Practically seven years after saying its first fund, Sapphire Sport—the enterprise fund targeted on sports activities, media, and leisure—is spinning out from Sapphire Ventures. The fund will rebrand as an impartial enterprise agency, 359 Capital.
The agency’s new title is a tribute to the sub-four-minute mile, a feat as soon as deemed humanly unattainable however in the end achieved by way of rigorous dedication and perseverance. Spirito stated that the title displays the agency’s core precept of serving to its portfolio founders obtain the unattainable.
The separation from Sapphire Ventures, an funding agency with about $11 billion in belongings underneath administration, was at all times on “the imaginative and prescient board,” stated Michael Spirito, managing associate and co-founder of 359 Capital. “We’re all grown up and able to go away house.”
Sapphire Sport, which is at present midway by way of investing its second fund of $181 million, has at all times maintained a separate group of restricted companions from Sapphire Ventures. Its LPs are all deeply tied to the sports activities business, together with main names like Metropolis Soccer Group, adidas, AEG, Madison Sq. Backyard, Sinclair, and dozens of staff house owners.
“Once we began in 2019, the title Sapphire Sport wasn’t simply alliterative and sounded cool,” Spirito stated. “Sport captured the LP group.”
Seven years later, the sports-focused LPs nonetheless leverage their relationship with the agency to achieve insights into rising tech firms throughout the media and sports activities panorama, Spirito stated.
Among the startups 359 Capital has backed embrace Beehiiv, a creator-focused e-newsletter; an internet on line casino; Betty Labs, a sports activities media platform; Extra time, an AI search engine; Perplexity, a profitable AI browser; and Tonal, a house fitness center system.
Techcrunch occasion
San Francisco
|
October 13-15, 2026
The agency’s whole portfolio of 30 firms and all of its funding workers will transfer over to 359 Capital. The transitioning workers consists of Spirito, co-founders of Sapphire Ventures, David Hartwig and Doug Higgins, and newly promoted associate Rico Mallozzi.
As 359 Capital, the agency will proceed to focus totally on Sequence A and Sequence B startups, writing checks between $2 million to $10 million. The agency will proceed to speculate from its second fund by way of the primary half of 2027, Spirito stated.
359 Capital may have high-profile competitors on this planet of sports-focused enterprise capital. Courtside Ventures, backed by Shaquille O’Neal and Michael Jordan, is within the technique of elevating a fourth fund of $100 million, in keeping with an SEC submitting.
{content material}
Supply: {feed_title}