Sapphire Ventures, the US-based venture capital firm spun out of software producer SAP, launched a $115m fund on Monday backed by SAP that will invest in sports, media and entertainment startups.
City Football Group, the holding company that owns football teams including Manchester City and New York City FC, is the fund’s anchor investor, while baseball league Major League Baseball, American football franchise New York Jets and ice hockey team San Jose Sharks are among the limited partners.
Sapphire Sport’s LPs also include apparel manufacturer Adidas, entertainment producer Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), mass media conglomerate Sinclair Broadcast Group and financial services firm Bank of Montreal.
The ownership of basketball team Indiana Pacers and funds affiliated with the owners of American football team San Francisco 49ers are also among the backers, as are venture capital firm Intersect Ventures, investment fund Wise Ventures and private investors Jeremy Jacobs and Jeff Vinik.
Sapphire Sport will participate in series A and B rounds, making initial commitments of $3m to $7m. It is targeting portfolio companies in areas including next-generation media, sports betting and data analytics, digital fitness, and eSports and gaming.
The fund revealed it has already backed five companies: smart home fitness system creator Tonal, sports streaming platform developer MyCujoo, digital sports platform operator Overtime, payment processing tool provider Fevo and gaming studio Phoenix Labs.
Sapphire Sport will be led by managing director Michael Spirito, who joined Sapphire Ventures in October 2018 after four years as head of business development and digital media at Fox Sports, the sports programming division of television network Fox Broadcasting.
Spirito will work alongside Sapphire Ventures’ chief executive Nino Marakovic and his fellow managing directors: Doug Higgins, Steve Abbott and Rami Branitzky.
