Tennis champ and financier Serena Williams is now a board adviser for the $4.3 billion blockchain-based fantasy soccer game Sorare.
Currently, Sorare has IP license deals with 230 men’s soccer clubs and leagues. Expansion plans this year include adding at least two American sports, including women’s sports. Williams’ presence will help on that end.
“When you have the ambition to build the biggest entertainment group in the world of sports, and you have the opportunity to partner with one of the greatest athletes in history, you want that perspective,” Sorare CEO Nicolas Julia told Forbes.
“When we think of web3, and we think of crypto: that’s going to be the biggest space for the next several years in terms of growth,” she said.
Williams has her own venture capital firm Serena Ventures, which focuses on early-stage companies, especially Black-owned ventures. Launched in 2014, Serena Ventures has invested in 50+ early-stage start-ups.
“When I’m talking about Serena Ventures, we invest in women, we invest in people of color, that’s our thing,” Williams told Forbes. “68% or 70% of our portfolio are companies founded by women or people of color.”
Serena Ventures has funded multiple crypto companies, including Lolli, an e-commerce site that gives customers rewards in bitcoin for their purchases; Bitski, an NFT marketplace along with hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and VC firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Williams also has a connection to soccer. Women’s soccer club Angel City FC was founded by Serena Williams along with celebrities Natalie Portman, Abby Wambach, Julie Uhrman, and Ohanian, Forbes reported.
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