Collaborative Fund Buys Into D.C. United and Audi Field, the Latest VC to Enter Pro Sports

The New York-based generalist venture firm, which is 15 years old and manages roughly $1 billion, made early bets on Lyft, Reddit, Sweetgreen and Olipop. Founder Craig Shapiro has pitched the sports stake as a way to put the firm's startup portfolio in front of a stadium-sized audience.

The investment covers both D.C. United, the Major League Soccer club, and Audi Field, the stadium where it plays.

Thrive Capital opened the path into franchise ownership only months earlier. The firm led by Joshua Kushner created a vehicle called Thrive Eternal, explicitly designed to hold what it described as "iconic franchises and cultural institutions" for decades, funded by many of the same investors already committed to Thrive's venture and growth funds. Its first move was an announced stake in the San Francisco Giants.

The same vehicle later bought the Los Angeles Lakers outright for a record $12.5 billion, with former Disney chief executive Bob Iger, a Thrive partner, joining as co-owner.

Until recently, capital had entered professional sports mainly through two routes: individual technology fortunes and private equity. Vinod Khosla and his family, for instance, agreed this summer to buy the Seattle Seahawks for a record $9.6 billion, shortly after the family took a stake in the San Francisco 49ers alongside OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor — a personal-wealth play of the kind seen repeatedly in the sector.