Kyle Kuzma is transitioning from angel investor to venture capital fund founder, leveraging over $125 million in projected career earnings from NBA contracts to launch his own dedicated investment vehicle. The Milwaukee Bucks forward announced the plan during the offseason, marking a significant expansion of his business ambitions beyond individual startup checks.
Kuzma has spent the summer studying companies and building the infrastructure for his fund, drawing on nearly a decade of investment experience since entering the league in 2017. Rather than continuing as a singular investor hopping between other people’s deals, he wants to take full operational responsibility for creating and managing his own platform.
His investment thesis targets hard technology sectors rather than trendy consumer plays. Kuzma’s portfolio focuses on space robotics, industrial artificial intelligence, autonomous defense systems, and clinical-stage biotech powered by AI—a disciplined approach he credits partly to early mentorship from Kobe Bryant on navigating private markets.
The forward has already built a substantial portfolio across more than 60 companies, including early stakes in SpaceX, Anduril Industries, Kalshi, and Prometheus. He began angel investing in 2020 and has diversified into operational roles, including co-founding The Oathe Group, a private athlete platform, and joining Scrum Ventures as an advisor to their $120 million sports and entertainment fund in March 2024.
In interviews, Kuzma has emphasized the unique leverage his athlete status provides in deal-making. “Everybody wants to talk to you. Everybody wants to be around you,” he said, describing how he can convert that access into investments in established companies. He views his fund as a way to transform his influence into measurable returns while setting up generational wealth for his family.
Kuzma’s move reflects a broader trend of NBA players establishing their own investment vehicles. In November 2024, his Bucks teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo launched Build Your Legacy Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on sports, entertainment, and technology investments. Other NBA stars, including Kevin Durant (Thirty5 Ventures), Andre Iguodala, and Aaron Rodgers, have similarly created dedicated funds or advisory roles in the VC space.
Beyond his fund launch, Kuzma has also joined calls from fellow players—including Jaylen Brown and Stephen Curry—for NBA players to receive equity stakes in their teams, arguing that athletes deserve financial compensation proportional to the revenue and success they generate rather than being treated as short-term contractors.
Sources
- Yahoo Sports — Kyle Kuzma’s announcement to launch his own venture capital fund with $125 million in projected career earnings, his investment thesis, and background in angel investing and Scrum Ventures advisory role
- TechCrunch — Kuzma’s 2024 move to join Scrum Ventures as an adviser and his portfolio companies including SpaceX and Lemon Perfect
- ESPN — Giannis Antetokounmpo’s November 2024 launch of Build Your Legacy Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on sports, entertainment, and technology
- Basketball Network — Kuzma’s statements on athlete leverage in startup investing and his focus on hard tech sectors
