Andrea Agnelli, the former president of Italian soccer giants Juventus, has teamed up with club icon Giorgio Chiellini and entrepreneur Rocco Benetton to launch a new sports-focused capital investment firm, Gamma Waves Partners.
The company is focusing its investments in two areas, intellectual property – which it defines as sports assets (such as clubs) in ‘globally captivating sectors’ – and sports technology firms.
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For the former, it has identified areas such as basketball, hockey, cricket, tennis, baseball, and rugby as those that offer “unique reach and credibility” for their investments.
Regarding the latter, the business will target sports tech firms that boast high-quality products that struggle to achieve scale due to a lack of incentives and distribution.
Speaking on the announcement, Agnelli said: “Tomorrow’s game is unconventional, and it needs an unconventional approach. Our ambition is to drive innovation while honouring the legacy and cultural significance of sport. In doing so, we aim to create a virtuous cycle of value across both.”
The investment strategy will be led by the firm’s chief investment officer, Kyang Yung, who added: “Gamma Waves brings together owners, operators, and athletes around the same table, which is powerful and rare. As a tech-minded growth investor, I see a unique opportunity to apply disciplined capital allocation, governance, and scaling expertise to assets that sit at the very heart of global culture.”
Both Agnelli and Chiellini have long histories in the soccer industry, and indeed Chiellini is invested in the women’s soccer ownership group Mercury13, while the Agnelli family still owns a majority stake in Juventus (although Andrea is no longer chair).
However, the group has likely identified the costs of the soccer market as inflated, hence the focus on other areas.
Benetton, for his part, also has strong experience in the sports industry. Part of Italy’s renowned Benetton family, Rocco was most prominently the chief executive of the now-defunct Benetton Formula One Team between 1997 and 2001, overseeing its sale to the Renault group in 2000.
