NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana and his early-stage investment fund Liquid 2 Ventures participated in STRIVR Labs’ $5 million Series A round of funding last December, it was announced Tuesday.
“We are thrilled to have Joe and Liquid 2 on as investors in STRIVR,” Derek Belch, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of STRIVR said in a statement. “His experience as one of the all-time great football players is invaluable as we think about creating products that cater to those performing at the highest level.”
Added Montana in a statement: “Bill Walsh used to talk about preparation all the time, and at its core, STRIVR is a preparation tool. Seeing things happen in virtual reality helps prepare you for when those things happen in real life. It doesn’t matter if you’re a quarterback or a worker on a factory floor — repetitions are important. STRIVR delivers the ability to get repetition and get experience in a way I haven’t seen before.
“STRIVR believes in the idea that virtual experiences can impact real world behavior. They are helping people perform better at their jobs, no matter what that job is. The opportunity in front of them is enormous.”
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In recent months, Montana has been active in the virtual reality and investment space, first investing $250,000 in messaging app and chatbot platform Blend and then launching a mobile VR game in late January.
STRIVR Labs, which was named Learfield’s Official VR Partner in January, not only works with sports organizations but also Fortune 500 companies that leverage its performance training platform. The company recently worked with the National Championship-winning Clemson football team in addition to other college programs like Stanford and Texas Tech. In the NFL, NBA and NHL, STRIVR also counts the likes of the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Capitals, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Chicago Blackhawks as partners.
Throughout the 2016-17 NBA regular season, the Detroit Pistons and center Andre Drummond have collaborated with STRIVR in order to improve Drummond’s free throw shooting, which is still an abysmal 40 percent. All told, the organization works with over 30 professional and college teams.
STRIVR’s Series A round was led by Signia Venture Partners and also included participation from Shari Redstone’s AdvancIt Capital, BMW i Ventures, Presence Capital and other technology and sports influencers.