#77: 💰 Sports Tech Investment Activity in April

News, features & insights from the world of Sports Tech. Every Week.

Last week’s newsletter comes this Monday on account of travels. Complete with the Investment Roundup for April which has been a busy busy month for many it seems.

Have a great week 🙌

Sports Tech Monthly Investment Roundup

Back with the monthly sports tech investment roundup for April 2024!

The data is a snapshot from our SportsTechDB. with only highlights included in this newsletter edition. Head there for more in-depth data.

Flowing into Q2 and things are finally picking up! April nearly crossed the total investment for the entire Q1 of $465 million. Good to see some momentum building in the ecosystem.

• Geography: North America has been the most active region throughout the year now, month after month. With only some minor M&A activity in Europe.

• Sectors: The Activity & Performance Sector which includes Solutions ‘For Athletes’ has been on the rise for the past few months, seeing 90% of all dealflow. However, M&A still has an equal split between solutions for athletes and for fans.

• Top Deals: $400 million in funding for Riddell, Inc., an industry leader in football helmet technology. $250 million acquisition of Drone Racing League by Infinite Reality.

Historically Q2 has been a strong quarter for SportsTech. Given that we’re off to a strong start, there should be plenty more to follow.

Top News from the World of Sports Tech

🎟️ Manchester City teamed up with Quidd to launch Digital Collectibles and Fan Experiences, unveiling a collection of City-themed NFT trading cards.

🏎️ Formula 1 is set to launch the Formula 1 Channel in the USA. Subscription-free, it will air F1, F2, F3 and F1 Academy race replays, highlights and popular racing documentaries. 

💪🏽 NBA Africa introduced a new accelerator programme targeting African startups. The 10 selected startups will then be paired with mentors comprised of NBA Africa and ALX leadership. 

💸 Sports-focused investment firm APEX Capital announced the second close of its €50 million Elite Performance Venture Capital Fund. APEX first launched its athlete-driven VC Fund in September 2023 which included early investors Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, Valtteri Bottas, Miguel Oliveira, Raphael Varane, Christian Eriksen, and others.

⚽ Burnley FC has become the first Premier League club to team up with Nordensa, the app which allows football fans to financially support trials of young new players in exchange for a cut from future earnings.

Not Sports Tech but you should know:

👟 ASICS announced the NIMBUS MIRAI™, a performance running shoe designed to be remade (into the most circular shoe ever) – all without compromising the quality or performance.

🏎️ Thailand hosted F1 boss Stefano Domenicali to pitch the government’s vision of bringing a grand prix to streets of Bangkok.

🎦 X (formerly Twitter) will soon launch a dedicated TV app for videos uploaded to the platform, in real-time, to bring engaging content to our smart TVs. 

Money Talks:

💰 US based Riddell, Inc., a portfolio company of Fenway Partners, has received a strategic investment of $400 million from BC Partners Credit.

💰 Anichess, a chess-based online strategy game developed with Chess.com and Magnus Carlsen, the five-time World Chess Champion, raised $1.8 million in funding.

💰 Magnus Carlsen has been a busy boy beyond the chess board, making an undisclosed investment in Toca Football, the California based tech-enabled soccer experience company.

💰 Polish startup ForActive, developing a payments and communication app for sports instructors, has raised € 1.5 million in a pre-seed round, led by NY based ff Venture Capital and Movens Capital. 

💰 Brazil-based sports and media company, LiveMode, received an undisclosed minority investment from General Atlantic and XP Private Equity.

💰 Sports-focused private equity firm Bruin Capital will buy a majority stake in leading grass technology developer PlayGreen, for an undisclosed amount. Their bet is that elite sports will continue the move toward grass surfaces.

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