Lens v28: Why Pro Athletes Are Betting Big on Sports Tech

The most interesting money in sports isn't being spent on sneaker deals anymore.

While everyone's watching box scores, the real game is happening in startup pitch decks and term sheets. Pro athletes are quietly becoming some of the sharpest tech investors on the planet, not because they hired good advisors, but because they understand problems that Silicon Valley never could.

Who better to spot the next breakthrough in performance analytics than someone who's lived in film rooms for a decade?

Athlete-led investments in sports tech have grown 400% since 2019. Kevin Durant's Thirty Five Ventures has backed over 80 companies.

Serena Williams' Serena Ventures manages $111 million in assets.

Steph Curry's SC30 portfolio spans everything from performance analytics to fan engagement platforms.

They know exactly where the friction points are and where technology can eliminate them.

When LeBron James invests through SpringHill Company, he's backing platforms that give young athletes the same resources he wished he'd had growing up in Akron. When Megan Rapinoe co-founded her venture fund, she focused on pay equity tracking and youth development tools that democratize access to elite training.

The smartest athletes figured out the real opportunity: the gap between what they have and what everyone else gets is absurd.

Athlete investors are backing companies that eliminate this disparity, platforms that use AI to generate the same insights pro teams get from full-time analysts, making professional-grade analysis accessible to any coach with a smartphone.

At SportsVisio, we've experienced this with NBA sharpshooter Duncan Robinson. When Duncan joined SportsVisio as a Strategic Advisor, he understood immediately why our vision matters. He's spent countless hours in NBA film rooms with dedicated analysts and he knows these tools should be accessible to every player with ambitions to improve, and that Computer Vision was capable of delivering on that vision.

Tonight at 8PM ET, Duncan is joining us for an exclusive webinar: The Future of Basketball Analytics: Using AI to Win More Games. We’ll discuss his recent moves to the Pistons, what he’s learned from the best analysts and how SportsVisio Coach Mode can help coaches to win more games this coming season.

Reserve your spot here – space is limited.

Player Spotlights

SportsVisio athletes are reaching audiences around the globe, connecting in ways they never imagined possible.

Hit us with an Insta DM if you have a player we need to spotlight.

Sneak Of The Week

Only one sneaker logged more minutes in the NBA last season than Sabrina Ionescu's Nike Sabrina 2. That's the Nike Kobe 6 Protro, which means the most popular basketball shoe on earth right now belongs to a WNBA player.

Today, the Nike Sabrina 3 "Blueprint" drops for $135, and it's not just another colorway. The light blue design with precise white hits speaks to Sabrina's blueprint that all hoopers can abide by, complete with graphics of drawn-up plays and blueprint paper on the heel

What we’re reading this week

• Despite Clark's absence, All-Star Game drew 2.2 million average viewers, the second-most-watched in WNBA All-Star history

• Charlotte Hornets won Summer League championship with perfect 6-0 record

• Top NBA draft prospect Cooper Flagg averaged 20.5 points and 5 rebounds in limited action

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