“Power Forward” connects high-growth startups in $847B sports, entertainment and real estate tech markets with active investors

LOS ANGELES, June 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Equity Angels — an entrepreneurial support organization dedicated to fostering fair access to opportunity — announced Power Forward, a tech investment summit launched in partnership with Twenty Five Ventures and Distinct Concierge. This inaugural event brings together high-potential startups and active investors in the rapidly expanding sports, entertainment and real estate technology markets.

Stacy Spikes, founder of MoviePass and bestselling author of “Black Founder: The Hidden Power of Being an Outsider,” will headline the July 14 event at the Fairmont Century Plaza. The summit features a $100,000 funding competition where selected startups compete for a Special Purpose Vehicle funded by Twenty Five Ventures and other participating investors.

The event addresses a significant market opportunity: while sports tech, entertainment tech, and proptech represent an $847 billion combined market, less than 2% of venture funding reaches founders from underrepresented backgrounds in these high-growth categories.

“The numbers are clear — these markets hold massive untapped potential. Power Forward gives us direct access to founders building the next wave of companies in areas where we’re already investing,” stated Maximillian Diez, General Partner at Twenty Five Ventures.

Unlike traditional networking events, Power Forward operates as an interactive investment summit. Startup applicants undergo a rigorous selection process and pitch directly to a curated group of active investors and strategic partners. Companies already confirmed include PairGap, Reeku, Convierge, Chambr, Goby Homes, ARKI, Free Agent, Sengo, Rely, Kahlab, Breadcrumb and Wauvea.

Participating companies represent three key categories:

• Sports Technology: Analytics platforms, fan engagement tools and athlete performance systems
• Entertainment Technology: Content creation platforms, distribution networks and audience monetization tools
• Real Estate Technology: Accessibility solutions, financing platforms, enhanced user experience and property management innovations

“This isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about identifying the best investment opportunities in high growth markets. Through Power Forward, we’re creating a vital ecosystem where incredible innovation from founders who traditionally haven’t had access to capital are seen,” remarked Katherine Winston and Kenya Burrell-VanWormer, Co-Founders and Managing Partners of Equity Angels, in a joint statement.

Beyond Spikes’ keynote on building resilient companies in competitive markets, the summit features industry leaders including:

• Patrick Lee, Co-Founder of Rotten Tomatoes and Fanverse
• Thai Randolph, Co-Founder of HARTBEAT and Interim CEO of Rock the Bells
• Craig D’Cruze, COO of Inverted Ventures
• Simon Chen, CEO of Arrival Home Loans
• c. Craig Patterson, Award-Winning Filmmaker
• Ted Schilowitz, Technology Futurist

Panel discussions will cover the $84 trillion wealth transfer reshaping investment patterns, the impact of AI on content creation and monetization, new approaches to homeownership accessibility and emerging opportunities in women’s sports.

Event Details

What: Power Forward Summit
When: July 14, 2025
Where: Fairmont Century Plaza, Los Angeles
Format: Investor roundtables, main stage presentations, $100K funding competition

The summit is invitation-only for investors and startups. Ecosystem partners may register at www.equity-angels.com/power-forward.

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SOURCE Equity Angels

• Apple unveiled watchOS 26 at WWDC yesterday
• watchOS 26 is compatible with Apple Watches going back years
• But some of its best features require a more recent device

When Apple unveiled watchOS 26 at WWDC 2025 yesterday it showed off an operating system that had been upgraded with a welcome range of new features and abilities. If you’re hoping to try these out, though, you’ll want to check if your Apple Watch is compatible – because plenty of the most popular models won’t be.

On the face of it, most of the best Apple Watch models will work with watchOS 26. Apple says it’s compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 or later, the second-generation Apple Watch SE, plus every Apple Watch Ultra model; you’ve also got to pair your Watch with an iPhone 11 or later that’s running iOS 26. That’s a good range of devices going back many years.

LuckyStreak, the Riga-based live games provider, has secured a deal to provide its new high-spec, multi-camera greenscreen technology to casino operator RocketPlay.

RocketPlay can now create its own branded player experience through LuckyStreak’s SmartStudio. The SmartStudio greenscreen will enable RocketPlay to customise its players’ gaming sessions and boost enjoyment when they are at the LuckyStreak blackjack table. Every aspect of the set, walls and floor will be branded with RocketPlay’s logo and brand colours to create a studio grade production that develops the wow factor for players. 

LuckyStreak’s chroma key setup offers full-HD display with low latency, meaning streams are fast, flexible and razor-sharp. In the backend, a semi-dedicated table and virtual sets allow RocketPlay to swap colours, drop logos and layer video and stills for the exact reproduction of their requirements.

This partnership will help RocketPlay build an even deeper relationship between its players’ gaming experiences and the thrills they associate with the operator’s brand, as they continue to invest in unforgettable live dealer games.

Ido Kamiel, COO at LuckyStreak, said: “RocketPlay’s keenness to utilise our SmartStudio green screen solution, and the positive results they are seeing is a ringing endorsement of our capabilities.

“The technology isn’t new; the key is in how we have implemented it. We’re able to create virtual environments that are almost indistinguishable from traditional sets, in days not weeks, with flexibility, huge creative scope and very cost-effectively, reducing the headaches for our customers and providing them with agility to respond or deploy short-term environments to wow their customers.”

