Soccer legend Lionel Messi plans to get into tech investing through a brand new Silicon Valley holding firm • TechCrunch

Lionel Messi (pictured, proper), the Argentine skilled soccer/soccer participant who’s broadly thought to be one of many best gamers of all time, is to make a push into expertise investing through a brand new car that can be shepherded by two Silicon Valley veterans.

Play Time is the identify given to a brand new partnership between the participant’s Messi Group and Silicon Valley executives Razmig Hovaghimian and Particular Advisor Michael Marquez.

Headquartered in San Francisco, the Messi Group mentioned Play Time can be a holding firm and act as the principle car for Messi’s investments in sports activities, media, and expertise investments globally.

On the similar time, Play Time may also be trying into taking stakes in sports activities groups and investing in “football-tech”, the corporate mentioned in an announcement.

Play Time additionally revealed that it has already incubated a startup referred to as Matchday.com, a nonetheless stealth-mode video games studio for soccer followers that plans to launch earlier than the FIFA World Cup in November. Plus, it’s made its first seed stage funding in AC Momento, which auctions match-worn soccer shirts sourced from golf equipment and gamers.

In an announcement, Messi mentioned: “I’m excited to increase our roots into Silicon Valley, and I’m thrilled that Play Time will collaborate with daring entrepreneurs from all around the world. I hope that by way of its success Play Time will assist many individuals and have a optimistic influence on the world. I belief within the workforce and our companions to attain our aims.” 

Play Time’s co-founder and Chief Government can be Razmig Hovaghimian (pictured, left). Hovaghimian previously headed up Hoodline (Pixel Labs), an area information platform that mixed machine studying with on-the-ground reporting. He additionally co-founded leisure startup Viki which exited to Rakuten for $200M+ in 2013. In consequence, he joined Rakuten’s Company Board as a Board Observer, and in 2016 was named the corporate’s first Entrepreneur in Residence.

Hovaghimian mentioned: “We’re all in, beginning by constructing a powerful bridge between soccer’s 5B followers and expertise.”

He’ll co-lead Play Time with Michael Marquez of Code Advisors, a service provider financial institution, and Morado, a seed-stage fund targeted on early stage investments.