Why startup investors are eyeing sports teams
Representative image
BENGALURU: Tech entrepreneurs, startup founders, and venture capitalists are broadening their investment horizons by acquiring stakes in sports teams. This strategic diversification demonstrates their understanding of sports leagues as effective channels for community development, brand establishment, and asset creation.
The expansion beyond established sports like cricket and football signals a transformation in India's sporting landscape, with business leaders identifying untapped potential in sports leagues.
Accel partner Prashanth Prakash, along with Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath and Curefoods' Ankit Nagori, acquired the Bengaluru Badgers franchise in the Global eCricket Premier League (GEPL), a structured esports league organised by JetSynthesys.
Separately, Swiggy, together with cricketer Rishabh Pant, co-owns the Mumbai Pickle Power team in the newly launched World Pickleball League. PhonePe founders Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari, meanwhile, bought the Mumbai Meteors team in the Prime Volleyball League earlier.
Unlike celebrity ownership models that dominate traditional leagues, these founders and investors are bringing an entrepreneurial lens to sports.
"We intentionally positioned GEPL to attract builders - founders and VCs who understand zero-to-one growth, who can scale ecosystems, not just invest in them," Rajan Navani, founder and CEO of JetSynthesys, told TOI. For Prakash, backing a team in GEPL was like evaluating a startup.
"Two things stood out for us," he said. "First, the right to win - whether the underlying technology creates a sustainable moat. Second, whether this is a pull product for the next decade.
In India's Gen Z landscape, this has that potential."
Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, an early supporter of JetSynthesys, believes the intersection of sports and technology is a natural evolution. "We need to reimagine how the physical and digital worlds come together," he said. "Leagues like GEPL are about building new economic activity - creating players, owners, leagues, and sponsors in ways that didn't exist before."
Navani pointed out that franchise owners like Prakash and Kamath are not just financial backers. "They are partners helping to shape the league," he said. "They understand the value of investing early, building brands, nurturing communities, and thinking globally from day one." Unlike traditional corporate investors, many of these founders bring operational expertise, agility, and a long-term horizon to team ownership.
"In large business houses, a team might be one among many investments," Navani said. "With founder-owners, the focus, involvement, and strategic thinking are different."
If successful, this emerging model could reshape how sports franchises are built in India. Future leagues - across e-sports, volleyball, and pickleball - could be increasingly seeded by startup-style builders rather than conglomerates or celebrities.
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