Rosberg To Ronaldo: Sport Stars Who Bet On AI, Other Smart Tech

In recent times, several sports personalities have channelled their competitive instincts into venture capital, with focus on artificial intelligence and smart tech.

The latest to join this trend is former Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg, who has raised an impressive $100 million for his venture capital firm, Rosberg Ventures.

The firm closed its third fund in January, providing it $200 million in assets under management, it stated on Monday. This puts it among one of the largest technology investors from a former athlete. Born in Germany, Rosberg serves as the firm's founder and principal investor. He currently resides in Monaco.

This places Rosberg among other sporting legends, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Serena Williams and LeBron James, who have all made significant bets on the transformative potential of AI-driven innovation.

Their growing involvement in smart tech underscores a broader shift, where sports stars look forward to securing long-term financial growth and positioning themselves as key figures and make a mark for themselves outside the world of sports.

Rosberg, who retired from Formula 1 after winning the world championship in 2016, started Rosberg Ventures in 2022. It mostly backs prominent VC firms.

Earlier, he invested in notable ventures, which include stakes in SpaceX and Lyft Inc. through special purpose vehicles. Also included is Lilium, an air taxi startup that filed for bankruptcy last year.

His move mirrors a broader trend where prominent athletes have put their wealth into technology ventures. Among these include:

Through Serena Ventures, which she launched in 2014, Williams keeps focused on investing into firms led by diverse founders. It has gone on to build a portfolio of more than 30 startups, across different industries ranging from crypto and wellness to AI-powered fitness, UrbanGeekz reported.

Over the years, Williams has invested in Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange platform; Tonal, an AI-powered fitness company; and Noom, a health tech startup, the report added.

The Portuguese star had taken a stake in Perplexity AI, Bloomberg reported in December 2025. Ronaldo's stake in the company, which was founded in 2022, and financial terms were not disclosed.

One of the greatest basketball players of all time, James has made an extensive portfolio of tech investments over the years. He has backed firms like Tonal, and Beats by Dre. Tonal remains focused on AI-powered fitness solutions, while the other is an audio tech company that was acquired by Apple for $3 billion.

Besides these, James has invested in Lobos 1701 Tequila as it grows in the premium spirits market as well as digital media platform, Uninterrupted, reported Forbes.

Durant makes investments in a wide range of companies from tech, media and sports through his firm, 35 Ventures. 

Some of his well-known investments include Coinbase, sports media company Overtime, Whoop, a fitness tech startup popular for its wearable fitness trackers, reported Forbes.

The NBA star holds a diversified investment portfolio that puts major emphasis on technology, reported Forbes. Initially, Curry is said to have invested in FTX, a now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange platform and Guild Education, that helps companies provide education benefits to their employees.

Outside the world of sports, Brady is famous for co-founding Autograph (specialised in creating NFT-based sports collectibles), reported CNN. 

The firm aims to revolutionise how fans of sport personalities interact with them. It provides unique, blockchain-based memorabilia that could be traded.