🔊 Why Sony Just Invested $100M Into The Future Of Shared Reality

Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced a $100 million strategic investment in Cosm, a global technology company that delivers immersive experiences across sports, entertainment, science, and education.

The move marks a push by the Hollywood studio to extend its film and television properties into a growing network of dome-shaped venues across the US.

Cosm operates ​these venues using its "Shared Reality" technology, which projects ​live sports, concerts, and other events onto massive, ⁠wraparound curved LED screens.

As the lead investor in ​Cosm's Series C financing round, Sony Pictures will acquire ​a minority ownership stake in the company.

The investment advances Sony Pictures' focus on experiential entertainment, fandom, ​and technology, and would allow the studio to ​explore new ways to extend its intellectual property through immersive experiences.

Sony ‌Pictures ⁠CEO Ravi Ahuja will join Cosm's board of directors.

Why This Matters

Think about the last time you watched a major sporting event at home.

Good TV. Good couch. Maybe some decent popcorn.

All in all, pretty solid vibes.

But there might have also been something missing.

Now, think about the last time you were actually there in the building, surrounded by thousands of fans, feeling that infectious energy, and witnessing those irreplaceable moments in real time.

That's the gap Cosm is filling.

The combination of the comfort of your home and the chaos of a live environment.

And Sony is betting $100 million that more people will crave this.

Cosm's "Shared Reality" technology turns dome-shaped venues into fully immersive environments.

It’s live sports and entertainment projected across massive wraparound LED screens.

It's not a bar or an arena. It's a third option that hasn't existed before.

As the lead investor in Cosm's Series C round, Sony signals that it sees this as a strategic distribution play.

Sony has one of the deepest content libraries in the world, and Cosm gives it a new way to bring it to life in a format that streaming never could.

For sports specifically, the implications and upside are evident.

Imagine watching the Super Bowl or a UFC title fight inside a Cosm venue, fully immersed with hundreds of other fans, at a fraction of the cost of attending live.

But that’s just the beginning.

Beyond sports, the studio sees opportunities to integrate its movies, music, anime, and interactive (PlayStation) businesses with Cosm.

With Sony behind it, Cosm has the potential to become a generation-defining global entertainment company right before our eyes.

• Kilmer Sports Ventures & Ilitch Companies Invest $100M In PWHL. The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) announced that Kilmer Sports Ventures and Ilitch Companies have joined the league as strategic partners, becoming the first outside investors since the league's establishment in 2023. Kilmer Sports Ventures is led by Toronto businessman Larry Tanenbaum, and Ilitch Companies is the parent company of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings and MLB’s Detroit Tigers. According to Sportico, the league has received a $100 million investment; however, financial terms were not disclosed in the league’s announcement (more here).

• Seat Unique Raises $25.4M. Seat Unique, a premium ticketing and hospitality platform backed by England captain Harry Kane, has secured $25.4 million (£20 million) in new funding led by Nickleby Capital. Active Partners, Pentland Ventures, and Hearst Ventures also participated in the round. The company's star-studded investor roster includes England cricketers Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad, Olympic champion Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Maya Jama, and Jack Whitehall (more here).

• Sportway Raises $22.7M. Sportway Media Group, a Swedish-based AI-driven sports media company, has raised $22.7 million (€20 million). The financing was led by Gamma Waves alongside continued participation from existing shareholders. Sportway currently serves organizations such as the Swedish Ice Hockey Association, Finnish Ice Hockey Association, Royal Dutch Hockey Association (KNHB), and the Norwegian Tennis and Padel Federation. The new funding will help the company to continue providing end-to-end, fully automated video and data production for sporting events and make them accessible to a wider audience. (more here).

• Onyx Odds Raises $20M. Onyx Odds, a social sports prediction platform, has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round. The funding round was led by Payward, the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, and Bitnomial. Onyx Odds plans to integrate its platform with Payward Services to power its prediction markets on Payward's US derivatives stack. The capital will also be used to embed crypto trading capabilities directly into the Onyx application and scale operations by leveraging Payward's existing infrastructure, licenses, and vendor relationships (more here).

