🔊 NBA Reveals Futuristic Tech Court

📰 TOP STORY
NBA Announces New LED Glass Court For NBA All-Star 2024

• New LED Glass Court For NBA All-Star 2024. The high-performance, immersive sports floor is designed to enhance the fan experience in-arena and on broadcast through its interactive displays. During each event, visual effects displayed on the court will include the following:

• Design and color changes

• Live replays and other video content

• Real-time game stats

• Location-based player tracking animations

• Interactive games for fans during timeouts

• Immersive animations following key plays and moments

Check out the full press release and more information on the court here: https://www.nba.com/news/nba-unveils-led-court-all-star-2024

💰 MONEY MOVES 
Sports VR Company StatusPro Raises $20 Million

• Statuspro Raises $20 Million In Series A Funding. StatusPro, a virtual reality-based sports gaming company, announced a $20 million Series A round this week. The round was led by GV (Google Ventures), with participation from additional funding from India’s renowned sports-tech giant Dream Sports, Minnesota Vikings Owners Mark & Zygi Wilf’s Wise Ventures, JDS Sports, and Alumni Ventures (more here).

• Sports Tech Startup SportVot Raises Rs 9 Crore (about $1.1 million) In Funding. The round was led by Omidyar Network India. Anicut Capital, StartupLynk, Ventana Ventures, and existing investors Capital A, Ankur Capital, Sucseed Innovation Fund, and Marwah Sports also participated in the funding round (more here).

• Minute Media Valued At Over $1 Billion After A New Round Of Funding. Minute Media, the parent company to sports and entertainment sites like The Players' Tribune and Mental Floss, has raised a new round of funding, valuing the firm at over $1 billion (more here).

• Camb.AI Raises $4 Million In Seed Funding. The round was led by Courtside Ventures, Ikemori Ventures, and Eisaburo Maeda. The investor group also includes TRTL Ventures, Dubai Future District Fund, and Blue Star Innovation Partners who were early investors in the company (more here).

• ActionStreamer Raises $2.4 Million In Series A Round. The round, guided by JumpStart Ventures via the Advanced Manufacturing Fund, saw backing from MAGNET and co-investment from the Castellini Management Company, linked with the Cincinnati Reds (more here).

• Wolves’ Chinese Owner Fosun Sports Seeks To Raise $100 Million. Fosun Sports Group is looking to raise around $100 million to help it grow its esports portfolio and invest in Premier League football team Wolverhampton Wanderers (more here).

• Disney Invests $1.5 Billion In Epic Games. The media giant will work with the Fortnite gaming studio on new games and an entertainment universe (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS & ACQUISITIONS
Better Collective Officially Completes Playmaker Capital Acquisition

• Better Collective Officially Acquires Playmaker Capital. Better Collective, a global digital sports media group, has just concluded the acquisition of Playmaker Capital, becoming the leader in digital sports media in South America (more here).

• ESPN, Fox & Warner Bros. Discovery To Form Sports Streaming Service. Three of the biggest sports streaming companies in the US are teaming up to create a joint streaming venture with all of their linear sports TV content (more here).

• NBA Announces Partnership With Emirates. The NBA has struck a multiyear partnership deal with Emirates, where the airline will become the title sponsor of the league’s in-season tournament — which will have a new name — and have its logo on referee jerseys in the NBA, WNBA and G League (more here).

• League One Volleyball & Tonal Announce Partnership. League One Volleyball (LOVB), a first-of-its-kind community that’s reimagining the future of volleyball, announced a partnership with Tonal, the world’s smartest strength training system, to bring volleyball-specific training programs to the public (more here).

• Svexa Acquires Kollektiv. Svexa has acquired Kollektiv, a platform that enables coaches to build communities using AI-driven triathlon and other multi-sport training plans for their athletes (more here).

• New York City FC & Capital Rx Announce Aleeve Partnership. As part of the tie-up, the Capital Rx logo will feature on the right sleeve of NYCFC’s first team jerseys, and the company will also have a significant presence in-stadium at home matches (more here).

🔊 OTHER SPORTS NEWS
Wilson Will Drop 3D Airless Basketball

• Wilson Announces Plan To Sell First 3D Printed Airless Basketball. Wilson Sporting Goods has announced the release of the Wilson Airless Gen1, the first-of-its-kind 3D-printed airless basketball, that does not need to be inflated. The basketball will supposedly retail for $2,500 (more here).

• 20 Sports Tech Ideas To Invest In Now – Class Of 2024. SportsPro presented its annual list of the 20 sports tech startups that should be on every investor and sports organization’s radar over the next 12 months (more here).

• How Private Equity Is Changing The Global Soccer Landscape With Big Investments In Clubs & Leagues. The soccer landscape is changing quickly with a surge of investment firms injecting billions into clubs and leagues around the world (more here).

• FuturePlay Unveils A New Horizon In Online Crypto Gaming. A revolutionary blend of sports, gaming, and entertainment, FuturePlay casino pioneers a transformative community where crypto bets meet thrilling sports categories and exciting game titles (more here).

• 10 Amazing Ways Virtual Reality Will Impact Sports. Major things are happening in the world of VR. Check out what’s taken shape over the past week or so… (more here).

• This Former Pro Athlete Left His Silicon Valley Tech Job To Build ‘Golf’s Premium Betting App’. Becoming a pro basketball player is very hard. And so is building a successful tech startup. Matt Rum has done both… (more here).

• Dwight Howard NFTs: Athletes Need To ‘Take The Time’ To Understand How They Work. Zilliqa executive Tom Fleetham described former NBA player Dwight Howard’s NFT project as a “complete disaster” which left fans underwhelmed (more here).

• Super Bowl Betting Projects To Reach Record $1.3 Billion In Legal US Markets In 2024. LSR projects bettors across 39 regulated markets will wager $1.29 billion on today’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, up from last year’s estimated $1.08 billion to a new all-time high (more here).