The 4th Quarter: Latest In Sports Tech This Week, January 24th, 2025

NIL Collectibles Startup in a Box, Live-Streaming ‘TikTok Competitor’ Raises $1.3M, New Job Board

Jan 24, 2025

If Fanatics & Instacart had a baby: NIL FanBox

In 1998, Netflix started renting out DVDs by mail. In 2012, Instacart began delivering groceries to doorsteps in San Francisco. Over a decade later, we finally are able to get the third most important item (after movies & food) delivered directly to our front door: college-athlete signed memorabilia.

NIL FanBox is a unique company bringing subscription boxes filled with rare NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) memorabilia directly to collegiate sports fans. KB partners recently led the $2.25M seed round to fuel the startup that currently partners with university athletic departments to provide autographed collectibles of current & former athletes.

Supposedly, the only University-approved memorabilia program, ensures direct from player authenticity
$199 The All-American FanBox & $299 Living Legends FanBox - with different rarity levels of signed memorabilia per box
Exclusive partnership with the BrandR Group, which processes player payments and authenticates each signed item
30% of Revenues from FanBox purchases go back to players & athletics departments
$500K already paid out to UNC and Texas student-athletes

This Should Become a Supply-Chain Company

With the exclusive partnership with the BrandR Group, NIL FanBox is *supposedly* the only company licensed with universities to sell athlete-signed collectibles. While FanBox is the convenient front-end user experience for fans, the BrandR Group back-end logistics of 1) securing group rights with schools 2) authenticating autographed pieces, and 3) paying players/athletic departments is where the alpha lies.

If FanBox can navigate the evolving NIL landscape, it has a shot at owning the end-to-end supply chain for licensed, college-athlete signed collectibles—think Fanatics, but specifically for NIL & college sports. With a fresh valuation of ~$7M, an acquisition of a player like BrandR Group isn’t in the cards just yet, but vertical integration should be high on the priority list.

Sports-Tech Market Activity: Investors & Deals

Venture Capital

Favorited, a livestream social media app resembling TikTok, raised $1.3M in Pre-seed funding (Jan. 22nd)
- Boasting 1.3M users, a competitive 70/30 revenue split for creators, and reportedly generating over $4M in monthly revenue
- Funds allocated to product development, doubling team to 20 employees, and eyeing global expansion
- Investment backed by HF0 and Soma Ventures among others [TechCrunch]
Men in Blazers, a soccer media platform, raised $15M in Series A funding ahead of 2026 World Cup (Jan. 21st)
- Funding to support programming expansion, live event platforms, and new content initiatives including "Vamos," a Hispanic-focused platform
- Investment led by Avenue Sports Fund; other investors include Bolt Ventures and The Chernin Group among others [SportsPro]

Tilted, a new Web3 social app that combines TikTok's content model with an integrated marketplace, raised $1.3M to Launch Gamer-Focused Social App (Jan. 17th)
- Launched in response to the potential U.S. TikTok ban; now being challenged
- Developing community to connect gamers to buy, sell and trade game assets
- Investment led by Lingfeng Innovation Fund; other investors include AZA Ventures, and Wise3 Ventures among others [VentureBeat]
Music AI, a music-audio software company that provides AI-powered tools for artists, producers, and music enthusiasts, raised $40M in Series A funding (Jan. 22nd)
- Flagship app, Moises.ai, has successfully garnered over 50M users globally
- Investment led by Connect Ventures and monashees; other investors include Samsung Next, Kickstart, and Toba Capital among others [FinSMEs]
CSM Ventures, the investment arm of Commercial Sports Media, invests in performance analytics and fan engagement company, Sportable (Jan. 22nd)
- Sportable’s tech integrates embedded sensors, machine learning, and patented solutions, supporting leagues like AFL, Six Nations Rugby, and MLR
- Partnership adds to CSM’s portfolio of sports tech innovators, including Sportway Media Group and Golf GameBook [CSM Ventures]

