#176 🤝 TPG Sports' $2B Bet on Collegiate Sports Media

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TPG Sports, launched in partnership with Rory McIlroy in 2025, is reportedly set to acquire college athletics media company Learfield in a $2B deal, one of the biggest in collegiate sports. Turns out the buttons on his 2nd Green Jacket weren’t the only thing McIlroy and his team were closing last week.

Elsewhere, Messi added “club owner” to his CV, the WNBA Draft pulled in 1.5M viewers, and Shanghai-based PongBot raised $28M to build AI-powered training robots.

We’ll be on the ground at PEAK 2026 in Las Vegas next week, April 20–22. Come find us at the Playmakers booth (#605) or at one of the panels we’re part of. Details below.

💡 PEAK 2026

3 days to go - See you next week in Las Vegas!

PEAK 2026 is right around the corner and the whole industry is gearing up for it.

With the main conference kicking off on Tuesday, team SportsTechX will be on the ground for both days at Fontainebleau Las Vegas (April 20–22). If you're flying in, here's where to find us and what we're up to.

Full event schedule right here.

• Come say hi at the PLAYMAKERS Booth - #605

  Our Sports Tech Founders Network Playmakers booth will be our home base at PEAK. Stop by to meet the team (Thomas and Rohn), see what some of the top Sports Tech companies in the world - Camb AI, Oliver Sports and SportsVot - are up to, and find out how to join.

TUESDAY

Moderating two panels on the Breakout Stage

• Beyond the Pitch: How Borussia Dortmund Uses Tech & Data for Players and Fans 
  Monday, April 21 · 9:30–10:00 AM · Breakout Stage

  With Marc Lingenhoff (Managing Director, BVB) and BVB legend Patrick Owomoyela on how the club approaches international growth, youth development, and engaging a global fanbase through tech.

• The Capital Stack: Global Venture Capital and SportsTech Investment Monday, April 21 · 12:45–1:20 PM · Breakout Stage

  With Aadit Parikh (Sony Ventures), Mustafa Ghouse (Centre Court Capital), Laurie Pinto (Pinto Capital), and Dustin Drees (Profluence Capital), on how different types of investors with different agendas think, make decisions and operate in global markets.

WEDNESDAY

• Hosting the Startup World Cup Finals on the Main Stage

  We’re hosting the global finals on-site at PEAK. The founders who made it through the regional qualifiers and some wildcard entries will be pitching for the title live on stage Wednesday morning.

We’ll also be joining the morning run on Day 1, hosting a private dinner and generally moving through the event to make sure we meet as many people as possible.

Quick PEAK recap if you still haven't locked your ticket:

• 1,000+ sports executives, founders, and investors across three days

• 100+ sportstech companies exhibiting - from athlete performance to smart venues

• Speakers from NVIDIA, Populous, PSG, Sportradar, Las Vegas Raiders, UFC, MLS, WTA, PGA of America, USA SailGP

• NBA Launchpad & Sports Tech HQ booths featuring their top startups

• FIFA, U.S. Soccer, Sevilla FC, and Villarreal in the Groundbreakers Challenge with GSIC powered by Microsoft

• PEAK Night Summit closing party at LIV Beach

If you're at the event, drop by Booth #605 or catch us on stage. If you haven't booked your ticket yet, you should get on it.

See you in Vegas 🎲

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

📺 Jomboy Media and Fubo have launched a 24/7 creator-led channel to expand baseball-focused digital content distribution.

📰 Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal have launched a new sports vertical focused on the business of sports alongside a live event strategy.

🤖 IBM announced a Sports Tech Startup Challenge at Web Summit Vancouver to advance its sports technology initiatives and industry presence.

📊 Africa Sports Unified has launched a pan-African sports deals tracker to improve market transparency and decision-making.

💰 Major sportsbook funds have contributed $48 million to a super PAC supporting sports betting legalization efforts in the US.

🏟️ Starr Vegas has unveiled a $10 billion, 63-acre Las Vegas Strip development featuring an NBA-ready arena and year-round sports hub.

🏟️ Massachusetts launched a $2 million grant program to support public safety needs ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

🏟️ MetLife Stadium will temporarily change its name during the FIFA World Cup as part of tournament branding requirements.

🏈 Tom Brady’s flag football venture is facing uncertainty after a Saudi-backed funding deal was thrown into doubt.

⚽ The NWSL plans to restrict which brands players can display on-field, requiring companies to secure league-level commercial agreements.

📺 NBA viewership rose 16% season-on-season, driven by new media rights deals and expanded distribution partnerships.

📺 The 2026 WNBA Draft drew 1.5 million viewers, marking the second-highest viewership in league history and continued growth in fan engagement.

💸 TPG Sports acquired Learfield for $2 billion alongside Rory McIlroy to expand its collegiate sports media and rights portfolio.

💸 Lionel Messi has become the new owner of Catalan club Cornella (third division of Spanish football), and has formalised 100% acquisition of the club.

💰 PongBot, Shanghai-based sports training robot maker for tennis and table tennis, completed a series A round totaling nearly $28 million (200 million yuan), in a round backed by BlueRun Ventures, Shenqi Capital, MingShi Venture Capital, Jinqiu Fund, and Huachuang Capital.

💰 GameRun, a startup using AI to analyze athlete movement and performance, raised $4 million in funding from a bunch of investors consisting of former athletes, professional team owners, college coaches and athletic directors.

💰 BASE Sports Group raised $2.5 million, including $1.5 million from Balius Partners via Primetime Holdings, to scale its youth sports sponsorship platform across 40+ US states.

💰 Saudi Arabia-based sportstech company ElGoat has raised $266k with a valuation of $2.66 million in a seed round via Trigon, to build a skill-based football gaming platform.

💰 Balius Partners invested $1.5 million in BASE Sports Group through Primetime Holdings to expand youth sports sponsorship infrastructure.

💰 9 strap, a San Clemente, CA-based sports performance brand, received an investment of $800K in a round was led by Daniel Lubetzky, Rashaun Williams, Kevin O’Leary, and Kendra Scott.

💰 USTA Ventures invested an undisclosed amount in Fastbreak AI to optimize scheduling across millions of USTA League matches using its software platform.

💰 Real (box score app) raised funding from The Chernin Group to build a sports-focused social and stats-based fan engagement platform.

💰 David Blitzer’s Bolt Ventures invested in two golf-focused businesses targeting next-generation players and fans during Masters week.

🤝 A Bryson DeChambeau-led investor group acquired Sportsbox AI for an undisclosed amount and launched “SAMI,” an agentic AI coaching platform built on its kinematic technology.

💸 AUBL (Asian University Basketball League) raised Series A funding led by Blue Pool Capital to support league growth and development.

💸 WME sold 160over90 to Publicis Groupe for $500 million to expand data-driven sports and culture marketing capabilities.

💸 Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund sold Al Hilal to Kingdom Holding Company for an undisclosed amount as part of a broader sports asset restructuring.

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