Top Private Equity Firms in Sports and SportsTech
Sports has become one of the more active corners of private equity over the past five years. Between 2019 and 2024, PE firms deployed more than $55 billion into sports-related assets, spanning franchises, leagues, media rights, and the technology businesses built around them. The firms in Private Equity List's database for this category range from dedicated sport finance platforms to large generalist funds with a clear sports mandate, and their check sizes, geographies, and holding-period expectations vary considerably.
The directory tool above this section lists every PE firm Private Equity List tracks in sports and SportsTech, filterable by industry, stage, region, and check size. What follows is context the filters alone cannot give you: what actually distinguishes these firms from one another, where their mandates genuinely overlap, and which type of firm fits which type of opportunity.
1. 154 Partners
The firm closed its inaugural $400 million fund in 2025, which makes it one of the newest entrants on this list by a significant margin. It was founded by Isaac Harrouche and Mike Berlin, both former Blackstone colleagues, in partnership with David Blitzer, himself a co-owner of several professional sports franchises. That founding team is the clearest signal of where this firm sits: it is not a generalist fund that occasionally touches sports, but a lower middle market platform built partly around sports technology from day one.
Per-deal equity deployment runs from $40 million to $100 million over a holding period, with individual checks typically between $10 million and $50 million. The firm targets founder- and family-built businesses across residential, sports technology, and infrastructure. That focus on founder-owned companies is a meaningful structural detail: it means they are not primarily looking at institutional carve-outs or distressed assets, but at businesses where ownership transition is part of the investment thesis.
If you are building a sports technology business at the lower middle market level and have not yet taken on institutional capital, 154 Partners is one of the few PE firms with a mandate that explicitly covers that segment. The Blitzer connection also matters for founders who want more than capital: his network inside professional sport ownership is a practical asset, not just a credential.
2. 23 Capital
Founded in 2014, 23 Capital describes itself as a dedicated sport finance and asset management platform, which puts it in a small category of firms whose entire investment thesis is built around sport rather than sport being one sector among many. It invests across AdTech, media and entertainment, digital, financial services, and sports and SportsTech, all of them selected for their relevance to the global sport economy.
The breadth of that sector list is worth understanding correctly. This is not a firm that invests in sports teams and adjacent media. The inclusion of AdTech and financial services reflects an understanding that the modern sport business extends into data monetization, fan finance products, and digital infrastructure. That makes 23 Capital relevant to a wider set of founders than the "sports investor" label might initially suggest.
Founders whose businesses sit at the intersection of sport and adjacent technology verticals, where a generalist PE firm might not immediately recognize the market, tend to be the clearest fit here. The dedicated mandate means the investment team already understands the sport sector's commercial structures, which shortens the due diligence conversation considerably.
3. 3i
Founded in 1945, 3i is one of the oldest private equity firms operating today, and at roughly $38 billion in assets under management (AUM refers to the total value of capital a firm manages on behalf of investors), it operates at a scale that most firms on this list do not approach. It is headquartered in London and invests across mid-market private equity and infrastructure globally.
Its primary sector focus covers consumer and private label, healthcare, industrial, and services and software. Sports and SportsTech appear in its broader mandate rather than as a named priority, which is a meaningful distinction from dedicated sport platforms like 23 Capital. For large, established businesses in the sports infrastructure or services space, 3i's mid-market focus and long institutional track record make it worth considering.
For early-stage or founder-led SportsTech companies, 3i is unlikely to be the right first call. Its check sizes and institutional structure are calibrated for established businesses with demonstrable scale, not seed or Series A stage companies finding their footing.
4. 8VC
8VC was founded by Joe Lonsdale in 2015 and is based in Austin, Texas. It manages approximately $6 billion in total AUM across its funds, with the most recent vehicle, Fund VI, closing at $998 million. Fund V closed at $880 million. The progression across fund sizes reflects consistent LP demand, where LPs are the outside investors who commit capital to a PE or venture fund.
The firm invests in technology companies broadly, and sports technology sits within that mandate rather than being a dedicated focus. At a team of 89 people managing $6 billion, 8VC operates with more resources than most sector-specialist funds, which translates into operational support capacity for portfolio companies as well as capital deployment.
SportsTech founders considering 8VC should come with a clear technology thesis, because this is fundamentally a technology investor. The sports angle needs to be secondary to a convincing software or platform story. Founders who lead with sport and treat technology as the enabler may find a better audience elsewhere on this list.
5. Abu Dhabi Investment Office
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office was established in 2018 with a mandate to attract investment into Abu Dhabi and support businesses that contribute to the emirate's economic development. It describes itself as the "Investor's Gateway to Abu Dhabi," which signals that its investment activity is closely tied to strategic economic priorities rather than purely financial returns.
For sports and SportsTech businesses, that context matters. This is not a traditional PE firm optimizing for a five-to-seven-year exit. It is a government-backed investment vehicle with long-term horizon priorities. If your business has a genuine operational or strategic reason to expand into the Gulf region, that alignment significantly improves the fit. If it does not, this office is unlikely to be the right capital partner regardless of sector.
