The 4th Quarter: Latest In Sports Tech This Week, May 30th, 2025

Protein Bar Startup Raises $75M Series A, Virat Kohli Invests In World Bowling League, New Job Board

May 30, 2025

*Photo Creds: David Protein hits an astounding $725M valuation in ~1 year of operations.*

David’s $75M Series A = Future of Protein CPG

Here’s our second CPG startup we’re writing about in the past month. And while we’ve aired our hesitations around these businesses not scaling like software startups, when a protein bar company raises a $75M Series A… you pay attention.

It may feel like every health & wellness CPG product needs a “protein” component to get attention from VCs - but David Protein is a different story.

On May 29th, David hit a $725M valuation from their Series A, led by Greenoaks with participation from Valor Equity Partners.

The wildest part?

This all happened in under a year since the product launched.

CEO & Co-founder Peter Rahal seeded his last company, RXBAR, with just $5,000 and his parents’ kitchen. That one took years to reach a $600M exit to Kellogg’s. Now, his new protein bar startup is worth more - and they’re just getting started.

Why You Should Find This Company Fascinating:

Vertical M&A Integration: David recently acquired Epogee, a food-tech supplier specializing in EPG (esterified propoxylated glycerol), a plant-based fat alternative used in David Bars to reduce calories without compromising taste
- This acquisition strengthens their supply chain as David reportedly accounts for 90% of Epogee’s revenue

CPG Turned Tech Company: In the current protein-CPG landscape, David is one of the few that controls a patented key ingredient that enables their product to be health friendly
- David isn’t just a protein bar: it’s a proven technology that uniquely enables food products to be protein-dense while being fat-balanced
- Best of all? Because David now owns the IP, they have a defensive moat protecting against competitors recreating their protein bars

Single Product → Entire Grocery Shelf: Controlling Epogee widens David’s vision by being able to create a suit of protein-packed CPG products, not just bars. Think: pastries, cookies, gummies, chips
- The protein-rich CPG market (including supplements, fortified foods, and ingredients) is estimated at $60-$100B globally

Strategic Influencer Cap Table: While the company has no official athlete partnerships, two of the biggest advocates in wellness & longevity are on the cap table: Andrew Huberman (Investor) & Peter Attia (Chief Science Officer)
- With the combined social reach of 8M between just these two, their endorsements have brought unparalleled legitimacy to the brand and an installed base of customers to sell to

Does It Live Up to The Hype?

In addition to the nutritional facts of David Bars offering 28g of protein, 150 calories, and 0g of sugar, the business metrics only reiterate the success story.

David Protein is on pace for a $100M revenue run rate and has ‘blitz-scaled’ to 3,000 retail locations - including: The Vitamin Shoppe, GNC, and more. Trendy convenience markets like Foxtrot in Chicago, upscale bodegas in NYC, and regional grocers in LA all have adopted the product. For comparison, it takes 5-10+ years for most food startups to achieve that retail footprint.

The 4th Quarter’s CPG Checklist

A few weeks ago, we debuted our four-box checklist that identifies CPG products that could attract VC/PE interest:

Is it a Premium Product?
Has it reached Critical Mass Distribution?
Is there Real Consumer Utility?
Are there Economies of Scale?

You decide if David checks all the boxes…

Sports-Tech Market Activity: Investors & Deals

Venture Capital

David Protein Bar, a high-protein, low-calorie snack bar geared for max muscle support and minimal fat gain, raised $75M in Series A funding, and is set to acquire supplier, Epogee (May 29th)
- Epogee reportedly to be acquired for its patented, calorie-reducing esterified propoxylated glycerol (EPG) fat substitute
- Investment led by Greenoaks and Valor Equity Partners [Business Newswire]

Strava hits $2.2B valuation, a 46% increase since 2020, as it raised its latest funding round (May 22nd)
- Following its last funding round which valued the company at $1.5B
- Valuation includes debt but excludes the recent acquisitions of The Breakaway and Runna
- Investment led by Sequoia Capital; other investors included existing investors TCV, Jackson Square Ventures, and Go4it Capital [Crunchbase]

DreamPark, a downloadable mixed reality theme park incubated with Two-Bit Circus, raised $1.1M in Seed funding (May 29th)
- Funding the expansion of their footprint nationwide, partnering with premium IP holders, and investing in underlying technology
- Investment led by Long Journey Ventures; other investors include Founders Inc. [GamesBeat]
Amplitude Studios, a Paris-based developer specializing in strategy games, raised €12M ($13.5M) in Series A funding (May 27th)
- Funding ‘ENDLESS Legend 2’, alongside new and in-development titles
- Investment led by Griffin Gaming Partners; other investors include Bpifrance [GamesBeat]
Ad Signal, a sustainable fingerprinting SaaS platform that manages video, image, and audio content for broadcast and advertising, raised £3M in funding (May 27th)
- Expanding offerings and commercial footprint, capitalizing on growing broadcaster demand and platforms seeking cost-effective content management solutions
- Investment led by sustainability investment company Foresight Group [Foresight]

