APEX Capital, an investment management firm that invests with over 100 elite athletes including Trent Alexander‑Arnold, Juan Mata, Alexander Zverev, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Valtteri Bottas, Kanoa Igarashi, and Rafael Varane, has announced its inaugural investments as part of their Impact Program.
This initiative supports dedicated founders developing pioneering early-stage technologies aimed at positively shaping the future of sports, media, and entertainment.
Following the program, APEX has invested in three companies:
- Hexis, a nutrition platform that provides personalized nutrition plans for individuals, based on their goals and lifestyle. Hexis was founded by leading experts in performance nutrition with extensive clinical research and professional practitioner experience.
- Traits, a sports agnostic, club-specific, athlete profiling tool, using objective event data to reflect each athlete’s performance DNA, considering each organization’s unique sporting philosophy and their specific language. Traits was founded by Dr Dan Pelchen, who previously led data analysis teams at Chelsea FC and Collingwood FC.
- VRTL, a platform that enables sports, media, and entertainment organizations to host fan experiences within a virtual environment, e.g. live autograph sessions, 1-on-1 meet and greets, and 10,000-person fan fests. VRTL was founded by Courtney Jeffries, who previously worked for the Oakland Raiders, Pac-12 conference, and New York Rangers.
Antonio Cacorino, CEO and Founder of APEX commented:
“We chose these companies for their inspiring vision, but also because of our conviction in their team’s ability to execute and navigate the markets they’re targeting. Each founding team has highly relevant experience in their field and has a diversity of backgrounds and expertise that personifies why we set up the Impact Program in the first place: to empower standout founders who are building unique early-stage technologies that can transform the worlds of sports, media, & entertainment for the better”.
The funding will be used by the companies to accelerate growth and support product development, marketing, and hiring.
The companies will also benefit from ongoing support from APEX’s experienced Impact Program team, as well as access to athlete partners, advisory panels, and existing portfolio founders.
During this time APEX will help companies accelerate their go-to-market by introducing companies to potential clients and partners, alongside the support of APEX’s internationally recognized network in sports, including F1, Premier League, LaLiga, PGA, WSL, Boxing, Rugby Union, NFL, MLB and the NBA.
Sam Issacs, an investment manager who’s focused on growing APEX’s Impact Program also added:
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of applicants for the inaugural APEX Impact Program. We’ve enjoyed meeting and hearing from such diverse founders from over 38 countries worldwide. The innovation within the sports, media, and entertainment space is staggering, and this process can attest to the fact that these are spaces to watch moving forward. We’re looking forward to opening Season 2 in Q2 2024. After conducting rigorous rounds of due diligence, we are incredibly excited to announce investments in Hexis, Traits, and VRTL. We established the Impact Program to empower passionate founders building innovative early-stage technologies, intending to positively influence the future of sports, media, & entertainment. We believe we’ve found three companies doing exactly this within their respective fields.”
APEX also plans to potentially invest in subsequent funding rounds as well, aiding the startups in their continued growth.
More information about the Impact Program can be found here: https://apex-cp.com/impact-program/
