<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9TCH!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb893b23e-bee8-4e54-8ac2-474173538420_1742x978.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9TCH!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb893b23e-bee8-4e54-8ac2-474173538420_1742x978.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9TCH!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb893b23e-bee8-4e54-8ac2-474173538420_1742x978.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9TCH!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb893b23e-bee8-4e54-8ac2-474173538420_1742x978.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9TCH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb893b23e-bee8-4e54-8ac2-474173538420_1742x978.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9TCH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb893b23e-bee8-4e54-8ac2-474173538420_1742x978.png" width="1456" height="817" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b893b23e-bee8-4e54-8ac2-474173538420_1742x978.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:817,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1337300,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://leadvc.substack.com/i/201233039?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb893b23e-bee8-4e54-8ac2-474173538420_1742x978.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9TCH!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb893b23e-bee8-4e54-8ac2-474173538420_1742x978.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9TCH!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb893b23e-bee8-4e54-8ac2-474173538420_1742x978.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9TCH!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb893b23e-bee8-4e54-8ac2-474173538420_1742x978.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9TCH!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb893b23e-bee8-4e54-8ac2-474173538420_1742x978.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>There&#8217;s no denying that sports teams have some of the most loyal customer bases in the world. Yet despite valuations in the billions, most teams don&#8217;t know their fans&#8217; names (or much else about them) because they don&#8217;t own their consumer data. That gap, in our eyes, is the structural problem in sports &#8212; they are not acting like consumer brands. </p><p>The critique isn&#8217;t that valuations are wrong, but that they are incomplete. Today&#8217;s market prices in brand equity and media rights, but not yet data infrastructure or the compounding value of a direct customer relationship built over decades. The conventional justification is that the supply of sports teams is scarce, fans don&#8217;t churn, and a new investor will always want in. We don&#8217;t disagree. But it explains the floor, not the ceiling.</p><p>Data infrastructure and customer data don&#8217;t appear in a traditional sports team&#8217;s valuation, but they do in every other consumer business. Netflix commands its valuation not because of its content library alone, but because it knows exactly who is watching, when they stop, and what brings them back. That gap between what a sports team is worth today and what it could be if it centered on fan data is where the next tier of value is created.</p><div><hr></div><h4><strong>I. The Valuation Paradox</strong></h4><p>In the last 5 years, franchise valuations have defied gravity. The NFL&#8217;s average team now exceeds $5 billion, with the NBA, NHL, MLB, and European football clubs not far behind &#8212; all trading at multiples that compare to most tech deals. Every new sale seems to set a record that the next one breaks.</p><p>And to be fair, the track record justifies the attention. Over the past two decades, the big four North American leagues have generated 13.2% annualized returns (outpacing the S&amp;P 500 by more than 2x). As an asset class, sports franchises have been among the most consistent wealth-creation vehicles over the last generation.</p><p>When you look past the headlines, most teams still run a business model designed for a different era. They don&#8217;t own their ticketing infrastructure, don&#8217;t control their merchandise, and have outsourced their media rights. At some point, price appreciation alone stops being a thesis. We are confident that reality has either arrived or is close.</p><p>The business of sports teams is not easily explained on a spreadsheet. The real question is what they would be worth if they were run like a consumer brand that owned its customers?</p><div><hr></div><h4><strong>II. A Brand With No Customer</strong></h4><p>Think about the brands with the most loyal customers in the world: Apple, Netflix, Adidas, and Spotify. Their business is built around one obsession: knowing their customers better than anyone else. Spotify knows your favorite artist and can recommend a new song to you. Adidas knows which sneakers you bought and can offer a special-edition Samba next release. Now think about your favorite sports team. You've worn the jersey since you were 8 years old. You've never missed a home game, with season tickets, exclusive merchandise, and the league pass. Chances are, the team has no idea who you are.</p><p>Sports franchises sit on the most emotionally committed customer bases ever assembled. This is loyalty that consumer brands spend billions trying to manufacture. In sports, it exists organically and is inherited across generations, geographies, identities, and communities. By every metric that matters in a modern consumer business, teams have already won the hardest part. It&#8217;s precisely why sponsorship commands such a premium: partner brands are paying to access a loyal customer base they could never build on their own.</p><p>And yet, structurally, they operate like a business that is not direct-to-consumer.</p><p>The average fan can appear as four entirely different users across four entirely different systems. The ticketing platform knows you by your seat number. The merchandise provider knows you by your shipping address. The broadcast partner knows you by your subscriber ID. The team itself? Often, it knows you as little more than an email address. Of course, through innovation, this is changing drastically, and it is most teams&#8217; top priority.