CALIFORNIA: The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Intel Capital on Tuesday announced a sports and entertainment technology innovation collaboration called the “NBA + Intel Capital Emerging Technology Initiative”.
The multi-year collaboration will see the two companies jointly evaluate global technology startups for potential investment and commercial collaboration.
The initiative was announced at the annual Intel Capital Global Summit, the venture industry’s premiere technology networking event.
This initiative aims to identify new technologies from global companies at all stages, but particularly US-based startups that the NBA and Intel Capital will evaluate for potential partnership and investment opportunities. Among the companies that the NBA and Intel Capital will assess will be those with new technology solutions that can enhance the NBA game on the court, the overall fan experience and the sports industry worldwide. In addition, the NBA and Intel Capital will provide mentorship, strategic planning and business development support for the selected companies.
“Venture investments in sports reached $1.5 billion in 2017, and the next five years in sports will be defined by even more technology disruption,” said Wendell Brooks, senior vice president of Intel Corporation and president of Intel Capital.
“With this new initiative, the NBA and Intel Capital aim to bring extensive human and technology resources into companies we believe will lead the next wave of transformation in sports and entertainment.”
“We look forward to tapping into Intel Capital’s infrastructure and 27-year track record of identifying successful startups,” said Amy Brooks, president, Team Marketing & Business Operations and chief innovation officer at the NBA.
“Together, we will identify and support the next generation of innovative sports and entertainment technology companies to find and develop new ways to enhance the game on the court and the fan experience.”
NBA and Intel had signed a multiyear technology partnership the previous year. Intel also became a founding partner of the new NBA 2K League, providing the best gaming experience for both players and fans through its cloud to client technology solutions. As a result, this initiative seems to be an extension of the success these two organizations have had working together.
