Less than two weeks after agreeing to re-sign with the New York Knicks for a reported five years and $124 million, Carmelo Anthony has found a unique way to boost his already considerable fortune.
The 30-year-old superstar announced Monday the creation of M7 Tech Partners, a venture capital firm that will invest in seed-stage tech startups. The name, M7, stands for Anthony's nickname ("Melo") and his jersey number.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Anthony is joined in the venture by his friend Stuart Goldfarb, the former CEO of Bertelsmann and executive vice president of NBC.
“We have complementary strengths and a very close, 50/50 partnership," Goldfarb told the Journal. "I have more time to do the leg work of scoping out potential deals for us. But 'Melo has incredible business instincts and a great record when it comes to product design, social media and business development."
In a statement, Anthony said he's intrigued by wearable and connected devices. The Olympic gold medalist became interested in these technologies after he and his teammates started wearing sophisticated, performance-tracking sensors during practices last year. According to the New York Times Anthony and Goldfarb began discussing how many of these devices are not available to the public, and the possibility of widespread distribution of sensor-based technology provided the initial spark for M7.
M7's first investment is in Hullabalu, a company which creates kids’ story apps for iPads.
As more and more start-ups take off, business-savvy pros are aligning themselves with the companies in hopes of reaping a fortune down the road. Recently Anthony's good friend LeBron James took in $30 million thanks to his equity stake in Beats Electronics.
