KB Partners is a suburban Chicago based investment firm focused on early stage venture capital investments. KB’s principals take an active approach in helping to build dominant new enterprises by working in partnership with talented entrepreneurs and experienced managers. The firm is currently investing out of KB Partners Myriad Opportunity Fund I & II, which invests in passionate innovators at the intersection of sports and technology.

KB Partners

Formed in 2019 out of a partnership between the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft, TitletownTech is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in bold entrepreneurs solving meaningful problems. Located in Green Bay, WI, TitletownTech’s unique ecosystem convenes engaged investors, in-residence partners, industry advisors, higher education, and a dedicated team to provide founders with support and guidance tailored to their needs. With investments across six verticals: sports, media, & entertainment; digital health; agriculture, water, & the environment; manufacturing & construction; supply chain & logistics; and cross-industry technology, TitletownTech invests in the US, with a focus on the Midwest. For more information, please visit www.TitletownTech.com.

TitletownTech

Greycroft is a venture capital firm that focuses on technology start-ups and investments in the Internet and mobile markets. With offices in two of the most important business hubs in the world, New York and Los Angeles Greycroft uniquely positioned to serve entrepreneurs who have chosen us as their partners. The firm leverages an extensive network of media and technology industry connections to help entrepreneurs gain visibility, build strategic relationships, bring their products to market, and build successful businesses.  Greycroft manages in excess of $1 billion and has made over 200 investments since its inception in leading companies including Acorns, App Annie, Bird, Botkeeper, Bright Health, Boxed, Braintree, Buddy Media, Everything But The House, Extreme Reach, Huffington Post, Icertis, JW Player, Maker Studios, Plated, Scopely, Shipt, TheRealReal, Thrive Market, Trunk Club, Venmo, WideOrbit, and Yeahka. Greycroft has adopted the Diversity Term Sheet Rider.

Greycroft

Verizon Ventures seeks and invests in promising entrepreneurial companies who are tackling some of today’s biggest technological challenges for Verizon's consumer and enterprise customers.  Over the last decade Verizon Ventures has invested in more than forty companies covering a range of industries, technologies and market segments. Verizon Ventures offers support to its portfolio companies with technology and product development, market planning and sales, and access to the networks and platforms of Verizon Communications.  Combining the power of experienced investment professionals with a focused venture development team, Verizon Ventures connects innovators with strategic and financial resources that advance their businesses.

Verizon Ventures

WISE Ventures is an investment fund based in Manhattan that is focused on early and growth stage investment opportunities that leverage our strategic value. Led by an ownership group with deep sports & entertainment and real estate experience, we are able to assess, champion, and add value to next-gen companies in those industries.

WISE Ventures

SC.Holdings is a private equity company founded by entrepreneur/investor Jason Stein and Eastbridge Group, a family holding company with $1.5B AUM. The principals of SC are investors and operators with global experience in sports and entertainment, multi-unit retail, commercial real estate, technology, food and beverage.

SC.Holdings

Haslam Sports Group

GV supports innovative founders moving the world forward. We invest across the life sciences, consumer, enterprise, crypto, climate, and frontier technology sectors. With Alphabet as a sole limited partner, GV operates on long time horizons and deals in decades, not rounds. Our operating partners support startups at the earliest stages of company-building across design, equity, diversity & inclusion, talent, and engineering. We also help startups interface with Google, providing unique access to the world's best technology and talent. Launched as Google Ventures in 2009, GV has over $8 billion in assets under management and 400 active portfolio companies across North America and Europe. Notable investment outcomes include Uber, Nest, Slack, GitLab, Duo Security, Flatiron Health, Verve Therapeutics, and One Medical. GV is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices in Cambridge, New York, and London.

Google Ventures

The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association the Women’s National Basketball Association and the NBA G League.

Sun Technology Investors is a Hospital and Health Care company

Sun Technology Investors

Alumni Ventures Group provides high-quality, diversified venture portfolios to individual investors who previously haven't had access to VC. It helps accredited alums from top entrepreneurial schools invest together in the ventures of fellow alums. The firm backs companies with an alumni connection and an institutional lead investor with expertise in the space. AVG also offers focused funds that allow any accredited investor access to a venture portfolio, diversified by type, sector, stage, and geography. Beth Obermiller, Michael Madden, and Mike Collins co-founded the firm in Manchester, New Hampshire in 2013.

Alumni Ventures

Main Street Advisors is a financial firm that focuses on providing asset management and financial advisory services to its clients. The firm is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.