M&A and Investments

Sixth Street launches Bay Collective, a multi-club women’s soccer organization, to invest in top women’s clubs globally (Jan. 20th)
- First club under ‘Bay Collective’ will be the NWSL's Bay FC
- Kay Cossington, former FA women’s technical director, to serve as CEO of Bay Collective and head of global women’s football at Sixth Street
- Sixth Street’s portfolio includes stakes in Real Madrid, Barcelona, and the San Antonio Spurs [SportsPro]
Major League Volleyball, a new women’s $100M, ten-team league set to debut in 2026 (Jan. 17th)
- MLV to be the fourth professional women’s volleyball league in the US, joining Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) and League One Volleyball (LOVB)
- ‘The Omaha Supernovas’, currently in the Pro Volleyball Federation, confirmed as the founding franchise of the league [SportsPro]

Next League, a digital sports consultant purchased Edge3.ai, an AI-driven analytics firm, to establish a dedicated college sports vertical (Jan. 17th)
- Edge3 leverages IBM’s WatsonX AI for data-driven insights for player recruitment and decision-making, addressing NIL deals and roster management
- Marking Next League's second major expansion in 2025, following the launch of its international practice in October [NextLeague]

PGA Tour invests in CONECTD Golf for smart putter technology (Jan. 22nd)
- Names CONECTD Golf the ‘official putting technology of the PGA Tour’.
- CONECTD’s sensors gather 26K data points per swing, offering advanced analytics typically limited to instructional facilities and planning to expand into partnerships with original equipment manufacturers [SBJ]

Tom Brady’s Autograph merges with Future, a virtual personal training app, to combine coaching, wearable tech, and elite athlete partnerships (Jan. 23rd)
- Integrating Autograph’s extensive athlete network and partnerships with Future’s personalized coaching expertise, aiming to expand global access
- Dillon and Richard Rosenblatt to continue spearheading Autograph’s Web3 and digital fandom initiatives while leveraging Future’s strategic growth opportunities [Athletech]

Infinite Reality finalized an agreement to acquire Obsess, a virtual shopping platform to expand capabilities in AI, XR, and spatial computing (Jan. 23rd)
- Obsess founder Neha Singh to join Infinite Reality as Chief Innovation Officer
- Obsess’ has powered 400+ immersive 3D digital storefronts for big-name clients including Ralph Lauren, L'Oréal, J. Crew, and Disney Music Group [VentureBeat]
Photo Creds: Sam Mallon / Washington Post

Strategic Ventures

X Games to trial a Google Cloud-powered AI judge during Superpipe snowboarding competition (Jan. 21st)
- Leveraging tools like Vertex AI to analyze trick difficulty, airtime, and execution
- AI judge aligns closely with human scoring but will act as a companion tool, not deciding medals [Sportico]

Ultrahuman, a health-monitoring company, teams up with health dashboard InsideTracker to launch Blood Vision, for cardiovascular health insights (Jan. 17th)
- Expansion plans include biomarker panels for metabolic health, hormonal balance, and immunity, with tailored packages to debut soon [Ultrahuman]

Svexa, a human performance intelligence company, announces Golf Training App Practice Coach for recommended algorithm-based training (Jan. 21st)
- Combining motor learning science and user performance data to adapt training routines to the player’s skill level, practice time, and environment
- Following Svexa’s BallersApp for soccer, Practice Coach continues the company’s expansion into skill acquisition tech [Svexa]

Fitness brand Centr partners with MNLY, a diagnostics company specializing in blood analysis, to create a holistic men’s health platform (Jan. 22nd)
- Combining Centr’s fitness and nutrition programs, strength training, HIIT, and mindfulness, with MNLY’s supplement and lifestyle recommendations [Athletech]

Tactix AI, a computer vision company, partners with Pro Quick Draw, a digital playbook platform, to co-market products for football coaches and players (Jan. 23rd)
- Aiming to merge Tactix AI's 3D digital twin tech and advanced analytics with Pro Quick Draw's playbook tools for seamless platform [TactixAI]