of slowing down. Global video game revenue is expected to increase from $235B by the end of this year to over [$321B]( by 2026. There are a number of factors that explain this swift expansion. When the pandemic forced everyone inside, people sought escape with gaming and found [connections]( they couldn’t get elsewhere. Companies like [The Verse]( which focuses on the intersection of gaming and mental health, have capitalized. Gaming companies have also broadened their appeal to bring in [older players](. Web3 based games are hot, too. These games allow players to win in-game items and collectibles shared on the blockchain. Companies like [Metatheory]( are facing this new frontier head-on, building Web3 games and social experiences to transform how we game and connect with others online. [5 Top Gaming Tech Companies Hiring Now →]( IoT all over Sensors are coming to sports in a big way, and soon our homes will be as connected as stadiums. The Internet of Things, or IoT, is a system made up of sensors, software, and a wide variety of [devices]( that collect and communicate data to and from the Internet. Smart home tech like Google Home, smartwatches, connected cars, and more comprise more than [14.4B]( devices active on the IoT. With an expectation that approximately 27B IoT devices will be online by 2025, the IoT market is projected to grow substantially over the next decade to [$2.5T]( along with the spread of 5G [connectivity](. [5 IoT Companies Hiring Now →]( ☆ From the Founders Featuring Nathan Clark, Ganymede “The impact that [Ganymede]( wants to have is to accelerate scientists at the lab bench by better describing their work. Align more of it to be automated and therefore allowing them to spend more of their time focused on drugs and scientific innovation.” In this From the Founders interview, we hear from Nathan Clark of [Ganymede]( about his journey from bond trader to PM to founder of a biotech company that’s helping advance lab science. [Read more →]( $ In the news Oslo, Norway-based [Speiz]( a proptech startup, raised a €1.3M seed round led by F-LOG Ventures. The company provides a digital platform to match warehouse owners with tenants looking for an optimal warehouse solution. Columbia, MD-based [Balance Theory]( a provider of a collaborative workspace for cybersecurity, raised a $3M seed round led by DataTribe. The workspace functions as a secure platform for collaboration and workflow visibility, allowing cybersecurity teams to communicate and track progress. Austin, Texas-based [Slingshot Aerospace]( a company building data and analytics products to make space operations safer, raised a $40.8M Series A2 led by Sway Ventures. Slingshot synthesizes data from sources to model outer space digitally, empowering customers to make decisions regarding their space operations. Los Angeles, Calif.-based [Archive]( a company building a resale operating system for brands, raised a $15M Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The company’s software allows brands to incorporate resale into their business with options such as peer-to-peer, managed, and in-store takeback. Atlanta, Georgia-based [Carputty]( a fintech focused on auto financing and ownership, raised a $12.3M Series A led by Fontinalis Partners and TTV Capital. The company provides a lending product that gives members a continuous line of credit to finance their vehicles, including new and used automobiles, lease buyouts, and refinancing of existing loans. ✓ Startups hiring now ManageXR Scaling the Largest VR Deployments in the World [Apply now →]( Smile Identity We Solve Identity in Emerging Markets [Apply now →]( Standard Bots The New Standard of Robotics [Apply now →](   Follow along on our new [Discover](angel.co/discover) page Your one-stop place to discover all things startup related. angel.co/discover Want more startup content throughout the week? We’ve recently launched Discover, an aggregated platform that lets you browse startups, read founder stories, see past newsletters, and more. 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