🔊 Inside The Investment Firm Leading Women's Sports Movement

This week, Ariel Investments, a Chicago-based asset manager, announced that its dedicated sports fund, Project Level, has reached a first close with $250 million in committed capital.

The fund launched earlier last year with a focused mandate: invest in women’s sports through diversified positions and meaningful ownership stakes across teams, leagues, and adjacent infrastructure in the US and Europe.

For context, Ariel manages roughly $14 billion in assets.

Project Level is already one of the largest funds ever dedicated exclusively to women’s sports.

And according to Mellody Hobson, Ariel’s co-CEO and president, the firm isn’t done raising capital yet.

The ultimate size of the fund hasn’t been disclosed, but this first close alone puts it on par with the largest vehicles currently in the space.

Why This Matters?

Women’s sports have been having a moment.

In fact, they’re becoming one of the most impactful sectors in all of sports.

Just look at the funds launched over the past five years (our database contains close to 20 women’s sports funds and ownership groups) :

But this recent raise by Project Level drives home how big this moment is.

In March 2025, Monarch Collective expanded its debut fund from $150 million to $250 million, signaling a growing appetite and belief in women’s sports.

With Project Level matching it less than a year later, and looking to raise more, it’s clear that LPs are seeing major upside.

Attention is up. Valuations are rising. Brands are spending more.

But most importantly, smart and strategic capital is forming around the space.

For decades, women’s sports have lacked long-term infrastructure investment.

Funds like Project Level are built on the belief that this gap won’t last forever.

That’s the real thesis here.

Investors are betting that women’s sports are still mispriced relative to where they’re going. And the next decade will bring stronger media deals, more sponsorship dollars, and better commercial operations.

What was once treated like a side initiative is quickly becoming one of the most compelling global growth opportunities in sports.

And for the first time, there’s real institutional capital being built to match that belief.

This isn’t just momentum.

It’s an entirely new market forming.

• Otro Capital Raises $1.2B. Otro Capital, a sports-focused private equity firm, has raised $1.2 billion for its first buyout fund. The firm, founded by former RedBird Capital Partners executives, exceeded its initial $500 million target. Otro is targeting investments with positive cash flow, loyal fan bases, and opportunities for operational improvement across professional sports, college athletics, and adjacent services. The firm recently became the first buyout investor to strike a deal in college sports by acquiring a stake in Utah Brands & Entertainment (more here).

• Kings League Raises $63M. Kings League, a creator-led seven-a-side soccer league founded by Gerard Piqué, has secured a $63 million investment round. Alignment Growth led the round with participation from existing shareholders. The new capital will help accelerate Kings League’s next phase of international growth, combining organic expansion with selective M&A as the organization looks to broaden its global footprint and deepen its platform across both its men’s and women’s properties (more here).

• Bluff Raises $21M. Bluff, a social-first betting and entertainment platform, has raised $21 million in strategic funding. 1kx led the round with support from Makers Fund, Tristan Thompson, and others. The new funds will drive technical upgrades and a global rollout, aiming to deliver a faster, more social betting experience. The platform is set to enhance its price prediction tools and expand its altcoins to watch features (more here).

• Zen8 Raises €1.4M. Zen8, a swim-tech training company, has announced a €1.4 million (around $1.6 million) Seed round. Lince Capital led the round with participation from Celtis, Beta Capital, and Lx Launch. The capital will be used to complete the development of its dry swimming training product, expand the team, and build its subsidiary in Portugal, which will act as a technological and expansion base for Europe (more here).

• Runeasi Raises €1M. Runeasi, a Belgium-based movement and running analysis platform, has raised a €1 million (around $1.1 million) investment round. Smarter Ventures led the round, with participation from existing investors Freshmen Fund, Gemma Frisius Fund, the company’s founders, and angel investor Sean Gourley. The capital will support the company’s next phase of growth, with a focus on accelerating international expansion, particularly in the US (more here).

• Gamepoint Raises Pre-Series A Round. Gamepoint, an Indian-based technology-enabled sports infrastructure startup, has raised INR 7 crore ($700k+) in a pre-Series A funding. The round was led by Dr Raj P Narayanam, founder of Zaggle, and Aditya Vuchi, general partner at VCMint. It also included participation from Praveen Raju, founder of Suchitra Academy, with other investors. The capital will be used to expand its multi-sport centre network and strengthen its technology and operational capabilities (more here).

• KKR Acquires Arctos. KKR $KKR ( ▲ 4.06% ), a leading global investment firm, officially announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Arctos Partners, a premier investor in professional sports franchise stakes. The transaction is valued at $1.4 billion in initial consideration, including equity subject to vesting through 2033, plus up to an additional $550 million in future equity tied to both KKR share price and business-specific performance targets and vesting through 2031 (more here).