<br><br>The average fan can appear as four different users across four entirely different systems. The ticketing platform knows you by your seat number; the merchandise provider by your shipping address; the broadcast partner by your subscriber ID. The team itself? Often, little more than an email address. Through innovation, this is changing drastically, and it is most teams&#8217; top priority.</p><p>The model currently optimizes for the vendor partner over the fan relationship. It has not measured what it&#8217;s losing: the compounding value of unified fan data.</p><div><hr></div><h4><strong>III. Why Intermediaries Made Sense And Why They Don&#8217;t Anymore</strong></h4><p>For most of the 20th century, sports organizations lacked the technology and operational infrastructure to sell directly to fans at scale. Ticketmaster could distribute inventory across thousands of outlets. Fanatics could manufacture, warehouse, and ship merchandise globally. Broadcast networks could reach tens of millions of households that no team could reach.</p><p>The problem isn&#8217;t that intermediaries exist. It&#8217;s what happens over time when the entire fan relationship is built on someone else&#8217;s infrastructure.</p><p>Every time a fan interaction is outsourced, the team loses a little more visibility into who that fan is, what they value, and how their behaviors connect. Intermediaries don&#8217;t just take margin; they take context. And unlike margin, context doesn&#8217;t show up on financials until it&#8217;s gone.</p><p>The model highlights a structural weakness: the idea that ticketing, merchandise, media, and sponsorship are separate businesses that happen to share a logo. Each vendor relationship became its own silo, with its own contract, data, and definition of who the customer is.</p><div><hr></div><h4><strong>IV. What Would a D2C Business Model Look Like?</strong></h4><p>We provide a blank-page exercise exploring what could be possible if they were run more like a consumer business, with examples below.</p><ul><li><p><em>Ticketing: </em>The status quo is that outsourced providers such as Ticketmaster, Live Nation, SeatGeek, StubHub, and others control primary/secondary distribution. The D2C vision is to sell inventory through owned channels, with price optimization and other strategies managed by the team.</p></li><li><p><em>Media/Broadcast: </em>The status quo is that broadcast rights deals are the dominant revenue engine for teams today. The D2C vision is to include behind-the-scenes programming, player storytelling, and other content opportunities owned by teams and leagues, built on a direct, owned audience.</p></li><li><p><em>Merchandise: </em>The status quo is that Fanatics controls manufacturing and distribution for most major North American league apparel. The D2C vision is to sell all merchandise through an owned commerce infrastructure, in which the sports team retains all customer data.</p></li></ul><div><hr></div><h4><strong>V. The Talent Evolution in Sports</strong></h4><p>If the problem were technological, it would already be solved. The tools to build a D2C business exist and are accessible; the harder problem is organizational.</p><p>For decades, the sports industry has been powered by career insiders, people who have built deep institutional knowledge over 20 years within the same organization, league, or ecosystem. That experience is genuinely irreplaceable. Nobody understands a fanbase, a market, or a league relationship better than someone who has lived inside it for a generation.</p><p>But the next chapter of value creation requires bringing in diverse thought and experience alongside these leaders. In technology, the pace of change is relentless by design. Companies like Anthropic, SpaceX, and Ramp operate on an iteration cadence that most industries never experience. Operators who have built consumer businesses from scratch think differently about data, retention, and customer lifetime value.</p><p>Sports are beginning to import talent. AC Milan hired Maxime Laharrague, formerly a data scientist and insights manager at Spotify, to lead their data strategy across business and marketing. The Florida Panthers brought in Michael White, President of Business Operations, who previously served as Chief Product Officer at Amazon&#8217;s autonomous vehicle division. These examples are early signals of what more ownership groups will begin to implement.<br><br>Sports are beginning to import talent. AC Milan hired Maxime Laharrague, a Spotify data scientist and insights manager, to lead their data strategy across business and marketing. The Florida Panthers brought in Michael White as President of Business Operations, a former Chief Product Officer at Amazon&#8217;s autonomous vehicle division. These are early signals of what more ownership groups will begin to implement.</p><div><hr></div><h4><strong>VI. The Valuation Implication </strong></h4><p>Here&#8217;s the question we keep coming back to: if two teams generate identical revenue but one runs through intermediaries and the other through owned channels with first-party data infrastructure, are they worth the same multiple? We don&#8217;t think so. Not even close.</p><p>When a team knows every fan, it can model churn, underwrite a fan product, build sponsorships based on verified performance, and personalize experiences at scale. It carries a technology asset alongside the sports asset. The comps stop being other sports teams and start looking more like Spotify and Netflix: consumer businesses where the depth of the customer relationship is itself a source of enterprise value.</p><p>That&#8217;s the shift we&#8217;re watching for at LEAD. Not which team sells next, or at what price, but which groups are quietly building the infrastructure that turns every fan relationship and data point into a driver of valuation.</p><p>The teams that get there first won&#8217;t just be worth more; they&#8217;ll be worth it.</p>

