PTO / Twitter
- Investment to help improve recognition for triathletes and enhance B2B proposition
- PTO events to showcase use of health-tech products
The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has secured backing from global investment firm Eckuity and Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz.
The strategic investment will see the creation of a distribution platform for companies developing new health, wellness and medical technology products looking to reach consumers involved with triathlon.
New York-based Eckuity has described triathlon consumers as ‘highly desirable’ but ‘difficult to reach’. The firm plans to leverage the marketplace opportunity that the PTO has to provide access to medical, sports and wellness tech. Reasons range from using it as a source of distribution of wearables and medical devices to monetising the trickle-down effect to encourage the use of health-tech products.
The investment also plans to be used to help boost recognition and rewards for professional triathletes on the newly established PTO Tour. Eckuity and Moritz believe this will make the sport particularly attractive to broadcasters, cities and partners who wish to engage with fans of triathlon, as well as promoting the use of health tech products.
“We believe Eckuity’s healthcare expertise will assist in our goal of creating a more health and wellness conscious community by providing access to innovative healthcare technologies,” said Charles Adamo, executive chairman of the PTO.
Youssef Sebban, managing partner at Eckuity, added: “We are excited about not only the enormous potential of the business, but also our ability to leverage this platform for the distribution of outcome-changing health-tech products and services.
“We are fully aligned behind PTO’s mission and believe the management team will consistently deliver world-class events bringing this sport the coverage it so rightly deserves, thus providing a high profile platform for influencing our culture to better mental and physical health.”
Earlier this month, the PTO and Excel Sports Management signed a multi-year pact for the sports marketing agency to support the organisation across its event and PTO Tour assets. The PTO’s various events are shown in more than 165 countries in 22 languages, with the aim of reaching over 35 million fans.
