Rite of passage – Metaverse-native sports – Smart fabrics – Longevity supplements – Hormone tracking – Smart tennis courts – Psychedelic telehealth – Future of heart health – Digital ski coach
Week 48
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Confessions
Scott and I recently came back from a road trip to Devon, where we held a spurious corporate offsite that involved hiking, wild swimming, paddleboarding, and copious amounts of red meat, ice cream, and cider.
The stated purpose of the trip was to spend some time planning our fundraise (we’re raising a pre-seed round to go full-time on Skin In The Game and accelerate growth). But spending time together in a new environment led to some interesting revelations:
Scott is really into American Football, having played and coached at uni.
He has a massive truck which takes great skill to drive – and he’s paranoid about scratching it whilst negotiating comically narrow country lanes.
Both of our fathers are former Royal Marines, and we would like to use Skin In The Game as a vehicle for giving back to military veterans.
We are both fascinated by the concept of bio-hacking and keen to incorporate this as a core element of our deal flow and business.
Scott is by no means as addicted to Grenade bars as I am.
We’re frustrated by the tension between professionalism and personality on LinkedIn and would like to explore ways of expressing ourselves more authentically and fully (Scott is going to live stream from the gym with his top off, I’m going to take you swimming with me in my local river).
He is a lager-man. I’m an ale-man. We both enjoy drinking suds in the sun but our days of hardcore boozing and batting on to nightclubs are over (just about).
We’re both addicted to coffee, cold water, weight-training, leather-bound books, ice cream (but only cones), sunlight, Spotify, and £1 cheeseburgers from McDonalds.
Both of us are pretty open-minded and pragmatic. We’re not ideological about Skin In The Game’s business model or endgame – we simply want to help people invest in sports & health and align interests with them over the long term.
Neither of us are very good at paddleboarding!
The centrepiece of the trip was a hike on Dartmoor. Having consulted Google Maps for all of 30 seconds I thought this was going to be a walk in the park, so setting off we looked like a pair of tourists (which is exactly what we were), in a combination of Doc Martens, linen shirts, jeans, and Wayfarers. Within a few minutes it was hammering it down with rain and blowing a gale. Several miles later over a steep tor dotted with cattle, Skylarks, and foxgloves, soaked through, seemingly lost and close to giving up, we found what we’d been looking for – Sandy Hole.
This remote swimming spot on the high moor, with its cascading waterfalls and deep pools, welcomed us it’s its fiercely unwelcoming way. We swam. We breathed. We smeared mud on our cheeks in a nod to Scott’s NFL obsession, laughing out loud at the absurdity of it all. Then we reluctantly climbed back into our sodden clothes, shaking with cold, and began the long march home (we ended up running back, to get warm).
What began as a hike ended as a rite of passage. An initiation. This was our threshold crossing. Our point of no return. Since then, Skin In The Game has felt different. Deeper, clearer, closer.
Perhaps the greatest learning from this trip is how little we know about our co-founders (and indeed our colleagues, clients, investors and partners) until we spend time with them away from the office. To connect on a deeper level we need to let go; allow the ROI-driven conversation of business to drift into liminal territories. Often this happens whilst multi-tasking – swimming in a remote river, driving across a desolate moor, drifting along on a board. The blurred space on the edge of business, in the flow of life; that’s where the true riches lie.
Scott and I are keen to entice others into our world. In time, we’d like to host regular wellness retreats for our community (less yoga + smoothies, more surfing + cider). We’re thinking about prototyping this with a camping trip before the summer is out – a chance for us to catch some waves (just to confirm that neither of us can actually surf), camp out under the stars, and get to know our community on a deeper level.
If that appeals, holler.
Deal Flow
This week we have 50 deals across Sports, Fitness & Wellness, Mental Health, Web3, Health, Athlete Investment, Apparel & Retail, Media, Esports & Metaverse, Nutrition, Fertility & Women’s Health, and Sports Betting.
Sports
💻 Teamworks raises $50m to develop the ‘operating system for sports’ – The Series D was led by Delta-v Capital, and included participation from Seaport Capital, General Catalyst, Teamworthy Ventures, Blossom Street Ventures, Afia Capital, as well as more than 30 current and retired professional athletes.
🎲 Russell Wilson’s Tally Technology raises $4m to build fan data platform – The oversubscribed seed funding round was led by Acies investments, which focuses on the sports betting and technology sectors.
