The Weekly Drop 06.22.2023

The hottest news from sports, gaming, media, web3, and fitness.

Fanatics continues making moves in sports, but DraftKings jumps into PointsBet opportunity.  Capital flowed to gaming and media, but the pace of investment slows in line with the overall VC market. More startups activity in the NFL and NBA spheres.

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Top Stories

Mergers Continue in Sports and Gaming

🤝🏻 A bidding war has erupted for the U.S. operations of sports bettor PointsBet.  They announced a deal with Fanatics in May, and then DraftKings came over the top with a higher offer.  Fanatics also made a move into LATAM with the purchase of Fexpro.  MOBA Networks buys gaming startup Wargraphs for $54MM.

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Beyond The Game Portfolio Companies in the News

👏🏼 AudioUp launches new podcast with Anna “Delvey” Sorokin from Inventing Anna fame.  Fount launches new Executive program to strengthen the mind, body and leadership skills of business leaders.  Oura brings new social sharing circles.

Tech news, capital raises, and more

⚽ LATAM sports media platform Fz Sports closes $74MM details

🎶 WAVs AI gets $20MM for AI music site more

🕹️ HyperPlay adds $12MM for web3 gaming here

📱 Million Victories nets $6.5MM for mobile games read

👾 Hyper raises $3.6MM for avatar tech more

🏋️ ASICS invests in VR fitness startup Valkyrie details

🎸 Spotlight on Nashville sports tech startups here

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Athletes in the News

⛳ Williams sisters join TMRW Sports league more

🧠 Russell Wilson part of Limitless Minds launch here

📱 Aaron Rodgers’ Online Sports Database raising funding details

🏈 ATL Hawks Ventures invests in Arena read

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Portfolio Company Job Postings

Oura Ring (Health): Ops, Product, and Sales roles here

Eight Sleep (Fitness): Engineer and Design roles here

GreenPark Sports (Gaming): Design and Marketing roles here

Versus Games (Gaming): Biz Dev role here