359 Capital Research
Investment Thesis
359 Capital invests under the banner "Helping Founders do the Impossible," backing relentless, ambitious founders building in consumer and consumer-adjacent categories. The firm's defining edge is its limited partner base: a network of iconic brands and operators across sports, media, and entertainment, including City Football Group, adidas, AEG, Madison Square Garden, Sinclair, Bank of Montreal, Pentland Group, and numerous professional sports team and league owners. This LP network gives portfolio companies unusual access to distribution, sponsorship, and brand partnerships that a generalist consumer fund cannot offer.
The firm was previously known as Sapphire Sport, an affiliate of Sapphire Ventures. On November 10, 2025, it spun out and rebranded as 359 Capital, becoming fully independent while carrying over its entire investment team, its $181M Fund II, its $300M in total AUM, and its 30+ company portfolio. The new name is a reference to the sub-four-minute mile (3:59), chosen to reflect the firm's stated mission of helping founders achieve what looks impossible.
Sector Focus
359 Capital organizes its thesis around eight consumer and consumer-adjacent categories: Next Gen Media, Digital Commerce, Gaming, Social, AI Application, Prosumer Tools, Wellness, and CPG. Sports, media, and entertainment technology remains a connective thread across the portfolio, reflecting the firm's LP base and heritage as Sapphire Sport.
Stage Focus
The firm invests from Seed through Series C, with its core focus at Series A and Series B. It positions itself as a lead, co-lead, or syndicate participant depending on the deal.
Check Size
Typical check sizes for Series A and Series B run $2M–$10M. Exact seed check sizes were not independently confirmed, though the firm's own site lists Seed as an entry stage.
Lead Tendency
Mixed. 359 Capital has historically led rounds (per the firm's own positioning), but its two most recent public 2026 investments were both non-lead participations: Rodeo Technologies' seed round (led by Foundry) and Highlight AI's Series A (led by Khosla Ventures).
Recent Activity
- March 24, 2026: Participated in Highlight AI's $40M Series A, led by Khosla Ventures, alongside General Catalyst, Valor Equity, Common Metal, Makers Fund, Collaborative Fund, Arcadia, and SV Angel. Highlight AI is building a shared intelligence layer connecting human teams and AI agents.
- March 3, 2026: Participated in Rodeo Technologies' $8.5M seed round, led by Foundry, alongside Oceans. Rodeo (founded by former Hinge COO Sam Levy and CPO Tim MacGougan) turns social content into shared real-world plans with friends.
- November 10, 2025: Completed its spin-out from Sapphire Ventures and rebrand from Sapphire Sport to 359 Capital, bringing along its full team, $181M Fund II, and $300M AUM. As part of the transition, Rico Mallozzi was promoted to Partner.
Fund status appears to be actively deploying, given two disclosed 2026 investments in the first quarter alone.
Portfolio Highlights
The portfolio spans 40+ companies across consumer, gaming, media, and sports tech, many marked by the firm as "acquired" on its own site (specific acquirers were not independently confirmed for most). Notable active and historical names include: Perplexity (AI search), Overtime (sports media), Beehiiv (creator newsletter platform), Tonal (connected home fitness), Backbone (mobile gaming controllers), Jackpot (social casino), FEVO (group commerce for live events), Flowhaven (collectibles operations software), Fish Audio (voice AI), Highlight AI (shared intelligence layer for teams/agents), SportsVisio (sports video analytics), PlayVS (scholastic esports), Phoenix Labs (game studio behind Dauntless), MyCujoo (sports streaming), Manticore Games (creator platform behind Core), Betty (real-money casino gaming), and Rodeo (social planning app).
Team
- Michael Spirito — Managing Partner & Co-Founder
- Doug Higgins — Co-Founder & Board Partner
- David Hartwig — Partner
- Rico Mallozzi — Partner (promoted at the time of the 359 Capital spin-out, November 2025)
- Mackenzie Chapman — Senior Associate
- Joshua Gilbert — CFO
- Alyce Fusco — Executive Assistant
Decision Process
Likely a small-partnership decision process given the team size (four investing partners plus a senior associate). Not independently confirmed.
Founder Preferences
The firm's messaging ("Helping Founders do the Impossible") and portfolio pattern suggest a preference for ambitious, relentless founders in consumer categories who can benefit from the firm's sports/media/entertainment LP network — brand partnerships, athlete and celebrity access, and distribution through major sports and media properties.
Geographic Focus
Team members are based in the New York and Chicago areas, with the firm's own site also referencing Bay Area presence; some third-party sources list the firm as San Francisco-based. Geographic focus for portfolio companies appears primarily U.S.-based, though this was not exhaustively confirmed across the full portfolio.
Co-Investors
Recent rounds show 359 Capital investing alongside Foundry, Oceans, Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, Valor Equity, Common Metal, Makers Fund, Collaborative Fund, Arcadia, and SV Angel.