Meet Kobe Bryant, venture capitalist.
The retired NBA star today unveiled his venture-capital fund, a $100 million vehicle for investing in technology, media and data companies.
Mr. Bryant, who turns 38 Tuesday, isn’t going it alone: He is partnering with 43-year-old Jeff Stibel, a longtime entrepreneur and investor who was introduced to Mr. Bryant by a mutual friend. They have named their firm Bryant Stibel and will be based in the Los Angeles area.
The two have been invested in 15 companies since 2013, but only after Mr. Bryant’s retirement from basketball have they decided to formalize their relationship and fund.
The two men are contributing the $100 million which they expect to invest over the next few years and aren’t seeking outside investors yet.
Current investments include sports media website The Players Tribune, videogame designer Scopely, legal-services company LegalZoom, a telemarketing-software firm called RingDNA and a home-juicing company called Juicero.