• ALT Sports Data Raises $5M. ALT Sports Data (ASD), a sports tech company building an operating system for leagues, has raised $5 million in Seed funding. Game Changers Ventures led the round, with Relay Ventures, Scrum Ventures, and other existing investors joining. The money will fuel ASD's League Operating System, a platform that bundles official data, compliance, fan engagement, media distribution, and betting activation into a single framework that scales as the league grows (more here).

• Nationwide Joins Columbus Crew Ownership Group. Nationwide, a Columbus-based insurance company, has officially become a minority owner in the Columbus Crew. The announcement comes nearly two months after the Haslam Sports Group, the Edwards family, and Nationwide helped bring the 18th NWSL franchise to Columbus. Nationwide will take a meaningful minority stake in the club, but no specifics have been provided on the size of its stake (more here).

• URUNN Raises Seven-Figure Round. URUNN, a running app co-founded by four-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Mo Farah, has raised a seven-figure Seed round. The round was backed by fitness platform 10XU and a group of private investors. The capital will fund expansion across product, engineering, performance, and global user growth, as well as the hiring of specialist talent. URUNN has secured users in more than 110 countries and partnerships with Huawei, Vodafone, Puma, and Adidas (more here).

• Michele Kang Acquires Olympique Lyonnais. Michele Kang, one of the most influential figures in women’s professional soccer, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in French Ligue 1 football club Olympique Lyonnais and provide funding for the team. Kang has been leading the club for over a year. The deal would sever the French soccer club’s ties to John Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings, and Kang's entity will pay $30 million for an 87.8% stake in the club while pledging to inject up to $80 million of capital into the organization (more here).

• CoverFour Acquires Chandler Bats. CoverFour, a sporting goods investment company, has acquired Chandler Bats, a premium baseball bat manufacturer. The acquisition marks CoverFour's emergence as a major force in the sporting goods industry and lays the foundation for its athlete-centric platform strategy. CoverFour plans to accelerate growth through athlete-led innovation, direct-to-consumer sales, expanded manufacturing capacity, and international expansion. CoverFour's portfolio includes Legion football gear, SweetSpot sports products, Luccini baseball uniforms, Throne Sport Coffee, co-founded by Patrick Mahomes, and the upcoming pickleball brand Alliat. Financial details were not disclosed (more here).

• Lukas Walton Invests In Chicago Bulls. Lukas and Samantha Walton, heirs to the Walton family, have acquired a minority stake in the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and the United Center. The transaction involves the purchase of existing stakes from certain limited partners. The Reinsdorf and Wirtz families will continue to hold the controlling interest in the Bulls organization and the United Center. Financial details around the Walton family’s stake and investment were not disclosed (more here).

• CVC Capital Partners Invests In Chess. CVC Capital Partners, a leading global private equity firm, has invested in Chess.com, the world's largest online chess platform. The investment comes from CVC's Fund IX, joining existing investor General Atlantic, which will remain a shareholder. Chess.com has experienced exponential growth in recent years, driven by cultural moments like The Queen's Gambit and viral social media content. CVC brings experience in online entertainment and live events, which it will use to help Chess.com expand its platform and grow Chess's global presence (more here).

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• Presidio & NHL Announce Partnership. The NHL has renewed its regional partnership with Presidio, an IT company, which will continue as the league’s official technology and innovation partner under a new multi-year agreement. The renewal builds on the pair’s original agreement, struck in 2023, and will see Presidio continue to enhance the league’s technological infrastructure, including integrating data and using managed services to support day-to-day operations, as well as designing and creating applications to support the broadcast of more than 1,300 games annually (more here).

• Golden State & Iren Announce Partnership. Golden State and IREN$IREN ( ▼ 1.11% ), a vertically integrated AI Cloud provider, have announced a landmark multi-year global partnership that will include the IREN badge on all Golden State Warriors jerseys, beginning with the 2026-27 season, as part of a broad partnership spanning the Warriors, Golden State Valkyries, Santa Cruz Warriors, and Chase Center. The partnership includes IREN’s designation as the Official AI Cloud Partner of Golden State, branding on Valkyries player warm-ups and Santa Cruz jerseys, prominent visibility throughout Chase Center, and presenting sponsorship of the Warriors’ annual City Edition platform (more here).

