Thrive Capital led VCs into pro sports ownership; Collaborative Fund just upped that play
Collaborative Fund has acquired a stake in the soccer club D.C. United, marking a shift in venture capital firms investing in professional sports franchises. This trend follows similar moves by firms like Thrive Capital, which has invested in major teams like the Lakers and the San Francisco Giants.
Why it matters
The entry of venture capital into professional sports represents a significant shift in how iconic cultural institutions are financed and owned.
Collaborative Fund, the 15-year-old, New York-based generalist venture firm that has roughly $1 billion under management and which made early bets on Lyft, Reddit, Sweetgreen, and Olipop, among others, is taking a stake in the soccer club D.C. United and its stadium, Audi Field.
It’s the latest — and smallest — firm to try something that Thrive Capital opened the door to just months ago: turning venture money into pro sports ownership.
To recap, Joshua Kushner’s Thrive launched a new vehicle, Thrive Eternal, explicitly built to hold “iconic franchises and cultural institutions” for decades, funded by many of the same investors already in Thrive’s venture and growth funds. The firm kicked things off by announcing a stake in the San Francisco Giants. Months later, the same vehicle — with former Disney CEO Bob Iger, a Thrive partner, joining as co-owner — bought the Lakers outright for a record $12.5 billion.
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