🏃♀️ Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai leads $6m Just Women’s Sports funding round – The deal was led by Joe Tsai and tennis great Billie Jean King. Further new backing came from Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang and David Blitzer’s Bolt Ventures. SC Holdings, Muse Capital and NFT specialist Dapper Labs. Chelsea women’s star Sam Kerr and US athletics icon Allyson Felix also put in funds.
🎾 Smart tennis court tech startup Wingfield raises €4m for US expansion – The Series A was led by BMP Ventures with participation from IBG-Fonds and Adesso Ventures, joining existing investors leAD Sports & Health Tech Partners and Hannover Beteiligungsfonds.
⚽️ Sunderland confirm Kyril Louis-Dreyfus as new majority shareholder – The French businessman has become the team’s new majority shareholder, after increasing his holding to 51%.
⌚️ Playermaker Raised $40M to Make Elite-Level Performance Tracking Accessible to All Athletes – The wearable footwear-mounted performance tracker has raised $40M in funding to date, led by Ventura Capital Group, with additional investment by MIG Capital, Pegasus Tech Ventures, and others.
⛷ Digital ski coach zips in $5.1 million – London-based digital ski coach Carv has raised $5.1 million in funding. The round was led by European games industry-focused VC firm Hiro Capital, with follow-on investment from Artesian VC and SOSV.
Fitness & Wellness
🇮🇹 Italy’s Buddyfit benches €10 million in Series A lift – The deal was led by the newly formed Azimut Digitech Fund (GELLIFY as advisor) and saw participation from Cairo Communication, RCS MediaGroup, and a number of undisclosed private individuals.
📱 Zoom crowdfunds – Smartphone-based fitness creator platform ZOMO.fit crowdfunded $109K to bring its AI-powered live streaming fitness app to the fitness creator economy.
🥊 FitFighter is on the Move with $2.5M in New Funding – The round was led by Jennus Innovation and anchored by Abraham Trust, adding a deep bench of partners to its initial investment from Daniel Lubetzky, representing Equilibra Ventures.
🏈 Former Super Bowl Champion Invests in Jaxjox – JAXJOX, a leader in connected fitness technology, announced former NFL tight-end and Super Bowl Champion, Vernon Davis as an investor and brand partner.
🚶♂️ Walken Lands $4.7M for Move-to-Earn Game – The raise was co-led by Infinity Ventures Crypto and Shima Capital, with participation from Morningstar Ventures and other frequent web3 investors.
🏠 Kickoff scores $7M for remote fitness – 645 Ventures shepherded Kickoff's funding round with support from FJ Labs and Expa, tipping Kickoff's total funding to $11 million.
🇺🇸 Nowatch Raises $8.7M in Series A Funding – The round was led by Chris Hall and Flow Ventures.
Mental Health
⭕️ Circles raises – The emotional support platform raised $16.5 million in a Series A, led by Zeev Ventures, with the participation of Lior Ron, Head of Uber Freight, along with our existing investors NFX, Flint Capital, and Sir Ronald Cohen.
🍄 Innerwell is a First-of-its-Kind Psychedelic Telehealth Platform with an Emphasis on Therapy – With $3M in pre-seed funding led by Greycroft, the female-led teletherapy platform aims to leverage the biological and cognitive effects of psychedelics combined with therapy to improve patient outcomes. Looking Glass, Max Ventures, and other prominent angel investors also played.
🌎 Lumi Interactive raises $6.75m – Australian startup Lumi Interactive has raised $6.75 million to fuel development of its upcoming mobile title, Kinder World. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) with participation from 1UP Ventures, Galileo Ventures, Eric Seufert's Heracles Capital and Double Loop Games CEO Emily Greer.
🧠 Tripp raises $11.2M to build the mindful metaverse – The funding was raised from Bitkraft Ventures, Amazon Alexa Fund, Qualcomm, HTC, Niantic and Mayfield.
Web 3
⛓ SuperTeam Raises $10M to Build Blockchain Sports Game – The round was led by Griffin Gaming Partners and included investment from the likes of Powerhouse Capital, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and MLS franchise owners Steve Kaplan and Bennett Rosenthal.
Apparel & Retail
🏭 Smart Fabric Maker Nextiles Lands $5M Seed Round – Drive by DraftKings led the seed, with participation from the NBA, Olympian Hilary Knight, and others.