There's no denying that sports teams have the world's most loyal customers. Despite being worth billions, they still don't know everything about their fans.

Sports Teams Are Consumer Brands That Don’t Act Like It

<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!c8dD!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3bfc9efa-4d13-4997-93f7-8cc5c3072bd0_2875x1912.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!c8dD!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3bfc9efa-4d13-4997-93f7-8cc5c3072bd0_2875x1912.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!c8dD!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3bfc9efa-4d13-4997-93f7-8cc5c3072bd0_2875x1912.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!c8dD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3bfc9efa-4d13-4997-93f7-8cc5c3072bd0_2875x1912.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!c8dD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3bfc9efa-4d13-4997-93f7-8cc5c3072bd0_2875x1912.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!c8dD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3bfc9efa-4d13-4997-93f7-8cc5c3072bd0_2875x1912.png" width="1456" height="968" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3bfc9efa-4d13-4997-93f7-8cc5c3072bd0_2875x1912.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:968,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:7250075,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://leadvc.substack.com/i/169752009?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3bfc9efa-4d13-4997-93f7-8cc5c3072bd0_2875x1912.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!c8dD!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3bfc9efa-4d13-4997-93f7-8cc5c3072bd0_2875x1912.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!c8dD!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3bfc9efa-4d13-4997-93f7-8cc5c3072bd0_2875x1912.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!c8dD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3bfc9efa-4d13-4997-93f7-8cc5c3072bd0_2875x1912.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!c8dD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3bfc9efa-4d13-4997-93f7-8cc5c3072bd0_2875x1912.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container restack-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-refresh-cw"><path d="M3 12a9 9 0 0 1 9-9 9.75 9.75 0 0 1 6.74 2.74L21 8"></path><path d="M21 3v5h-5"></path><path d="M21 12a9 9 0 0 1-9 9 9.75 9.75 0 0 1-6.74-2.74L3 16"></path><path d="M8 16H3v5"></path></svg></div><div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></div></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Over the past 40 years, media innovation has largely focused on what we see. What we <em>hear</em>&#8212;and how we experience it&#8212;has barely evolved. Despite being an $82B market, audio has lagged far behind visual technology in innovation. For every dollar invested in visual tech, audio has received only a fraction, and patents in audio have grown at less than half the rate of those in imaging.</p><p><a href="https://www.edgesoundresearch.com/">EDGE Sound Research</a> is rewriting that script.</p><blockquote><p>&#8221;Our rationale for this investment centers on the market's recognition that the way humans &#8216;hear&#8217; (audio) has lacked innovation over the past forty years, especially when compared to advancements in the way humans &#8216;see&#8217; (media). Our enthusiasm for this investment stems from the solution's potential to address specific pain points across multiple industries, including sports, entertainment, automotive, and robotics.&#8221; - Justin Driscoll, Principal @ LEAD</p></blockquote><p><strong>Why Sound is the Next Frontier</strong></p><p>Audio limitations already constrain emerging tech&#8212;think VR headsets that deliver stunning visuals but rely on flat, two-dimensional soundscapes that break immersion. With over 20 million VR/AR headsets sold globally in 2024, the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C8dWKCZA-Uw/">lack of spatially intelligent audio is a glaring gap</a> - overcoming it is key to fully realizing these experiences.</p><ul><li><p><strong>Immersive Tech Gap:</strong> VR/AR adoption is skyrocketing, yet spatial audio lags behind.</p></li><li><p><strong>Market Growth:</strong> The audio market is projected to triple to $275B by 2032.