Main Street Advisors

JDS Sports invests in early-stage, high-potential companies that are disrupting the status quo. They also help their portfolio brands realize synergy with each other.

JDS Sports

Dream Sports is India’s leading sports technology company with brands such as Dream11, FanCode, DreamX, DreamSetGo and DreamPay in its portfolio. Dream Sports is executing its vision of ‘Make Sports Better’ by providing multiple fan engagement avenues like fantasy sports, content, commerce, experiences, merchandising and events, among others. Founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream Sports is headquartered and located only in Mumbai. Dream Sports has been featured in the Top 10 ‘Great Places to Work’ in the sports tech category, every year since 2018.

Dream Sports

Castor Ventures is an investment firm. Castor Ventures invests in a broad range of venture-backed companies to build diversified venture portfolios invested alongside established venture firms.

Castor Ventures

LifeLine Family Heritage Fund

Black Angel Group is a collective of angel investors from various companies who invest in seed to Series A startups.

Black Angel Group

StatusPro

StatusPro is a sports technology company that combines data with augmented and virtual reality to provide a suite of training and gaming products.

StatusPRO is an XR-based sports technology company that leverages real-time player data to develop training solutions. The company has created an XR simulation solution for pre-game prep that is used by six NFL teams. It gives players the ability to simulate practice or in-game scenarios. The company was co-founded by former Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns player Andrew Hawkins.

Technologies bringing about a new reality

Extended Reality

<div>StatusPRO is an XR-based sports technology company that leverages real-time player data to develop training solutions. The company has created an XR simulation solution for pre-game prep that is used by six NFL teams. It gives players the ability to simulate practice or in-game scenarios. The company was co-founded by former Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns player Andrew Hawkins.&nbsp;</div>

Sports Tech

StatusPRO

Technology & Innovation Tracker: How StatusPro merges sports and VR gaming; Gaming company will close Miami factory, lay off 55 employees

StatusPRO is an XR-based sports technology company that leverages real-time player data to develop training solutions. The company has created an XR simulation solution for pre-game prep that is used by six NFL teams. It gives players the ability to simulate practice or in-game scenarios. The company was co-founded by former Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns player Andrew Hawkins.StatusPRO has also developed the virtual reality game “Pro Era 2” in partnership with NFL and the NFLPA (launched in October 2023). The game’s predecessor (Pro Era), became the first licensed VR football game and the first major gaming title to be developed by athletes. The Pro Era series allows fans to experience the realism of a football game from a quarterback’s perspective, with the games being priced at USD 29 and USD 14 respectively. The games are available on Meta Quest devices and PlayStation VR.The company also previously launched the “Lamar Jackson Experience” in which fans can recreate signature moves from the NFL MVPs 2019 season in which he was named NFL MVP.Funding and financialsThe company’s latest funding round was in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26315">February 2024</a>, where it raised USD 20 million in Series A funding led by Google Ventures. Funds were earmarked to develop new sports titles alongside the enhancement of existing platform features and underlying tech.

Interplay Learning (Interplay) provides on-demand, interactive, and hands-on simulation learning courses for skilled trades, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar, and facilities maintenance, through VR, mobile, and desktop applications. The learning courses also include simulated walkthrough videos where experts lead users through procedure guides methodically, with knowledge testing features and additional learning material such as wiring diagrams, equations, sample system configs, and charts at the end of each lesson. The platform also enables managers to track user progress.The company operates a subscription-based model with monthly packages for individuals (USD 54) and teams (USD 229), alongside a custom plan for larger organizations.Key customers and partnershipsNotable customers include Tesla and Rheem Manufacturing. Interplay’s customer usage rose by 445% YoY in 2020. As of February 2021, the platform had over 2,000 customers and 110,000 users across the US.Funding and financialsIn its last funding round (February 2021), Interplay raised USD 18 million in Series B funding co-led by S3 Ventures and Owl Ventures, the world’s largest venture capital firm focused on education technology. As part of the deal, Managing Director of Owl Ventures, Ian Chiu, joined Interplay’s board. The funds were raised to expand its offering to new markets and to accelerate its vision to combine immersive learning experiences with a human connection.