• Apollo Acquires Minority Stake In The GoodLife Group. Apollo Global Management $APO ( ▲ 5.51% ), a global private equity firm, has agreed to acquire a minority stake in The GoodLife Group, Canada’s largest fitness club operator. The deal values The GoodLife Group at about $1.46 billion. They currently operate more than 400 clubs across Canada under brands including GoodLife Fitness, Fit4Less, GYMVMT, and Éconofitness (more here).

• Genius Sports Acquires Legend. Genius Sports, a leading global sports data company, has announced the acquisition of Legend, a sports and gaming media network, for $1.2 billion. Legend’s platform, data, audience, and inventory will be integrated into Genius’ FanHub sports fan activation platform. The $1.2 billion purchase of Legend includes $900 million upfront and a $300 million earnout. (more here).

• MLBPA & Genies Announce Partnership. Genies, the AI avatar technology company powering the next era of interactive digital identity, announced a collaboration with MLB Players, Inc., the business arm of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). Through this partnership, the parties will create AI characters of the game's biggest stars and bring them to life through interactive companion experiences, allowing fans to build unique connections with their favorite athletes like never before (more here).

• IndyCar & Monumental Sports & Entertainment Announce Partnership. IndyCar and Monumental Sports & Entertainment announced a partnership to promote the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, DC. As part of the effort, Monumental Sports & Entertainment will serve as the official marketing, sponsorships, and corporate hospitality sales agency for the race weekend. The group is home to several professional sports teams in the area, including the Washington Capitals, Washington Wizards, and Washington Mystics (more here).

• US Ski & Snowboard & Google Announce Partnership. US Ski & Snowboard, the national governing body for skiing and snowboarding in the US, and Google announced a collaboration on an industry-first AI video-analysis tool built on Google Cloud. Led by the high-performance needs of world-class athletes, including US Olympians, this experimental AI tool is designed to enhance training precision and mountain safety by delivering near real-time, data-driven insights (more here).

• TWG AI & Cadillac Announce Partnership. TWG AI, the intelligence division of TWG Global, announced a multi-year agreement to become the primary and exclusive AI partner of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team. TWG AI’s enterprise-grade technology will bring cutting-edge intelligence capabilities and long-term value to the team ahead of its debut in the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship (more here).

• Giannis Antetokounmpo Becomes A Kalshi Shareholder. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has become a shareholder in Kalshi, a major prediction market with sports trading opportunities. Kalshi said Antetokounmpo is the first basketball star to join the company as a shareholder. The partnership includes help with live events and marketing. According to Kalshi’s release, Antetokounmpo will also be forbidden from trading on markets related to the NBA (more here).

• Collectiv Foundation Launches Sports Tech Accelerator. The Collectiv Foundation, in collaboration with Rice University, announced the launch of the AI Native Dual-Use Sports, Health & Wellness Accelerator powered by The Collectiv in Houston’s Ion District, a 16-acre innovation hub in Houston’s Midtown developed by Rice. The accelerator platform is designed to support early-stage founders building artificial intelligence technologies validated in sports and scaled across health, enterprise, and consumer markets (more here).

• This NFL Insider Believes Team Valuations Will Hit $20B Within Seven Years. SportsCorp President Marc Ganis sat down with Forbes at Media Row at Super Bowl 60 to discuss the meteoric rise of NFL valuations, which he predicts will reach $15 billion to $20 billion within the next seven years. Ganis also talks about the impending sale of the Seattle Seahawks and the unique scarcity and future appreciation values that could drive the team's price toward $10 billion (more here).

• How Disney Is Investing In Sports To Bring In New Fans. It’s become synonymous with big championship games; the MVP or star player finds the nearest camera and exclaims, “I’m going to Disney World!” The tradition dates back to 1987, when New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms first said the iconic line. According to ESPN, Simms was paid $50,000 to say the phrase that would be echoed nearly every year since. And while Disney’s partnership with championship games isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, the company is growing its partnerships with sports teams, events, and leagues (more here).

• AI Will Supercharge Sports Team Valuations. Ian Charles, Managing Partner of Arctos Partners, recently acquired by global private equity firm KKR, says the rise of artificial intelligence will make live sports content more valuable. Despite concerns over a bubble in team valuations, Charles said the thesis for sports as an investment is in the early innings in this interview with CNBC (more here).

This week’s guest on the Vetted Sports podcast is Steve Sullivan.

Steve Sullivan is the CEO of Arcturus.

Sullivan led research and development across Industrial Light & Magic and Lucasfilm, contributing to Star Wars, Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean, and many other films.

He then joined Microsoft to incubate volumetric video and later worked on HoloLens.

Arcturus is a volumetric video company that captures and delivers real sports action in 3D volumetric video, serving broadcasters, teams, leagues, venues, and agencies.

The company raised $2.3 million in December 2025.

In this episode, we discuss:
‣ What volumetric video is and how it works
‣ Why this technology is revolutionizing and how it’s impacting sports
‣ How the fan experience will change over the next decade

Check out the full episode here: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

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