Sharp Alpha Advisors, a venture capital and advisory firm that specializes in sports betting, has closed its first $10 million fund.
Led by managing partner Lloyd Danzig, the group invests primarily into early-stage gambling technology companies. It has made 11 investments to date, including motorsport fantasy operator GridRival, gambling exchange Prophet and free-to-play platform PickUp.
Sharp Alpha plans to spend half of the $10 million on initial commitments and reserve the rest for follow-on investments into portfolio companies that show the most promise. Its 11 investments to date make up more than half of that initial $5 million allotment, Danzig said.
The fund is deploying money based on a two-pronged thesis, according to Danzig, a former bond trader who launched Sharp Alpha Advisors in early 2019.
