Aktivate, a sports technology platform for K-12 schools, announced its public launch and the closing of a $7 million seed financing round that will fund its development.
The funding round was led by Will Ventures, with participation from Tal Ventures, Village Global, TechAviv, Benson Oak Ventures, and angel investors Zeke Emanuel and Howard Morgan.
Aktivate was founded with a mission to transform how scholastic sports are managed and funded and to reduce the financial barriers that prevent more students from the benefits of sports participation and other school activities. Through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) administration and engagement platform, the company is looking to modernize the youth sports and activities market.
Aktivate was founded by entrepreneurs Hesky Kutscher and Dhruv Singh, in the digital media, healthcare/wellness and educational technology industries. They are joined by co-founder and chairman Jon Miller, a digital media veteran who previously served as chairman and CEO of America Online, CEO of Hulu & Digital Media at News Corp, and held senior executive roles at the predecessor to IAC and the NBA.
“We are strong believers in the transformative impact that sports can have on the lives of young people,” said Hesky Kutscher, Founder and CEO, Aktivate. “Our goal is to support schools with the most advanced administrative tools and to build a thriving community around scholastic sports and activities that enable more students the opportunity to participate.”
Through recent acquisitions and integrations of Utah-based Register My Athlete and New York-based Sportz Ventures, Aktivate powers student-athlete administration for over 1,300 K-12 schools and 1.5 million athletes in 30 states and has relationships with state athletic associations including Texas’ University Interscholastic League.
“Youth sports is a massively growing industry, yet scholastic sports have long lacked the operational technology that exists at the collegiate and professional levels,” said Brian Reilly, managing partner, Will Ventures, the funding round’s lead investor. “We believe in the power of Aktivate’s software and its community to introduce levels of utility and connectivity that will support student-athletes in maximizing their potential through sports.”
“While technology innovations have had a major influence in increasing access and impact on the academic side, the level of innovation in scholastic sports administration and community development has been comparatively low,” said Anne Dwane, co-founder, partner, Village Global. “Aktivate has a huge opportunity to bring online a very unique and sizable community, while better supporting student-athletes and their families.”
Aktivate has also named three education technology and sports industry leaders to key founding executive positions at the company. Brian Cooley, chief commercial officer and Sara Petry as chief product officer.
