Kumar Sangakkara and metaverse aren’t two things I thought would be in a sentence together. But that’s exactly what happened. It’s been years since Kumar Sangakkara put down his bat and gloves, but Sri Lanka’s former wicketkeeper-batsman continues to be active behind the scenes in the cricketing arena. Almost a couple of years ago, Sangakkara was appointed as the President of Marylebone Cricket Club, the first non-British person to hold the position. Now, it appears the cricketing legend is putting his business shoes on and stepping into the tech world.
Sangakkara joins Dr Dinuk Jayasuriya, Reza Magdon-Ismail, and Krishan Deegalla in co-founding Behaviol, a Sydney-based esports startup. In a recent funding round, Behaviol raised USD 2.5 million, led by Singapore-based investment firm Hangar X, followed by several sports and web 3.0 investors.
Cricket and web 3.0
Launched this year, the Behaviol platform enables players to buy and train sports stars in the virtual space. Its first game is an AI-based one called Meta 11, where gamers can acquire, nurture and develop a team of players. In plans for its future, Behavoil is set to utilize its base infrastructure for a host of other sporting codes and franchises.
Commenting on the game, Behaviol CEO Krishan Deegalla states, “Meta 11 is a paradigm-shifting technology that not only introduces players to a new method of gaming, but creates a future-focused pathway that brings artificial intelligence to esports in the metaverse.”
Sangakkara shares an equally optimistic take on the space. “As I reflect on my time playing the sport, and now looking to the future, it is extremely exciting to feel as though we could be creating a platform that ultimately defines the future of the sport that I grew up with,” mentions the former cricketer.
Of course, Sangakkara isn’t the first Sri Lankan cricketer to back a tech startup. Early this year, Mahela Jayawardene co-founded a cybersecurity company called Dygisec. Apart from the duo, back in January 2022, Rario, an NFT platform signed up former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag on board. The platform allows fans to trade iconic moments from cricket history in the form of NFTs. Rario went on to raise USD 120 million in funding three months later.
Banking on future
Web 3.0, NFT, crypto, and other related markets have been getting a lot of eyeballs over the past couple of years from several sectors. Even Facebook changed its company branding to Meta seemingly in a bid to bank on the growing trend. Considering the web 3.0 market is expected to hit USD 28.8 billion by 2028, that may not be a surprise.
As for Behaviol, time will tell how the esports arena will play out for the Sangakkara-backed startup. The company wants to “enrich, expand and democratize sporting entertainment on the Metaverse, one game at a time.” In any case, it’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting one to say the least.
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