Interplay Learning

Switzerland-based WayRay develops holographic AR technology and hardware for the automobile sector. Its technology is used in head-up displays (HUDs) that project images into a driver’s field of vision to assist with navigation. Although its initial focus was on developing HUDs that can be purchased and installed in any vehicle, it has since pivoted to producing embedded HUD systems (i.e., hardware built into vehicles). WayRay’s HUDs are considered to provide a wider field of vision and combine data (location and mapping information) with vision data to generate images by projecting a laser beam through a Picture Generating Unit (PGU) onto a Holographic Optical Element (HOE).&nbsp;In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18537">May 2023</a>, WayRay announced integration of its AR displays into Tesla Model 3's in Switzerland, with plans to follow shortly afterwards in the US. Previously, in September 2021 the company launched its deep reality system that replaces the traditional car dashboard. In addition, WayRay launched “The Holograktor” dubbed the first “metaverse on wheels”, which can be driven conventionally or using a remote control via a 5G and satellite connection (November 2021).&nbsp;The company’s founder and CEO, Vitaly Ponomarev, identified that its systems are more advanced, backed by more patents, and potentially 20x smaller than comparable devices in the market. WayRay’s HQ in Switzerland also acts as a product design and development hub, while its R&amp;D center and prototyping factory are based in Russia.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsThe company is backed by strategic investors such as luxury automaker Porsche, which highlighted the management’s expertise in space engineering, hardware, and software development as key reasons for its investment, Hyundai Motor Co., and Alibaba. It is also notable that these investors, particularly Hyundai, are looking at ways to potentially use WayRay’s technology to offer more services in the future. For instance, Hyundai believed that the technology could be used for smart cities and smart buildings, which are its new areas of interest.WayRay partnered with Karma Automotive, a producer of luxury electric vehicles, in December 2021 to support the implementation of its HUDs into their test fleet. Moreover, it partnered with a leader in designing and manufacturing specialty glass, AGP eGlass, in September 2021 to further proliferate its technology.&nbsp; Funding and financialsIt was reported in April 2021 that the company is considering a public listing at a USD 2 billion valuation via a SPAC, although no further updates on this have been announced as at January 2024.&nbsp;

WayRay

AmazeVR initially focused on developing VR technologies but pivoted to VR concerts in late 2019. The concerts are backed by proprietary 9K cameras and software that automate complex VR concert visual effects that run on more than 100 headsets simultaneously. Users join and hang out with other users as avatars while experiencing VR concerts. It intends to bring VR concerts by major artists to theaters and eventually, homes.AmazeVR rolled out its first commercial VR concert, which will feature 3x Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion, in 2022. The artist is expected to tour select AMC Theaters across the US. It is also in the final stages of closing deals with its second and third artists. AmazeVR also revealed plans to release weekly content by 2024 in theaters and for at-home viewers.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20145">July 2023</a>, AmazeVR launched its official AmazeVR Concerts app, featuring an exclusive VR concert from Swedish pop star, Zara Larsson. The app is available on major VR app stores, and the exclusive Zara Larsson VR concert can be accessed for a year at a launch price of USD 6.99. AmazeVR also produces and monetizes VR content on a subscription basis.As of August 2023, the company was in the process of producing and releasing mixed reality concerts by overlaying virtual elements onto live, real-world video.Funding and financialsThe company’s most recent funding was in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13338">September 2022</a>, when it raised USD 17 million in a Series B funding round led by Mirae Asset Capital. The fresh funds were allocated to expand partnerships with artists, artist management companies, labels, publishers, and agencies.

AmazeVR

Dispelix, based in Finland, designs and manufactures single-layer, full-color waveguide displays, a thin (about 1mm) transparent element that takes in a projected image and relays it to the eye, using a nanophotonics-based approach catering to AR applications (e.g., smart glasses). It uses laser beam scanning technology to render laser-sharp images with a gamut of color palettes, which are displayed using beam-combiner technology. Its patented and proprietary approach includes diffractive surface relief gratings, which are elements used for high-power laser applications, fabricated on high refractive index glass wafers that enhance field-of-view and image quality.The company had a total of more than 40 granted or pending patent families as of November 2021. Its product line, Dispelix DPX, includes Dispelix DPX - Ohut, Dispelix DPX - Selva, and Dispelix DPX - Sade with a varying degree of field of view, form factor, and weight. According to Co-Founder and CTO Juuso Olkkonen, its displays are the lightest and thinnest in the market.Key customers and partnerships1) Foxconn and Pegatron: to create reference designs for AR glasses based on its Selvä waveguide display (October 2023)&nbsp;2) VividQ: created a “waveguide combiner” which accurately displays variable-depth 3D content in a user’s environment (January 2023)3) ColorChip and Maradin: To further Light Beam Scanning (LBS) solutions for AR glasses (October 2022)4) Jade Bird Displays: To develop multiple reference designs for AR devices (June 2022)5) AAC Technologies: To improve waveguide displays for the AR and MR industry (March 2022)6) OQmented: for the development and commercialization of MEMS-based LBS technology (November 2021)7) Coretronic: To develop a range of AR optical module solutions (December 2020)8) Hoya Corporation: To improve quality of waveguide displays (November 2020)Funding and financialsIn its most recent funding round (November 2021), Dispelix raised USD 33 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Atlantic Bridge, CCB Trust, and Flashpoint with participation from Lifeline Ventures, VTT Ventures, and 3M Ventures. The funds were allocated to product development. It revealed that several OEM customers were slated to integrate its technology into their consumer offerings by 2023.

