Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan-led venture capital (VC) fund Da One Global Ventures is set to invest in global early-stage sports tech start-ups. A Mint report suggested that it is now looking for potential companies across the world.
According to a Business Standard report, Dhawan became the first Asian sportsman to introduce venture capital, which consists of a green shoe option of $25 million. Dhawan announced the launch of this fund during the annual Abu Dhabi Global Market two weeks ago.
In an interview, the 37-year-old Indian left-handed batsman said that the fund would try to raise $50 million from investors with additional commitments of up to $25 million.
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“We will invest in both— early stage and series A rounds. We may lead in one or two rounds but essentially, 80 per cent of the start-ups we invest in will be in the form of syndication. We will only go solo in 20 per cent of the deals, which we feel are ideal from our perspective," he said.
"It’s a fund focusing on the business of sports, so sports tech, e-sports, gaming, web3.0, and sports infrastructure companies will be our target companies. We will also look at investing in some of the teams across global leagues," Dhawan added.
Why He Chose Sports Tech?
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According to the Punjab Kings' skipper, sports contains a $500 billion global business and is a developed field for investors to disrupt.
"There’ll be a lot of technology integration in the domain of sports. It is sizable and has started to get organised. So, I guess it’s an ideal opportunity and timing for us. Many sectors within sports are evolving, like web 3.0, which is why it’s good timing for us. It is always important to get in early and get maximum growth," he claimed.
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