</p></li></ul><p>EDGE&#8217;s platform&#8212;spanning capture, processing, rendering, and reproduction&#8212;is creating a new category: <strong>intelligent audio.</strong></p><p>This isn&#8217;t just about louder or clearer sound. It&#8217;s about enabling computers to <em>understand</em> and <em>reproduce</em> sound in ways that feel human in immersive live sports, personalized broadcasts, and eventually, machines that hear and react like we do.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://leadvc.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Subscribe to receive the latest LEAD posts.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p><strong>The Founders Who Hear Differently</strong></p><p>EDGE was born from two deeply personal journeys:</p><ul><li><p><strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/valsalomaki/">Valtteri Salomaki</a> (CEO):</strong> A serial entrepreneur with a knack for B2B sales in sports and entertainment</p></li><li><p><strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethancastro/">Ethan Castro</a> (CTO):</strong> Born hard of hearing, Ethan became a professional musician by training himself to <em>feel</em> sound.</p></li></ul><p>Together, they bridge technical brilliance and commercial execution&#8212;turning what was once academic research into real-world deployments.</p><p><strong>Why We Backed EDGE</strong></p><p>Fan feedback from early <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DMBo5kto0jo/">NBA arena deployments</a> showed a double-digit increase in reported engagement and immersion compared to traditional seating, underscoring the demand for this technology. Revenue tied to these installations has also grown steadily, reinforcing the commercial opportunity.</p><p>Our conviction rests on three pillars:</p><ol><li><p><strong>Category Creation:</strong> A first-of-its-kind intelligent audio stack with applications across live events, broadcast, automotive, and robotics.</p></li><li><p><strong>Real-World Traction:</strong> Deployments with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Fox Sports, and MLS validate demand.</p></li><li><p><strong>Platform Potential:</strong> From immersive fan experiences to teaching robots to hear, EDGE is building infrastructure for the next decade of sound.</p></li></ol><p><strong>What&#8217;s Next</strong></p><p>By this time next year, EDGE expects to double its number of venue installations and broadcast integrations, aligning with the broader convergence of AI in broadcast and robotics adoption.</p><p>With a $2.5M seed extension anchored by strategic partners like Sweetwater, EDGE is scaling Embodied Sound installations, commercializing its Virtual Sound Engine for broadcast, and exploring robotics integrations.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C1tDruvLnsv/">future of audio</a> won&#8217;t just be heard&#8212;it will be <em>felt,</em> <em>personalized,</em> and ultimately <em>understood.</em> We&#8217;re thrilled to back EDGE as they make intelligent sound infrastructure a reality.</p><p>Edge Sound Research has <a href="https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/06/27/usta-ventures-invests-in-edge-sound-research/">raised $2.75M in new funding</a>, bringing the audio innovation startup&#8217;s total backing to $5.5M. The latest round was led by Elevate Ventures and included participation from USTA Ventures, the DeVos family, LEAD VC, Cartan Capital, and Potential Capital, among other angel investors in the audio and entertainment space.</p><p><em>Disclosure: EDGE Sound Research participated in the inaugural <a href="https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/04/18/magic-select-five-companies-in-inaugural-magic-venture-challenge/">Orlando Magic Venture Challenge</a>.</em></p><div class="captioned-button-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://leadvc.substack.com/p/why-we-invested-in-edge-sound-research?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;}" data-component-name="CaptionedButtonToDOM"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading! Feel feel free to share it with someone who it resonates with.</p></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://leadvc.substack.com/p/why-we-invested-in-edge-sound-research?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://leadvc.substack.com/p/why-we-invested-in-edge-sound-research?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p></div>