Dispelix

DigiLens is a developer of holographic waveguides, which is a clear, thin piece of glass or plastic, used for AR devices. In January 2023, the company launched ARGO, an XR smartglass designed for enterprise and industrial use, the first AR device to utilize Qualcomm’s SnapDragon XR2 platform. Other specifications included 6-degrees of freedom (6-DoF) tracking, a 30-degree field-of-view, spatial audio, a 48MP RGB camera, voice and gaze recognition, access to real-time data visualizations, and a 2,500-nits HD display.&nbsp;The company’s first product, the DigiLens Crystal was introduced in 2019, was a thin-film laser-etched photopolymer embedded with microscopic holograms of mirror-like optics. By projecting a micro display to one end of the lens and another set of optics working to guide the light wave toward the eye, this proved to be an ideal piece of hardware for AR devices, which are preferred with as little hardware as possible.&nbsp;It claims that its patented optical platform and photopolymer technology coupled with a holographic copy manufacturing process enable it to produce cheaper and more scalable solutions. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17598">April 2023</a>, the company announced the launch of SRG+, a surface relief gratings product that improves upon its waveguide technology.The company generates revenue by licensing its technology across a range of industries including the automobile, enterprise, consumer, avionics, and military sectors. DigiLens also offers a white-label solution for automotive companies whereby it creates holographic waveguides for windshields that could offer in-cabin experiences for drivers.&nbsp;&nbsp; Key customers and partnershipsKey partnerships include that with1) Phantom Technologies: - Phantom Technology: To integrate Phantom's CASSI Spatial AI assistant into the DigiLens ARGO glasses, providing features such as spatial search, a contextual assistant, and task management using voice commands (October 2023)2) Wisear: To integrate its neural interface-powered earphones with the ARGO smart glasses (May 2023)3) Mojo Vision: To utilize Mojo Vision's micro-LED technology to build improved AR glasses (May 2023)4) Taqtile: To integrate the company's ARGO smart glasses with Taqtile's AR work platform, Manifest (May 2023)5) OMNIVISION: To develop new XR product offerings (January 2023)Other partnerships include that with OMNIVISION (January 2023), a leading global developer of semiconductor solutions to develop new XR product offerings. OMNIVISION’s liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) panels allowed DigiLens to build LCOS/LED projectors optimized for its holographic waveguides. OMNIVISION's core camera technology provides DigiLens' devices with features such as visual odometry and six degrees of freedom.&nbsp;DigiLens also works with Taiwanese licensed waveguide manufacturer Young Optics, Chinese original design manufacturer and electronics supplier Malata, Korean display manufacturer Sekonix, international technology company Continental, Chinese optical elements manufacturer Crystal Optech, and Mitsubishi Chemical.&nbsp;Funding and financialsIn April 2022, DigiLens announced the second close of its Series D funding round (intiial close in November 2021) in which it raised USD 50 million at a valuation of USD 530 million. The funds were allocated for the development of DesignV1, its second-generation product.

DigiLens

Companies developing XR headsets and relevant sub-components (displays, sensors, and processors). Also includes complementary XR hardware (tracking devices, haptic vests, and gloves)

Companies offering engines that enable the development of AR/VR content, also includes companies offering capabilities to capture and create 3D images for immersive environments

Companies offering AR/VR solutions or toolkits for specific industry applications, including VR game developers

Companies offering location-based AR/VR experiences

AR/VR platforms offer remote assistance to field experts and headset manufacturers facilitate virtual work

Some solutions in the "content" segment are offered under a B2B SaaS model

Headsets and content segments provide the building blocks for the metaverse

AR, VR, and MR are the primary enabling technologies for the XR industry

<div>
 
 StatusPRO is an XR-based sports technology company that leverages real-time player data to develop training solutions. The company has created an XR simulation solution for pre-game prep that is used by six NFL teams. It gives players the ability to simulate practice or in-game scenarios. The company was co-founded by former Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns player Andrew Hawkins.&nbsp;
 
