🔊 $20M Raise For AI-Powered Sports Video Startup

📰 TOP STORY
AI-Powered Sports Video Solution Spiideo Raises $20M In Funding

• Spiideo Raises $20M In Funding. Sports video is transforming and Swedish company Spiideo is leading the way. The company intends to accelerate the development and adoption of its AI-powered automated sports video technology. They are already a global market leader in more than 60 countries and provide products that are installed in over 6,000 venues and used by more than 4,000 teams across English football’s Premier League, NHL, NBA, Serie A, MLS, Ligue 1, NCAA, Liga MX, and Bundesliga, as well as numerous second and third tier international leagues. Their cloud AI native cameras enable a range of automated production and analysis services to streamline capabilities for organizations. Cipio Partners led this new round of funding. Existing investors such as Mathias Kamprad, Måns Hultman (Tassaka AB), and Håkan Roos (Roosgruppen AB), also participated. Roland Dennert, Managing Partner of Cipio Partners, will join the Spiideo board as well (more here).

💰 MONEY MOVES 
Dapper Labs $4M TopShot Lawsuit

• Dapper Labs Enters $4M Lawsuit Settlement. Dapper Labs’ $4M settlement agreement to end a class-action lawsuit against the firm reaffirms NBA Top Shot NFTs are not securities, according to CEO Roham Gharegozlou (more here).

• Larry Fitzgerald, Andy Roddick Among Investors In Golf’s Whoosh. Whoosh, Inc., which was founded in 2022 to provide intuitive operations and hospitality solutions primarily for private golf and racquet clubs, has closed a $10.3M Series A funding round involving a handful of venture capital firms as well as professional athletes. Former NFL receiver Larry Fitzgerald Jr., a future Hall of Famer, is among a group of notable investors that also includes former pro tennis player Andy Roddick and professional golfers Kurt Kitayama and Alison Lee (more here).

• Rice Grants $800K To DivInc Sports Tech Accelerator. Rice University is awarding a $800K grant over three years to DivInc to fund the operation of accelerators designed to support diverse founders in building innovative startups that shape the technology of tomorrow. The grant supports DivInc’s mission to generate social and economic equity through entrepreneurship and address the capital gap to produce thriving startup companies’ success and will provide funding for the company to operate several accelerators (more here).

• ECAL Acquires Rokt Calendar. The leading calendar marketing and communications company ECAL is expanding, acquiring US-based company Rokt Calendar adding more than 25 tier-one brands to ECAL’s portfolio. As part of the deal, ECAL – which syncs users’ favorite live events, sporting fixtures, shows, ticketing, and venue information directly to their calendars, will add an extra eight million users to the platform. The NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, Indycar, EuroLeague, Fox Sports, Big Ten Network, The Skimm, and SiriusXM are some of the brands moving to ECAL’s suite following the acquisition (more here).

• Kilmer Sports Ventures Acquires French Professional Football Club AS Saint-Étienne. Kilmer Sports Ventures, a part of Kilmer Group, announced that it has successfully acquired AS Saint-Étienne, one of France's most decorated and beloved football clubs. The announcement comes just one day after the club’s victory against FC Metz which secured its promotion back to Ligue 1 next season (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS
Michigan School Of Business Partners With Mega Sports PE Firm Arctos

• Michigan Ross School Of Business & Arctos Launch Pioneering Sports Franchise Index. The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan is collaborating with Arctos Sports Partners, a leading sports private investment firm, to present the Ross-Arctos Sports Franchise Index. The index will serve as a tool for assessing the aggregate value and performance of North American sports franchises that comprise MLB, NBA, NFL, and the NHL (more here).

• Ballogy Announces Strategic Partnership With AquaBloom. Ballogy Inc., the leading skills development and assessment platform for youth and amateur athletes, announced it has formalized a strategic partnership with AquaBloom International Sports Technology Group (ABSG) to enter the Hong Kong and mainland China market (more here).

• OneFootball & Stadion Partner To Launch E-Commerce Soccer Marketplace. The marketplace, which will go live this summer, will enable fans to purchase official products directly from the app through OneFootball’s global network of more than 130 clubs, leagues, and federations by integrating with their fan-facing channels. It will also offer official merchandise and tickets to hospitality packages, memberships, livestreams, memorabilia, and even in-stadium food and beverage orders (more here).

• BrainLit & Minnesota Twins Announce Partnership. BrainLit's Biocentric lighting technology platform is designed to replicate the natural spectrum of sunlight, facilitating circadian alignment. By integrating this revolutionary technology at Target Field, the Minnesota Twins are fostering an organizational environment using light to enhance performance and wellness (more here).

🔊 ATHLETES & OTHER SPORTS NEWS
Carmelo Anthony Adds Team Owner To His Resume

• Carmelo Partners With Australian Basketball League & Becomes Owner. Anthony has announced a partnership with Australia’s National Basketball League that includes him joining the ownership group of a future expansion team. The 10-time NBA All-Star will also serve as global ambassador of the NBL’s Next Stars program (more here).

• Michael Bloomberg Agrees To Join Marc Lore & Alex Rodriguez Timberwolves Ownership Group. Bloomberg, ranked by Forbes as the 12th-richest person in the world, brings a major investor to the Lore-Rodriguez group, which currently owns nearly 40% of the Timberwolves and WNBA’s Lynx and is in a battle with Glen Taylor for majority control of the franchises (more here).

• Triathletes Kristian Blummenfelt & Gustav Iden Invest In Pelotan. Pelotan, the sunscreen brand engineered specifically for athletes, has announced that world-renowned triathletes Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden have become athlete investors. Pelotan is engineered with endurance sports in mind, offering long-lasting, lightweight, and sweat-resistant protection to keep athletes safe under the sun (more here).

• San Diego Padres Infielder Tucupita Marcano Banned For Life For Betting. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 in October 2022 and from last July through November with a legal sportsbook. The 24-year-old Venezuelan with 149 games of major league experience became the first active player in a century banned for life because of gambling (more here).

• 16 Rising Stars Of Sports Betting & Gaming. Business Insider is recognizing 16 rising stars in US sports betting for leadership and innovation (more here).

• KickGlass Marketing Playbook For Brands Investing In Women’s Sports. Women's sports are experiencing unprecedented growth, with record-breaking attendance, surging revenues, and a wave of new opportunities for female athletes worldwide. Women's sports are experiencing unprecedented growth, with record-breaking attendance, surging revenues, and a wave of new opportunities for female athletes worldwide (more here).

• Canadian Sport Tech Startups Selected To Join Future Of Sport Lab. Future of Sport Lab (FSL) announced that nine Canadian sport tech startups have been accepted into its acclaimed incubator program. The companies come from a range of sectors including AI, athlete training, fan engagement, wearable technology and smart equipment, analytics, and sports betting (more here).

• Is This America’s First $100 Million-A-Year Athlete? NBA stars are on their way to nine-figure salaries. And it might happen sooner than you think (more here).