McLaren's British driver Lando Norris attends a press conference at the Monza Circuit ahead of the Italy's Formula One Grand Prix, in Monza northern Italy, on August 31, 2023. Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP
Apex Capital is starting a new fund with backing from athletes including Formula 1 driver Lando Norris to invest in business areas including sports-related technology and entertainment.
Possible investment targets for the €50 million ($54 million) fund will focus on athlete performance, nutrition or fan engagement, Apex Chief Executive Officer António Caçorino said in an interview.
Other backers of the "Elite Performance Fund” include drivers Carlos Sainz and Valtteri Bottas, and soccer players Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Raphael Varane, investment firm Apex said in a press release seen by Bloomberg News.
In the US, a number of high-profile athletes have been investing in different areas of sport. University of Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams and American tennis icon Billie Jean King recently backed a women’s sports-focused fund from Los Angeles-based Monarch Collective LLC.
Eli Manning, a two-time Super Bowl quarterback formerly of the National Football League’s New York Giants, last year clinched his first deal as a partner at investment firm Brand Velocity Group, which acquired a majority stake in youth league apparel company Score Sports. Current and former pro athletes across multiple leagues also invested, including retired National Basketball Association star Carmelo Anthony.
Apex, which is based near Lisbon, said that besides contributing financially to the fund, sports stars can offer expertise.
"Athletes aren’t just our capital sources; they’re our partners,” Caçorino said in the statement. "They infuse our decisions with genuine insights from their respective sports.”
Apex has already invested in companies including TMRW Sports, which was founded by golf stars Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, and aims to bring more technology to sports.