👕 Saysh Closes $8 Million Series A Round Led by IRIS, Athleta – Saysh, the community-centered lifestyle brand co-founded by Olympian Allyson Felix and her brother and business partner Wes Felix, announced an $8 million Series A led by specialist consumer fund IRIS and Gap’s performance lifestyle brand Athleta. Additional investors include Redpoint Ventures and Springbank Collective.
🇨🇦 alder raises $2 million seed round to grow sustainable apparel brand – alder, a size inclusive, sustainable outdoor apparel brand, has raised a $2 million seed, led by Bridge Investments and Consumer Ventures, with participation fromREI Path Ahead Ventures, The51, Incite Ventures, 500 Startups, and other angel investors.
Media
🇮🇱 Pixellot raises $161m to further AI streaming and analytics tech – The Series D was led by private equality firm PSG and saw the participation of existing investors including the Israeli Secondary Fund (ISF).
🎥 AI camera startup Veo closes $80m funding round – The Series C was led by ATP, the fourth largest pension fund in Europe, which joins existing investors Seed Capital, Ventech and Chr. Augustinus Fabrikker.
💰 Bain Capital to Buy Sports Streaming Tech Platform Deltatre From Bruin – The deal reportedly values Deltatre between $700 and $900 million.
🕍 Religion of Sports Banks $50 Million to Expand Media Company Beyond Sports Content – The Series B was led by Shamrock Capital, with participation from Cerro Capital and previous investor Elysian Park Ventures (the investment arm of the LA Dodgers). Other previous investors include LionTree, Advancit Capital and Courtside Ventures.
Health
❤️ Miga Health Raises $12 Million to Build the Future of Heart Health – Quiet Capital led the round, with participation from Asymmetric Capital Partners, Floating Point, VamosVentures, Alumni Ventures, Adapt Ventures, Lux Capital, and Wilson Sonsini. Co-founders from companies including Cityblock Health, PillPack, Newfront, and Whisper also invested.
🧬 28 by Sam Wood parent merges with genetics group myDNA in $71 million deal – The deal will see myDNA and Australian Life Tech merge to combine the former’s genetic analysis expertise with the latter’s behavioural change data and insights.
🇺🇸 Culina Health raises $4.75M to democratise access to clinical nutrition – Funding is co-led by Healthworx, the investment and innovation arm of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst), and Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, with additional participation by Rethink Impact, Tensility Ventures, Alpine Meridian Ventures, Knightsgate Ventures, Graham & Walker, Arkitekt Ventures, and Redo Ventures.
🖥 Vital raises $2.9m seed round led by Point Nine – The round was led by Point Nine, with participation from 20VC, Amino Collective, Adventure Fund and Inflect Health, as well as notable angels Johannes Schildt (CEO, Kry), Kristian Ranta (CEO, Meru Health), James Beshara (Ex-Airbnb, Magic mind), Jesse Dhillon (Plaid), Michael Malis (CTO, Freshpaint.io) and Elliot Rappaport (Elemy Health).
Athlete Investment
💸 Odell Beckham Jr., Courtside Ventures, Others Invest in Kasheesh to Split Online Payments – NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. has invested in digital payments splitting platform Kasheesh, which has closed $5.5 million. PE firms Courtside Ventures, Tribe Capital and Anthemis also invested in Kasheesh, as well as former Stanford baseball pitcher turned entrepreneur Sahil Bloom.
🥄 Magic Spoon Closes $85M Series B Round Led by HighPost Capital – Magic Spoon announced an $85M Series B fundraise led by HighPost Capital, joined by Siddhi Capital, Coefficient Capital, Constellation Capital, Carter Comstock, and more. Celebrity investors include Shakira, Russell Westbrook, Halsey, The Chainsmokers, Nick Jonas, Amy Schumer, Odell Beckham Jr., and Nas.
Esports & Metaverse
⛓ Atmos Labs raises $11m in funding to develop ‘metaverse-native’ sports – Sfermion, which has a $100 million NFT investment fund, led the round, which also included serial Web 3.0 investor Animoca Brands, as well as Collab+Currency, FBG Capital, CoinGecko Ventures, UniX Gaming and several others.
🦄 Esports fantasy startup FanClash raises $40m to fund global expansion – The Series B round was led by Alpha Wave Global, with participation from Sequoia Capital India, Info Edge and Polygon.
