Hoopers, the Portuguese startup that connects fans, brands, and basketball players, has announced the closing of a new €2.1 million seed funding round, led by Buenavista Equity Partners (formerly GED Ventures), with participation from Portugal Ventures and several business angels, including prominent figures in Portuguese basketball, Neemias Queta and Ticha Penicheiro, NBA champion with the Boston Celtics and WNBA Hall of Famer, respectively.
This new funding will be directed towards continuing the expansion of its technological platform in Latin America, a strategic territory where the company is already active, as well as accelerating the launch of new technological products to serve the sports market and its operators: clubs, leagues, federations, and sports brands.
Hoopers has established itself as a reference for the basketball community, serving the market with a range of offline products – such as basketball court refurbishments, event organization, and product launches – and digital solutions – with its platform modules focused on fan engagement and data collection through artificial intelligence – exploring the intersections between these two dimensions.
“This investment round is a sign of commitment, confidence, and trust from our investors in our growth strategy. We remain focused on the concept and values of community—and on developing products, content, and projects that make an impact—but have shifted our approach towards technology development and licensing to connect people, fans, and sports organizations. We are innovating by offering solutions based on the potential of artificial intelligence in sports for fans and players, and on Web3 technologies to create closer, more engaging, and personalized experiences between fans and organizations. Our investment about a year ago in the Brazilian market has proven to be a success, and we now want to continue accelerating in this market, but we are also setting our sights on other Latin American markets and preparing for entry into the United States,” says André Costa, CEO of Hoopers.
Joaquim Hierro Lopes, Partner at Buenavista Equity Partners, emphasizes: “We are very excited to lead this investment round and support Hoopers’ vision to become a global reference for the basketball community and the sports market. We see great potential in the company’s ability to connect fans, brands, and players through innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and Web3, which are transforming the way fans interact and engage with organizations. The expansion into Latin America and the US, as well as strengthening the digital presence, are strategic steps that solidify Hoopers’ mission to transform sports into an even more accessible, engaging, and personalized experience.”
Teresa Fiúza, Vice President of Portugal Ventures, highlights that: “is very gratifying for Portugal Ventures to continue to follow Hoopers’ success, a startup in which we invested in 2022, and which has since established itself as a reference in the sports market. This new investment round represents another milestone in its growth, validates its technology-based strategy, and strengthens its presence in international markets. We are proud to see our mission of supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem fulfilled and nothing shows this better than the success of the startups we support.
In addition to Neemias Queta and Ticha Penicheiro, other business angels participating in this round include Nuno Sanches (Kaltura), Tiago Gonçalves (InnVentures / InnoWave Technologies), Ricardo Carvalho (Social Innovation Sports), and Eliyahu Velder (ViGEN Tech).