 
 StatusPRO has also developed the virtual reality game &ldquo;Pro Era&rdquo; in partnership with NFL and the NFLPA. The game became the first licensed VR football game and the first major gaming title to be developed by athletes. Pro Era allows fans to experience the realism of a football game from a quarterback&rsquo;s perspective. It retails for USD 29.99 and is available on Meta Quest 2 and PlayStation VR. Another game developed by the company is the &ldquo;Lamar Jackson Experience&rdquo; in which fans can recreate signature moves from the&nbsp; NFL MVPs 2019 season in which he was named NFL MVP.
 
 
 In August 2021, the company raised USD 5.2 million in a seed funding round co-led by KB Partners and TitletownTech. StatusPRO&rsquo;s investors include high-profile names such as Lamar Jackson, LeBron James, and Drake.
 
</div>

<div>
 
 Hexoskin makes smart clothing for health, fitness, and wellness. The Hexoskin Bluetooth connected garments make your health status sharable online in real-time and enable digital health and predictive health analytics. www.hexoskin.com
 
</div>

Hexoskin

<div>
 
 The Athos mission is to help athletes train more effectively and reach their performance goals faster. Athos does this by bringing together the most relevant data and exercise science to deliver simple, actionable insights that allow coaches and athletes to get the most out of their training.
 
</div>

Athos

<div>
 
 Atavus combines sports analytics and coaching philosophy to measure and improve the performance of players, coaches, and teams. Atavus combines sports innovative curriculum and actionable data with analysis from successful and experienced coaches.
 
</div>

Atavus

<div>
 
 AllPlayers.com is a leading provider of PCI and COPPA compliant online registration, member management, and integrated financial solutions, serving industry leading SaaS providers in the sports, education, faith-based, and other recreational market segments. The AllPlayers cloud-based, open architecture platform is designed to integrate seamlessly into third party SaaS providers through an extensive API, webhooks, and embedded framework to compliment their existing suite of services. AllPlayers.com, Inc. was founded in 2009, and is located in Dallas, TX.
 
</div>

Rank One Sports

<div>
 
 TeamSnap is a sports and group activity management platform. The App coordinates communication between coaches, administrators, players, and parents. TeamSnap offers services to clubs, leagues, and associations with multiple teams, including registration, payment collection, rostering, and scheduling; enables team registration for tournaments and game scheduling with real-time updates; allows teams to coordinate schedules and activities with reminders, team chats; share real-time game moments and photos; and enables self-assessments to meet health requirements. TeamSnap supports 100+ sports and activities such as baseball, basketball, ice hockey, football, soccer, and softball.
 
</div>

TeamSnap

Technology solution providers for sports venues, which includes solutions for stadium management, connectivity and entertainment, and video assistant referee (VAR) technology

Platforms and devices that aid the training process and/or measure player statistics and other metrics, such as health and movement data, to improve player performance

Platforms that assists the management of teams, leagues, tournaments, and other sporting events

Providers of sports data for other sports-related platforms

Online media platforms that distribute sports-related content

Online sports betting platforms and platforms where virtual teams composed of proxies of real players of a professional sport compete based on player performance in actual games

Companies that develop apparel products equipped with technology to track and improve performance

Platforms that enable fans to engage with sports brands and other fans, and developers of solutions such as audience behavior and sentiment analytics, and audience engagement

Some solutions in the "team and league management platforms" segment operate a B2B SaaS model

Used by platforms to simulate real game scenarios in training

Used by platforms to spot trends in tactics, athlete performance, and training

Some stadium tech solutions and training support/performance analytics solutions offer a certain level of personalization

<div>
 StatusPro, a company specialized in creating XR sports games, has successfully secured USD 20 million in a Series A funding round. Google Ventures spearheaded the investment round, while other prominent contributors included Dream Sports, Wise Ventures, JDS Sports, and Alumni Ventures.
 The company plans to utilize the new influx of funds to focus on the development of fresh sports titles and to optimize existing features, along with technological enhancements and upgrades.
 Co-founded by ex-football players Troy Jones and Andrew “Hawk” Hawkins, StatusPro uses real-time player data to generate authentic and immersive XR gaming experiences. The company's two NFL Pro Era titles have attracted over a million users on various platforms, making it one of the fastest-selling sports title in the history of virtual reality.
 
</div>

StatusPRO

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