🇰🇷 South Korean metaverse healthtech firm nets $1m seed money – Cardio Health, a South Korea-based metaverse gaming and fitness startup, has raised $1 million in a seed round led by Smilegate Investment. Korean conglomerate Kyungdong Group’s Kyung Dong Invest, VC fund Nanuhm Angels, and a founding partner with Crescendo Equity Partners also participated.
Nutrition
💰 Joywell Foods Readies for Commercialization with $25 Million in Funding Led by Piva Capital – The company has raised an oversubscribed $25 million Series B to bring sweet protein products to consumers for the first time. The round was led by Piva Capital, with participation from B37 Ventures and Global Brain Corporation as well as existing investors Khosla Ventures, Evolv Ventures, SOSV's IndieBio and Alumni Ventures.
🥬 Little Leaf Farms Raises $300 Million in Capital – Little Leaf Farms, which provides packaged lettuce sustainably grown through controlled environment agriculture, has raised $300 million in new capital, with equity financing led by The Rise Fund, TPG's multi-sector global impact investing strategy, and debt funding from Bank of America.
👵 AVEA Closes CHF 2.5M Funding Round – VEA, the longevity supplement startup with the aim to improve healthspan, closed CHF 2.5M in seed financing led by Maximon, The Longevity Company Builder and its Longevity Co-Investment Fund.
🛒 Sifter Secures $5M in Funding – The round was led by Valor Siren Ventures with participation by Hyde Park Angels (HPA) and Wintrust Ventures.
🇫🇷 Popchef, the connected fridge start-up, raises 15 million euros – The company raised from Meridiam Green Impact Growth Fund and Céleste Management, from the Bourrelier Group, and from Philippe Salle, former CEO of Elior.
🇺🇸 Cleveland Kitchen Closes $19M Series A – Cleveland Kitchen, the culinary brand focused on delicious fermented foods, closed a $19M Series A financing led by Amberstone, with participation from existing investor Clover Vitality.
☕️ SYSTM Foods Acquires Chameleon Organic Coffee – SYSTM Foods, an impact-focused food and beverage brand platform, announced the acquisition of Chameleon Organic Coffee from Nestlé USA, Inc. Chameleon is a leading provider of organic, sustainably grown, and ethically sourced coffee.
Fertility & Women’s Health
👩⚖️ Women’s health tech inne raises $10 million to expand its hormone-tracking tech from fertility to perimenopause – inne, the healthtech startup leveraging technology to empower women to understand their reproductive health, has raised an additional $10 million in funding led by DSM Venturing. Borski Fund and Calm Storm Ventures also participated in the round, along with high-profile angels Taavet Hinrikus (Wise), Dr. Fiona Pathiraja, and Rolf Schromgens (Trivago).
🧬 Kindbody Acquires Leading Genomics Company Phosphorus Labs – Kindbody, a leading fertility and family-building benefits provider for employers offering comprehensive virtual and in-person care, announced the acquisition of Phosphorus Labs, a leading preventative genomics company.
💵 Rael Raises $35M in Series B Funding – Korean-American feminine care brand Rael secured milestone investment led by Colopl Next and Signite Partners.
🙍♀️ Every/body announces $55.5M In Series C Funding – Addition led the round with participation by Tiger Global, ACME Capital, Declaration Capital, Fifth Wall Ventures, and Redesign Health, all of whom are current investors. Imaginary Ventures also participated in this round as a new investor.
Sports Betting
🎲 PointsBet gets $65m SIG Sports investment to expand North American operations – PointsBet secured an AUS$94.16M investment from SIG Sports Investments.
Some Tweets
P.S.
It’s Friday and the sun is shining (sort of). Time to turn up the radio and enjoy some Test Match cricket. I know I am!
Yours in sports,
Ed
—
Ed Rhys
Co-Founder / Skin In The Game
www.skininthegamegroup.com
Join our Investment Club
If you find this newsletter useful, consider joining our FCA regulated Investment Club connecting investors with groundbreaking startups in sports & health.
It’s free to join and members get access to live investment opportunities, insights on investing in sports & health from our community of industry experts, and access to our private events.
SKIN IN THE GAME LIMITED is registered in England and Wales under Company Number 13200102 and with the FCA as an Appointed Representative with FRN 946089. SKIN IN THE GAME LIMITED is an Appointed Representative of Finex LLP which is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) with firm reference number 507537.