Tennis Australia has raised almost A$$50 million for entertainment and sports technology startups, according to the Australian Financial Review.
This is through a program called AO Startups, where the goal is to showcase the test-out start-ups and brands at the Australian Open. This exposes them to a million visitors at Melbourne Park and more than 100 million broadcast viewers.
In return for investment, start-ups will let backers buy in at current valuations over three years. Previous successful startups backed by the program include Mr Yum, a food ordering app and SwingVision, which provides real-time analysis of tennis shots.
Machar Reid, Tennis Australia’s director of innovation said the program has attracted international interest from investors like the Gnanalingam family, the owners of London’s Queens Park Rangers football club and American venture capital veteran Brad Feld.
Despite the choppy market, Reid said everything’s performing well.
“The fact we’ve been able to attract such high-quality investors amid the current fundraising environment speaks to the strength of the AO brand, our track record in securing deals, as well as the growing interest in sports and entertainment as an asset class,” Reid said.
Investors in the US$30 million (A$48.8 million) fundraising round are Tanarra Capital’s John Wylie and Caledondia’s Mark Nelson along with Ellerston Capital’s Ashok Jacob and Wollemi Capital, the family office of Tesla chairwoman Robyn Denholm.
Other sporting bodies have also tapped into the wealth of their fans in the past. Late last year, fund managers including Regal Partners’ Phil King, GCQ Funds’ Doug Tynan, Wilson Asset Management’s Geoff Wilson and the billionaire Millner family became some of the first investors in a rugby union fund, with the vehicle targeting $100 million in total.
Over in the U.S., The Los Angeles Dodgers were the first to establish a venture capital tech fund known as Elysian Park. Professional gold body PGA of America also established its investment fund with the help of a baseball team known as EP Golf Ventures.
In Europe, Barcelona Football Club is trying to establish a similar fund.
“They’ve been trying for the last five or seven years and not quite got there, but I think you’ll see it becoming more and more prominent over the next couple of years,” Mr Reid said.
Azzet has contacted Tennis Australia for comment.
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