Sports betting startup firm Sharp Alpha Advisors has announced the closing of Sharp Alpha Fund I, a $10.0m venture capital fund that will be invested in sports betting technology startups.
The fund has already provided financial support to 11 startups, including Players’ Lounge, PickUp and Prophet.
Initially, the fund will focus on donating to sports betting startups that average $250,000 in Seed and Series A funding, with a plan to offer additional support in later funding rounds.
So far, the group has allocated $1.0m in funding to sports betting startups.
“Not only is the sports betting industry at an inflection point, but market leaders are choosing to buy rather than build at every turn,” said Lloyd Danzig, managing partner of Sharp Alpha Advisors.
“With M&A serving as the primary mechanism through which market leaders achieve differentiation and vertical integration, it is a great time to underwrite next-gen infrastructure.”
The fund is backed by several investors, including Great Elm Group and the Dutch Sport Tech Fund.
Prophet, one of the startups Sharp Alpha has invested in, is set to launch in New Jersey as the first regulated US sports betting exchange, having opened pre-registration earlier this week.