The 4th Quarter: Latest In Sports Tech This Week, February 7th, 2025

NBA-Endorsed Smart Sleep Headband, Cosm Raises $300M, New Job Board

Feb 07, 2025

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)
- Somnee develops neurostimulation headbands for sleep optimization
- SportIQ integrates IMU sensors into basketballs to enhance officiating
- OneCourt creates haptic tablets for visually impaired fans
- VReps supplies a VR educational platform for athletes and coaches
- Trashie incentivizes recycling with rewards, for sustainability initiatives [SBJ]

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)
- Expanding platform, connecting patients with over 1K registered dietitians
- Works with major insurers like Aetna, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare, alongside enterprise partners like Weight Watchers and Mayo Clinic Diet
- Investors include Northzone, Sofina, and FJ Labs, among others [FinSMEs]
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]

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 18-20^th, 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]