By Andy Marston, Sports Pundit
Utah Jazz and Utah Hockey Club owner Ryan Smith is doubling down on the future of sports tech, launching HX One LP, a $1 billion growth-stage investment fund in partnership with Accel’s Ryan Sweeney.
The fund operates under a new corporate entity, Halo Experience, and runs independently from Smith’s Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), which owns the Jazz and Utah Hockey.
HX One will back startups at the intersection of sports, tech, and experiences, with early capital secured and Accel providing back-office support.
Smith and Sweeney previously teamed up on Qualtrics, which sold for $8B before being taken private again at $12.5B.
The global sports tech market is expected to grow from $14.7B in 2023 to $55B by 2030, as innovation continues to transform performance, fan engagement, and infrastructure.
Why It Matters:
Rightsholders bring more than money. They offer access to engaged fanbases, real-world testing grounds, brand reach, and performance expertise. That mix makes them some of the most valuable investors startups can have.
With HX One, Smith and Sweeney are formalising that opportunity.
“Sports effectively touches all parts of our economy,” Sweeney told Front Office Sports. “Think about the intersection of digital media, of social media, payments, security, health and wellness, the list goes on and on. All the big markets we talk about, whether it be investing or just broadly speaking in terms of the economy, all have a role and all play a part within the sports ecosystem.”
Following Red Bull’s recent launch of its own venture arm, this move shows increasing momentum from the smartest IP owners to get themselves a step closer to the source of innovation and to start claiming equity in the value that they help to create
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