Reinventing audio for an immersive, AI-driven future.

Why We Invested in Edge Sound Research

Club Fútbol Estrela Amadora | Lisbon, Portugal | August 25, 2026

LEAD’s First-Ever Sports Team Ownership

<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAp9!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F48281447-a3ae-4326-ac35-a576a5234903_920x612.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAp9!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F48281447-a3ae-4326-ac35-a576a5234903_920x612.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAp9!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F48281447-a3ae-4326-ac35-a576a5234903_920x612.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAp9!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F48281447-a3ae-4326-ac35-a576a5234903_920x612.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAp9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F48281447-a3ae-4326-ac35-a576a5234903_920x612.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAp9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F48281447-a3ae-4326-ac35-a576a5234903_920x612.png" width="920" height="612" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/48281447-a3ae-4326-ac35-a576a5234903_920x612.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:612,&quot;width&quot;:920,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:930699,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://leadvc.substack.com/i/171012564?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F48281447-a3ae-4326-ac35-a576a5234903_920x612.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAp9!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F48281447-a3ae-4326-ac35-a576a5234903_920x612.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAp9!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F48281447-a3ae-4326-ac35-a576a5234903_920x612.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAp9!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F48281447-a3ae-4326-ac35-a576a5234903_920x612.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JAp9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F48281447-a3ae-4326-ac35-a576a5234903_920x612.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container restack-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-refresh-cw"><path d="M3 12a9 9 0 0 1 9-9 9.75 9.75 0 0 1 6.74 2.74L21 8"></path><path d="M21 3v5h-5"></path><path d="M21 12a9 9 0 0 1-9 9 9.75 9.75 0 0 1-6.74-2.74L3 16"></path><path d="M8 16H3v5"></path></svg></div><div class="pencraft pc-reset icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></div></div></div></div></a></figure></div><h4><strong>Poor Sleep: An Under-Recognized and Neglected <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6473877/">Epidemic</a> </strong></h4><p>Good sleep is essential for human health and a good quality of life. Yet, in modern society, insufficient and poor sleep is a pervasive problem that often goes unnoticed and unaddressed.</p><p>Reduced sleep duration has been <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6473877/">linked</a> to <strong>7 of the 15</strong> leading causes of death in the United States, including <strong>cardiovascular disease, malignant neoplasm, cerebrovascular disease, accidents, diabetes, septicemia, and hypertension.</strong></p><p>Quality of sleep also matters. Sleep disruptions - whether caused by lifestyle or environmental factors - impact the continuity of sleep and have substantial short-term and long-term <a href="https://www.dovepress.com/article/download/32942">consequences</a>, even in otherwise healthy adults. Short-term consequences include <strong>increased stress responsivity, somatic pain, emotional distress, mood disorders, and performance deficits.</strong> The long-term consequences include, but are not limited to, <strong>colorectal cancer, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and increased all-cause mortality in men.</strong></p><p>Beyond personal health, the societal toll is also staggering. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5627640/">One</a> study estimates that insufficient sleep alone costs the US economy up to <strong>$411 billion</strong> <strong>per year </strong>due to increased risk of sickness and dying, reduced work performance, and suboptimal school performance in children. </p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://leadvc.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Subscribe to receive the latest LEAD posts.