Fifa has been forced to U-turn on plans to sell off a slice of the World Cup after fierce opposition, with threats of future boycotts and calls for the governing body's president, Gianni Infantino, to quit.
But why were a group of tech investors interested in the World Cup in the first place, and are similar proposals in the future inevitable?
In a world in which AI could upend human recreation and pastimes, executives at Thrive Eternal, a spin-off of venture capital firm Thrive Capital, saw an opportunity to lead a group of investors to place cash in the biggest sporting competition on the planet.
The football World Cup was seen as the latest in a new strategy from the firm, which believes that sport will not only survive the AI revolution, but grow in value.
Run by Joshua Kushner, the brother of US Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared, Thrive mainly invests in technology companies developing artificial intelligence (AI) and it has been a major financial backer of OpenAI.
#capital
But why were a group of tech investors interested in the World Cup in the first place, and are similar proposals in the future inevitable?
In a world in which AI could upend human recreation and pastimes, executives at Thrive Eternal, a spin-off of venture capital firm Thrive Capital, saw an opportunity to lead a group of investors to place cash in the biggest sporting competition on the planet.
The football World Cup was seen as the latest in a new strategy from the firm, which believes that sport will not only survive the AI revolution, but grow in value.
Run by Joshua Kushner, the brother of US Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared, Thrive mainly invests in technology companies developing artificial intelligence (AI) and it has been a major financial backer of OpenAI.
#capital
3 months ago
