Sports tech investors: who's funding fitness apps and athlete platforms

Most sports tech investors say they want to back innovation. Few actually write checks for companies that haven't already proven traction. The difference between getting funded and getting ghosted often comes down to picking investors who understand your specific niche - whether that's wearables, esports, or fan engagement platforms.

Quick list

Picking the right sports tech investor

Experience: Find investors who've backed companies through your specific challenges. Consumer fitness apps need different advice than enterprise sports analytics platforms. Don't fall for generalist VCs who suddenly discovered sports tech last quarter.

Network: Ask portfolio companies about actual help during critical moments. Check if they can intro you to teams, leagues, or hardware partners. Brand names matter less than access to decision-makers at the companies you're trying to sell to.

Alignment: Seed investors often don't understand Series B burn rates. A fund focused on esports betting won't get your youth sports participation platform. Make sure they've funded similar business models before.

Track record: Look at whether their portfolio companies raised follow-on rounds. Dead portfolio companies are a red flag. Check if exits were acquisitions or shutdowns dressed up as pivots.

Communication: Use Ellty to share your deck with trackable links. You'll see who actually opens your financial projections vs. just skimming the intro slides. Investors who spend 30 seconds on your deck probably aren't serious.

Value-add: Generic "we have a great network" answers are useless. Ask what operational support they provide during tough fundraising periods. Most funds overpromise on post-investment help.

How to approach sports tech investors

Identify potential investors: Research recent deals on Pitchbook or Crunchbase. Seed funds won't lead your Series B no matter how good your pitch is. Check which investors actually understand wearables vs. those who just funded one fitness app.

Craft a compelling pitch: Show user retention and unit economics upfront. Most investors are tired of market size slides without proof of customer acquisition. Lead with what makes teams actually pay you.

Share your pitch deck: Upload to Ellty and send trackable links. Monitor which pages investors spend time on. If they skip your unit economics, that's useful information about whether they're serious buyers.

Utilize your network: Message portfolio founders on LinkedIn and ask about response times and actual value-add. Most will be honest about whether an investor delivers on promises.

Attend networking events: Sports Business Journal conferences and SoccerEx are where deals actually happen. Skip the small local meetups that waste your time.

Engage on online platforms: Connect with partners on LinkedIn after you've been introduced by someone they trust. Cold DMs rarely work in sports tech.

Organize due diligence: Set up an Ellty data room with your financial model and cap table before they ask. It speeds up the process when investors get serious.

Set up introductory meetings: Lead with your differentiation in athlete performance or fan engagement. Don't waste 20 minutes on market size slides they've seen 100 times.

Why sports tech matters now

The first half of 2024 saw 225 M&A deals totaling $27.3 billion in sports tech, tripling deal value from late 2023. Silver Lake's $13B Endeavor acquisition and Liberty Media's $4.6B Dorna Sports purchase show institutional capital finally taking sports seriously.

Over 80% of private financing deals went to early-stage companies, meaning seed and Series A investors are where the action is. Wearable tech specialists drove 42% of all private deals. The money is moving into companies solving real problems for teams and athletes, not consumer apps with fancy interfaces.

15 top sports tech investors

1. Courtside Ventures

Early-stage fund that doesn't care about your traditional sports background if you understand gaming or collectibles.

• Recent Deals: Fermat $45M Series B (June 2025), Jump Series A (August 2025), Michael Jordan joined as LP for Fund IV ($100M)
• LinkedIn: Deepen Parikh
• Sector Focus: Sports betting, gaming, collectibles, wellness, nutrition
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: New York, New York
• Website: courtsidevc.com

2. SeventySix Capital

Philadelphia-based fund with an athlete venture group that actually gets how performance tech works.

• Recent Deals: Lucra Sports $10M Series A (2024), Quintar investment, Epoxy.ai backing
• LinkedIn: SeventySix Capital
• Sector Focus: Sports betting, esports, analytics, athlete performance
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A, Series B
• Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Website: seventysixcapital.com

3. Sapphire Sport

Serious money from Manchester City owners and Adidas for companies that can scale globally.

• Recent Deals: Raised $181M Fund II (2023), backed Tonal, PlayVS, Overtime, POAP
• LinkedIn: Sapphire Ventures
• Sector Focus: Digital fitness, esports, sports betting, data analytics, media
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B
• Location: Palo Alto, California
• Website: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-sport

4. ADvantage VC

Dassler family fund (yes, those Dasslers from Adidas) with global sports connections that matter.

• Recent Deals: Greenfly $14M Series D lead (April 2024), Ladder $100M+ (November 2024), Ambak $7M pre-Series A (January 2025)
• LinkedIn: Jeremy Pressman
• Sector Focus: Fan engagement, connected athletes, esports, fantasy sports
• Stage Focus: Seed, Series A
• Location: Jerusalem, Israel
• Website: advantage.vc

5. Elysian Park Ventures

LA Dodgers ownership group that understands how teams actually make money from tech.

• Recent Deals: Splash Sports $14.1M Series A2 (January 2024), FCTRY Lab Series A (March 2025), Guidesly $9.5M Series A (January 2025)
• LinkedIn: Elysian Park Ventures
• Sector Focus: Sports betting, fan engagement, wearables, sports health, commerce
• Stage Focus: Seed to growth (stage-agnostic)
• Location: Los Angeles, California
• Website: elysianpark.ventures

6. HXCO (Halo Experience Co)

Ryan Smith's $1B fund that connects startups to Utah Jazz and hockey teams for real-world testing.