• Canucks Sports & Entertainment & RBC Announce Partnership. Canucks Sports & Entertainment (CSE), the owner of the Vancouver Canucks, has announced a multi-year partnership with financial services firm Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) that spans its portfolio of sports properties. The deal names RBC the official bank of CSE’s range of sports and entertainment properties, including the Vancouver Canucks (NHL) and its home venue, Rogers Arena, as well as the American Hockey League affiliate team, the Abbotsford Canucks, and its home venue, Rogers Forum. RBC will gain sponsorship and marketing rights across the two sports properties and their venues, as well as jersey patch rights on the Vancouver Canucks' home jersey starting in the 2026-27 NHL season (more here).

• Amazon & Boardroom Announce Partnership. Amazon's Wondery studio has partnered with Boardroom, the media company co-founded by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman, in an exclusive audio and video distribution deal. Starting in 2027, the network's sports, business, and entertainment content will be available across Prime Video, Amazon Music, and Fire TV Channels. The Boardroom deal is just one part of Amazon's aggressive expansion into sports, entertainment, and creator-led content, with the company adding major names like Oprah Winfrey, LeBron James, and Travis and Jason Kelce (more here).

• NBPA Launches PLYRS UNTD. The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the labor union for the NBA, has revamped its commercial business by establishing a new brand platform, PLYRS UNTD. PLYRS UNTD will replace Think450, the previous for-profit B2B licensing and business development arm, and manage commercial partnerships related to its members' collective name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. It will include securing licensing agreements, merchandising, social media and digital content, player and brand collaborations, investments, fan experientials, and more (more here).

• Arctos Sports, RVX & Magellan Launch Sports-Anchored Development Platform. Arctos, a leading sports-focused private equity firm, RVX Ventures, a real estate development platform, and Magellan Development Group have partnered to launch a new platform targeting the sports-anchored development sector. The platform’s inaugural project is Neyland Entertainment District, a new $288 million development spanning the Tennessee River waterfront adjacent to Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The plans also include a 24-story hotel, apartments, a private club, and 100,000 square feet of entertainment space (more here).

• Baker Mayfield, Jalen Williams & Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Invest In OKC For Soccer. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield, OKC Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams, and Olympic gold medalist and world record-holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone are investing in the new OKC soccer club and stadium district development. The $121 million stadium is expected to open in 2028 and already has support and investment from former Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook as well as athletes like Jozy Altidore and Nik Bonito. Financial details of their investment were not disclosed (more here).

• Novak Djokovic Joins General Atlantic. General Atlantic, a growth equity firm based in NYC, has announced that tennis legend Novak Djokovic has joined the firm as Global Strategic Advisor. In this new role, he will work with General Atlantic’s leadership, portfolio companies, and investors. General Atlantic said Djokovic will bring perspectives on leadership, resilience, and innovation as the firm continues partnering with founders and entrepreneurs building high-growth companies. General Atlantic invests across sectors, including healthcare, life sciences, consumer, and technology (more here).

• Pat McAfee Joins JAMS As Co-Owner. Former NFL player and commentator Pat McAfee has announced an investment in JAMS, a Nashville-based brand and a modern reinvention of the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich, upgraded with ingredients designed for today's active lifestyles. The strategic partnership arrives ahead of expanded retail distribution, sports partnerships, and new flavor innovations that will hit nationwide retail this summer. Financial details were not disclosed (more here).

• ESPN Launches ESPN Fan House. ESPN has announced ESPN Fan House, a fan engagement hub powered by Flowcode, which will launch in August ahead of the 2026 college football season. The hub includes features such as live polls, trivia, sweepstakes, merchandise, and brand integrations accessible at home, at on-site events, and across social and digital platforms. For advertisers, the platform offers participation-based sponsorship, digital wallet integration for exclusive offers and rewards, and sponsorship extensions into the ESPN app (more here).