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><h4>A Market with Huge Demand and Unmet Needs</h4><p>People struggling with sleep go to enormous lengths to get a good night&#8217;s rest. In 2024, the global market for sleep aids was valued at <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/10/24/2968424/28124/en/Sleep-Aids-Market-Forecast-to-Cross-89-Billion-by-2030-Trends-and-Projections-by-Product-Sleep-Disorder-and-Distribution-Channel-at-a-Global-Regional-and-Country-Level.html">$64B</a> and is expected to grow to $89B by 2030.</p><p>Consumers are actively seeking solutions for better sleep, making the category the <strong><a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/still-feeling-good-the-us-wellness-market-continues-to-boom">second-highest wellness priority</a></strong> after general health - taking precedence over nutrition, fitness, mindfulness, and appearance. In the pursuit of better rest, consumers are trying products such as earplugs, eye masks, weighted blankets, mouth tapes, nasal dilators, nasal strips, magnesium foot sprays, smart alarm clocks, and smart mattress systems, among others.</p><p>Yet, despite years of innovation and strong demand, many consumers still find current products and services insufficient to meet their sleep needs, making the sleep category one with the <strong><a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/still-feeling-good-the-us-wellness-market-continues-to-boom">greatest unmet consumer need</a></strong>.</p><p>The caveat is that better sleep can often be achieved through consistent habits rather than more products. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8511346/">Diet</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25596964/">exercise</a>, <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6751071/">exposure to natural daylight</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969722064026?via%3Dihub">bedroom darkness at night</a>, <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6751071/">reduced screentime at night</a>, and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0033062023000117?via%3Dihub">avoiding caffeine and alcohol later in the day</a> can all help improve sleep. </p><p>With that said, life circumstances - such as caring for a newborn, working night shifts, and frequent travel - can all disrupt good <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0033062023000117?via%3Dihub">sleep hygiene</a> and increase the demand for innovation to achieve better sleep.</p><h4><strong>Introducing Somnee - A Clinically Validated, Drug-Free Solution</strong></h4><p><a href="https://somneesleep.com/">Somnee</a> is a sleep headband that creates a proprietary brain mapping diagnosis with EEG sensors and provides non-invasive, gentle, and personalized electrical stimulation (tES). The product reduces sleep onset latency and increases both sleep duration and sleep efficiency.</p><p>Co-founded by <a href="https://www.sleepdiplomat.com/">Dr. Matt Walker</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=P3p-g5kAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">Dr. Ram Gurumoorthy</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&amp;user=WYv36DIAAAAJ">Dr. Robert Knight</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nicnuy4AAAAJ&amp;hl=en">Dr. Richard Ivry</a>, and led by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/timrosa/">Tim Rosa</a>, Somnee is a clinically validated product shown to be more effective than melatonin in improving sleep efficiency and duration.</p><h4><strong>Joining Forces to Tackle the Epidemic </strong></h4><p>We invested in Somnee because it addresses a profoundly underserved market with serious health implications and is led by a world-class team delivering a clinically validated solution.</p><p>Addressing the epidemic of poor sleep requires innovation and collaboration. We are proud to partner with Somnee alongside Khosla Ventures, Marc Benioff&#8217;s TIME Ventures, the DeVos Family, Seaside Ventures, Nelstone Ventures, Metalab, and others, to advance effective sleep solutions and improve public health worldwide.</p><div class="captioned-button-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://leadvc.substack.com/p/why-we-invested-in-somnee?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;}" data-component-name="CaptionedButtonToDOM"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading! Feel free to share this with anyone who might find it insightful.</p></div><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://leadvc.substack.com/p/why-we-invested-in-somnee?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://leadvc.substack.com/p/why-we-invested-in-somnee?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p></div><p></p>

Addressing the silent epidemic of poor sleep.

Sports Teams Are Consumer Brands That Don’t Act Like It

Sports Teams Are Consumer Brands That Don’t Act Like It

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