6. Accel
Accel has been investing since 1983 and manages approximately $32 billion in AUM across its funds. Its portfolio includes more than 300 companies, among them Facebook, Slack, and Dropbox. The $12.7 million investment in Facebook in May 2005 is the most cited example, though the broader portfolio reflects a consistent focus on technology at early and growth stages.
Typical deal size runs between $50 million and $100 million per investment. For SportsTech founders, that check-size floor is a practical filter: this is not a seed or early-stage firm, despite its venture roots. Accel is relevant for sports technology businesses that have already reached meaningful scale and are raising a larger growth round.
The firm's track record in consumer and enterprise software gives it a genuine lens on SportsTech opportunities that have a clear software platform at their core. Businesses that are primarily sports rights, media, or franchise-adjacent are likely outside Accel's natural mandate.
7. Access Industries
Access Industries was founded in 1986 by Len Blavatnik and manages a global portfolio valued at over $35 billion. It is headquartered in New York with additional offices in London. The firm describes itself as a privately held, global investment company that invests with long-term capital, which distinguishes it structurally from fund-based PE firms that operate on fixed investment timelines of five to ten years.
Long-term, permanent capital means Access Industries does not face the same pressure to exit positions within a fund's life. For sports and media assets, which often take longer than a standard PE fund cycle to appreciate, that structure is genuinely advantageous. The firm's history in natural resources, chemicals, real estate, and media positions it as a conglomerate investor rather than a pure sports mandate platform.
Founders or asset holders looking for a patient capital partner with the balance sheet to hold through market cycles will find the Access Industries structure more accommodating than a traditional fund. Those looking for an active operational partner with deep sport-sector expertise may find dedicated platforms a better fit.
8. Adams Street Partners LLC
Adams Street manages $76 billion in AUM as of March 2025, making it the largest firm on this list by a substantial margin. It is 100% employee-owned and operates across 15 offices globally. In 2020, Preqin ranked it as the ninth-largest fund of funds globally. A fund of funds, for those unfamiliar, is a firm that invests in other PE or venture funds rather than directly in companies, giving its investors diversified exposure across many managers.
Its client base comprises more than 780 institutional investors, including pension funds, foundations, and family offices. That institutional orientation shapes everything about how Adams Street operates: it is not a firm that takes calls from early-stage founders seeking growth capital.
For large institutional investors looking to gain diversified exposure to private equity, including sports and SportsTech as part of a broader PE allocation, Adams Street is one of the most established routes. For founders or operators seeking direct investment, it is not the right firm.
9. Addition VC
Addition was founded in 2020 by Lee Fixel, who previously led private equity at Tiger Global, one of the most active technology investors of the last two decades. The firm launched with a $1.3 billion fund and has since raised $1.5 billion vehicles in both 2022 and 2023, reaching approximately $7 billion in total AUM across its funds by 2022.
It invests in early to growth-stage technology companies and is based in New York. The Tiger Global lineage is a meaningful reference point: Fixel's time there was defined by high-conviction bets on technology businesses at scale, often with concentrated positions. Addition carries a similar philosophy, though as a smaller, independent firm.
SportsTech founders at the growth stage, with a technology-first business model and a credible path to significant scale, fit the profile this firm has historically backed. Those at seed stage or in businesses that are primarily sports rights or media rather than software should look to other firms on this list first.
Let's Recap
The firms above cover a wide band of capital types, from a $5 million early-stage fund in Jordan to a $76 billion institutional fund of funds in Chicago. That range reflects something real about the sports and SportsTech investment landscape: there is no single profile of a "sports PE investor." Some of these firms have sport as a named mandate, others treat it as one application of a broader technology thesis, and one, Adams Street, invests in funds rather than companies at all.
The dedicated sport platforms, 23 Capital and 154 Partners, are the clearest choices for businesses whose commercial model is inseparable from the sport sector. The technology-first investors, 8VC, Accel, and Addition, are more relevant for SportsTech companies that could be evaluated on software metrics alone, where sport is the distribution channel rather than the core thesis. Access Industries and 3i suit larger, established businesses that need patient or mid-market capital rather than venture-style growth investment. Adams Street sits apart from all of them as an institutional allocator rather than a direct investor.
For practical targeting:
- Founder-led SportsTech business at lower middle market scale, first institutional raise: 154 Partners
- Sport-native businesses spanning media, AdTech, or digital finance: 23 Capital
- Growth-stage SportsTech with a software-first model and proven revenue: Accel, Addition VC
- Technology company using sport as a primary market, at fund VI scale: 8VC
- Large established sports or infrastructure business seeking mid-market PE: 3i
- Sports or media asset requiring patient, long-horizon permanent capital: Access Industries
- Institutional investor seeking diversified PE exposure across sports and other sectors: Adams Street Partners
- Business with genuine expansion plans into the Gulf region: Abu Dhabi Investment Office
Use the filters above to confirm current fund status and fit before reaching out.
Private Equity List's API and MCP tools let you pull the full set by stage, check size, and sector focus, including firms active in sports. You can inspect each firm's structure and backer before you invest time, or hand the criteria to an AI assistant like Claude to separate the true funds from the corporate arms first.