Oncade, a D2C game distribution startup which serves as an alternative to traditional models, raised $4M in Seed funding (May 28th)
- Targeting PC and mobile studio clientele to bypass conventional 30% platform fees
- Investment led by A16z Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX) [GamesBeat]

Diversion, a cloud-based version control platform for game developers, raised $12M in Seed+ funding (May 28th)
- Expanding its reach towards larger studios and accelerating hires
- Investment led by Konvoy [GamesBeat]

Rumi, a decentralized infrastructure platform offering rewards and interactive AI agents to build out extensive knowledge base on video content, raised $4.7M in Pre-Seed funding (May 28th)
- Developing infrastructure for Live TV and sports, launching a new D2C app with AI remote and media companion, and aiming to enhance advertisers’ ROI
- Investment co-led by a16z CSX and EV3 [GamesBeat]

M&A and Investments

Rhode, Hailey Bieber’s skincare brand, sells to affordable cosmetics brand E.l.f. Beauty (May 29th)
- Composing of $800M at close ($600M in debt financing & $200M in newly issued E.l.f. shares) and potential $200M performance-based payout over the next three years [RetailDrive]

Ballard Capital, an investment firm led by NWSL’s Kansas City Current owners, acquires Danish soccer club HB Køge Women (May 27th)
- Investment led by Ballard Capital’s principal owners, Angie and Chris Long
- Køge’s men’s and women’s teams were reportedly separated for the sole sale of the women’s side, per the Longs’ commitment to women’s soccer [KC Current]

SailGP Italy (Red Bull Italy) acquired by ‘star-studded’ consortium led by Muse Capital founding partner (May 27th)
- Investor group includes Anne Hathaway, Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, Jimmy Spithill, MFO Certuity, and Yeh Capital, among others [SailGP]

Sha’Carri Richardson joins Alexis Ohanian-backed, pro women-only Athlos Track League venture as investor-advisor (May 29th)
- Returning for its 2025 iteration following its inaugural one-off track meet last year
- Sha’Carri to receive equity and serve as one of the league’s advisors
- Olympians Gabby Thomas and Tara Davis-Woodhall to serve as additional founding advisor-owners [FOS]

Valeas Capital Partners, a growth-buyout PE firm, acquires majority stake in event ticket & guest management company TicketManager (May 29th)
- Valeas commits $110M investment in transaction, expected to close June 2025 [TicketManager]

Indian cricket star Virat Kohli invests in innovative World Bowling League (May 28th)
- League seeks to organize 8-12 franchises throughout 10-15 locations in Singapore and Japan in its first year
- As the world’s third most followed athlete on Instagram, Kohli seeks to connect the league with a new generation of bowling fans [Sportico]

Former Brazilian star Ronaldo Nazario sells majority stake in Spanish club Real Valladolid (May 28th)
- Ronaldo’s 88% stake to be bought out by a consortium of investors, including US and Mexican investors, among others
- Investment fund Ben Oldman Partners took part in the deal as well, receiving a stake equivalent to the debt owed from financing Ronaldo’s transaction in 2018 [SBJ]

*Photo Creds: Red Bull Italy SailGP Team acquired by consortium of star-studded investors, led by founding partner of Muse Capital.*

Strategic Ventures

Kings League, Gerard Piqué’s seven-a-side league, partners with Saudi PIF’s SURJ Sports for joint venture, ‘Kings League MENA’ (May 27th)
- Engaging local talent via open tryouts, draft mechanisms, and community activations
- Kings League welcomes its seventh global league following leagues in Italy, Germany, France, Brazil, Mexico, and its original Spanish league [SURJ]
Pinterest launches first-ever sports partnership with WNBA side New York Liberty (May 29th)
- Providing exclusive content, in-game experiences, and community outreach
- Additionally, collaboration includes promoting National Girls and Women in Sports Day alongside refurbishing local courts’ basketball backboards in NY [Pinterest]

i-BrainTech, a deep-tech startup strengthening neuromuscular function through visualization training, ventures into youth soccer academy markets (May 29th)
- Users utilize an EEG headset to monitor decision-making and execution via gamification
- Previously adopted by leading pro clubs Juventus, Real Sociedad, SL Benfica, and Orlando City SC, and formerly Atlanta United [SBJ]