• Recent Deals: Launched April 2025, targeting 20-25 investments over 3 years
• LinkedIn: Ryan Smith (Utah Jazz owner)
• Sector Focus: Tech companies using sports for client acquisition or attention
• Stage Focus: Growth-stage
• Location: Sandy, Utah
• Website: haloxco.com

7. Ryan Sports Ventures

Chicago's Ryan family bringing Bears and Penske connections to sports tech deals.

• Recent Deals: Men In Blazers $15M (January 2025), Greenfly Series D (April 2024), Sportable investment (2024)
• LinkedIn: Ryan Sports Ventures
• Sector Focus: Sports technology, athlete performance, fan engagement, data
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: Chicago, Illinois
• Website: ryansportsventures.com

8. Stadia Ventures

Longest-running sports tech accelerator that actually helps you close your next customer.

• Recent Deals: Helios Hockey (June 2024), 15 cohorts completed, $100K per company investment
• LinkedIn: Stadia Ventures
• Sector Focus: Fan engagement, performance, wellness, esports, sports betting
• Stage Focus: Pre-Series A, accelerator
• Location: St. Louis, Missouri
• Website: stadiaventures.com

9. Alumni Ventures Sports & Humans Fund

America's largest VC for individuals with 11,000 accredited investors across sports deals.

• Recent Deals: Co-investing with Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Accel across sports portfolio
• LinkedIn: Alumni Ventures
• Sector Focus: Sports, lifestyle, gaming, fitness, wellness
• Stage Focus: Seed to growth (various stages)
• Location: Manchester, New Hampshire
• Website: av.vc/funds/sports

10. KB Partners VC

Highland Park fund investing at the intersection of passionate sports innovators and technology.

• Recent Deals: Active in NIL markets and sports merchandise innovation
• LinkedIn: KB Partners
• Sector Focus: Sports technology, media, fan engagement
• Stage Focus: Seed, early-stage
• Location: Highland Park, Illinois
• Website: Not publicly available

11. Mercato Partners

Launched $400M AI fund specifically for sports applications that scale.

• Recent Deals: Greenfly Series D (April 2024), Cosm $250M investment
• LinkedIn: Mercato Partners
• Sector Focus: AI in sports, fan engagement, sports entertainment
• Stage Focus: Growth-stage
• Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
• Website: mercatopartners.com

12. Causeway Media

Growth-stage fund that gets the fitness and wellness market because they've scaled companies there.

• Recent Deals: Freeletics $45M (March 2024), focused on fitness tech scale-ups
• LinkedIn: Causeway Media Partners
• Sector Focus: Fitness, wellness, sports media, fan engagement
• Stage Focus: Growth-stage
• Location: Los Angeles, California
• Website: causeway.vc

13. Verance Capital

Sports-focused investor with multiple follow-on investments showing they back winners long-term.

• Recent Deals: Greenfly Series D increased stake (April 2024), multiple sports media investments
• LinkedIn: Verance Capital
• Sector Focus: Sports media, content technology, fan engagement
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B, Series C
• Location: New York, New York
• Website: verancecapital.com

14. Iconica Partners

Repeat investor in sports content and media platforms with operational experience.

• Recent Deals: Greenfly Series D follow-on (April 2024), sports media portfolio
• LinkedIn: Iconica Partners
• Sector Focus: Sports content, media tech, digital platforms
• Stage Focus: Series A, Series B
• Location: Los Angeles, California
• Website: Not publicly available

15. Sapphire Ventures (Growth Fund)

Separate from Sapphire Sport, this is their enterprise growth fund that backs B2B sports tech.

• Recent Deals: Defense Unicorns $35M Series A (2025), over 30 public listings since 2011
• LinkedIn: Sapphire Ventures
• Sector Focus: B2B SaaS for sports, enterprise applications, data analytics
• Stage Focus: Growth-stage, late-stage
• Location: Menlo Park, California
• Website: sapphireventures.com

Start tracking your sports tech outreach

These 15 investors closed deals from 2023 to November 2025. Before you start reaching out, set up proper tracking.

Upload your deck to Ellty and create a unique link for each investor. You'll see exactly which slides they view and how long they spend on your financials. Most founders are surprised to learn investors skip their market size slides but spend 5+ minutes on unit economics.

When investors ask for more materials, share an Ellty data room instead of messy email threads. Your cap table, financial model, and partnership agreements in one secure place with view analytics. You'll know if they're seriously reviewing your docs or just being polite.

Common questions

How do I know if a sports tech investor is still active? Check their most recent deals on Crunchbase or Pitchbook. If they haven't closed anything in 18+ months, they're probably not deploying capital. Look at portfolio company funding announcements on LinkedIn.

Should I cold email sports investors or get introductions? Warm intros win 95% of the time in sports tech. Message portfolio founders on LinkedIn and ask for intros if there's fit. Cold emails work occasionally if you have impressive traction and lead with specific metrics.

What's the difference between seed and Series A sports tech investors? Seed investors expect you to still be figuring out product-market fit and might invest $500K-$2M. Series A investors want proof of repeatable sales and will write $5M-$15M checks. Don't pitch Series A funds if you don't have clear unit economics yet.

How many sports tech investors should I reach out to? Target 15-25 investors max who actually match your stage and sector. Quality over quantity matters. Use Ellty to track which ones actually engage with your materials so you know where to focus follow-up.

When should I set up a data room? Before you start pitching Series A investors. Have your financial model, cap table, customer contracts, and IP docs ready in Ellty. Series A processes move fast when investors are interested, and being prepared matters.

Do investors actually care about pitch deck analytics? Yes, but not how you think. Smart investors use analytics to gauge their own interest level before taking meetings. If they spend 10 minutes reviewing your financials, that's a signal they're serious. Track it for yourself too - it tells you which investors to prioritize.