Lead Lake Nona in sourcing, funding and fostering the growth of early-stage sports and health technology startups / Shutterstock/Cast Of Thousands
Lead Lake Nona, a company that originates, funds and drives early-stage growth in sports and health technologies globally, has entered into a partnership with US NBA franchise Orlando Magic, which will see the two organizations work together to advance sports and health. technological solutions.
The Orlando Magic will serve as Lead Lake Nona’s innovation partner, allowing the company’s portfolio companies to test, learn, iterate and scale their products and services.
As part of the agreement, Lead Lake Nona will share its expertise in sports and health technology innovation, deep knowledge base and intelligence and offer access to its portfolio of companies focused on athlete health and performance development.
Lead Lake Nona will also provide the Orland Magic with industry intelligence and act as a venture arm that supports the development of the Magic’s innovation initiatives.
In addition, the Lead Lake Nona Innovation Center will serve as a host sponsor for the Orlando Magic eSports gaming team, providing a training and competition venue.
The move is a continuation of the Orlando Magic’s technology ventures. In 2014, it opened the first design thinking-based innovation lab in the NBA. In 2015, the team was the first in the NBA to implement mobile technology that allowed fans to use the Magic app to personalize their experience at Amway Center.
For the past two years, the team has also hosted the Orlando Magic Innovation Challenge, a multi-day event where developers, startup enthusiasts and sports business professionals have the opportunity to pitch new ideas and hear from some of the leading minds in sports technology. .
In 2022, the Magic opened the Advent Health Training Center, which serves as its training facility as well as a central Florida sports medicine center.
Lead CEO and co-founder Christoph Sonnen told Fit Tech Global: .
“Our mission is to revolutionize the sports and health technology space through game-changing innovation, and we look forward to working with the Magic to accelerate the growth of Orlando’s world-class technology hub.”
Lead Lake Nona is a joint venture between Lead Sports and Health Tech Partners, a sports and health technology investment platform, and real estate developer Tavistock, an international private equity firm. It operates out of Lake Nona, Orlando’s live-lab community.
Jay Riola, executive vice president of strategy and innovation, said: “Innovation is one of our core values ​​at Magic, along with our belief in the power of collaboration and creative thinking.
“With Lead’s unparalleled expertise in sports and health technology, this partnership will give our organization and fans the opportunity to experience the latest developments in technology, as well as offer our organization a greater ability to drive innovation and emerging startups in Orlando.”
The Lead runs – The Lead Toyoshima Bootcamp – in Tokyo from March 28 to April 8 for health and sports tech startups.
In 2022, the Orlando Magic opened the Advent Health Training Center, which serves as its training facility and destination sports medicine center. Orlando Magic/NBA