(Bloomberg) — Just Women’s Sports, a media platform, raised $6 million in a funding round led by Blue Pool Capital, the family office of billionaire Joe Tsai.
“The business case for women’s sports has never been clearer, and Just Women’s Sports is positioned to be the leading media platform in the space,” Tsai and his wife, Clara Wu Tsai, said in an emailed statement. Joe Tsai is co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and owner of the New York Liberty and Brooklyn Nets basketball teams.
Bolt Ventures, the family office of David Blitzer, investment firm SC Holdings, women’s tennis pioneer Billie Jean King, Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang, and sports NFT marketplace Dapper Labs also participated in the round, JWS founder and Chief Executive Officer Haley Rosen said in an interview. The startup is now valued at $36 million.
“Just Women’s Sports is building on the foundation of earlier pioneers by creating a media platform that celebrates and elevates the incredible athletes and stories in women’s sports,” King said in an emailed statement. “Haley and her team have the vision and talent necessary to usher in a new era in sports media.”
Other new investors include Allyson Felix, Abby Wambach, Sam Kerr, Lynn Williams, Paul Rabil and Apolo Ohno, Rosen said. Founded in 2020, the company earns the majority of its revenue from advertising and sponsorships from brands including Nike, Puma, Under Armour, Cisco, Heineken and Dick’s Sporting Goods. JWS is also beginning to drive revenue from merchandise sales, she said.
“For women’s sports to be mainstream, we need to make it accessible,” Rosen said. “We want to make it possible to be a casual fan of women’s sports.”
JWS aims to to provide highlights, statistics and schedules for U.S. women’s basketball and soccer leagues, and bolster coverage of women’s tennis, golf softball, volleyball and surfing, among other sports, she said. The funding round provides resources to drive audience and revenue growth, build the brand and add staff, Rosen said.
Returning investors in JWS include Isaiah Kacyvenski’s Will Ventures; Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s Thirty Five Ventures; and Drive by DraftKings, Rosen said. Earlier athlete investors include Kelley O’Hara, who hosts a JWS podcast.
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