Alex Martin, PR manager at RocketPlay, said: “We chose LuckyStreak’s greenscreen technology for its innovation and reliability. It makes the gaming experience more engaging and integrates smoothly with our platform. Since its launch, we’ve noticed a positive response from players and our support team has received great feedback. 

“This partnership helps us grow our live gaming and build trust with our audience.”

Eli Health, a six-year-old health tech startup developing continuous hormone monitoring technology, has raised a $12 million Series A and launched its platform for cortisol measurement in beta. The Series A, which brings the company’s total funding to $20 million, was led by BDC Capital’s women-led-company-focused Thrive Venture Fund, and featured participation from several other firms including existing investor Muse Capital, whose founding partner Assia Grazioli-Venier is an Eli Health board member.

“This milestone is extremely meaningful, because to get to this point, it was close to six years of [research and development],” Eli Health co-founder and CEO Marina Pavlovic Rivas told SBJ. “For the first time, people are able to measure their hormones instantly, and this funding enables us to accelerate access to the product and to expand to other biomarkers.”

Founded in 2019 by Pavlovic Rivas and Thomas Cortina, life partners with respective backgrounds in data science and mechanical engineering/physics, Eli Health’s core innovation is in continuous hormone monitoring through saliva.

The company’s flagship product, the “Hormometer,” tests saliva for key hormones like cortisol (which cycles within the body daily) and progesterone (which cycles monthly) via a collection device — then, leveraging computer vision models to analyze the sample, returns results and AI-powered trends/recommendations to its mobile app through one’s phone camera.

Cortisol and progesterone levels have holistic health impacts, Pavlovic Rivas stresses, including on athletic performance and injury risk. And Eli Health’s innovative method of testing and monitoring, which is FDA-registered and third-party validated, will expand access to the data. Traditionally, blood or saliva-based hormone testing is done in-person at a lab, or through kits mailed to a lab, which can cost anywhere from $100-500 per test and take days-to-weeks to return results. Eli Health’s direct-to-consumer model costs $8 per test (minimum four tests per month) and produces results within minutes.

Pavlovic Rivas said Eli Health’s capacity to monitor both cortisol and progesterone are commercially ready, but the company is launching its cortisol monitoring first because of its broader applicability.

“One in three adults are affected by dysregulation when it comes to cortisol, and that’s true across gender, across ages,” Pavlovic Rivas said, noting that cortisol can impact areas including metabolic health, cardiovascular health, physical performance, cognitive performance and mental health. “We’re starting with that focus, and progesterone will follow shortly.”

Eli Health’s primary business focus is on its direct-to-consumer offering, but Pavlovic Rivas added the company is also currently piloting its technology with two sports teams. While declining to disclose the teams or their sports, she said one is a men’s team using Eli Health’s tech for cortisol monitoring, and one is a women’s team monitoring cortisol and progesterone levels in its players. Already, Pavlovic Rivas said she has seen teams adjust the intensity of training sessions based on the Hormometer’s real-time testing and monitoring capabilities.

“Having that ability to have the data instantly, instead of doing blood work once per season or a few times per season, it enables them to make instant decisions,” Pavlovic Rivas said, adding that, for cortisol, it would be normal to test twice per day (once in the morning and once in the evening), but in a sports team context that number can reach five or more to incorporate additional data points pre- and post-training. “This information would be impossible to get with delayed testing, because it takes at best a few days and, in most cases, a few weeks [to return results].”

With a fresh design, smarter insights and new tools to help users stay consistent, Apple is doubling down on personalized fitness

At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) yesterday, Apple previewed watchOS 26, showcasing a more intelligent and inspiring experience for Apple Watch users. The update includes a redesigned Workout app, new planning features for Apple Fitness+ and Workout Buddy, an innovative motivational tool powered by Apple Intelligence.

Workout Buddy utilizes on-device intelligence to provide personalized, spoken encouragement during workouts. Leveraging each user’s heart rate, distance, pace, Activity rings and past achievements, the feature provides real-time feedback to boost motivation and consistency.

The Workout app itself has also received its biggest update since its launch. With a redesigned interface and four new corner buttons, users can quickly access their favorite features, including Custom Workouts, Pacer, Race Route and Workout Views. Music and podcast integration also got a boost: users can now set audio to play automatically when they begin a workout. Apple Music can even suggest playlists based on the workout type and personal preferences, while podcast recommendations draw from listening history.

Apple Fitness+ is also getting smarter with the introduction of Ready-made Custom Plans. These personalized plans are built automatically based on user preferences such as favorite activities, preferred durations, trainers and music. Three new options help cater to different fitness goals: Stay Consistent provides a schedule aligned with current habits, Push Further increases workout intensity or frequency and Get Started offers a gentle introduction for newcomers. All plans are contained in a dedicated Plans page for easy access.

Beyond fitness, watchOS 26 introduces a new visual design with Liquid Glass, improved Smart Stack suggestions based on contextual data and Live Translation for messages. Apple Watch users will also see smarter messaging suggestions and gain the ability to manage notifications with a simple flick of the wrist.

See Also

The public beta will be available next month.

A cloud storage company and its subsidiary prevailed against a third round of proposed class action claims alleging the companies committed fraud in advertising consumer access to a free “lifetime cloud license” and “automatic firmware updates.”

The proposed consumer class repeatedly failed to address pitfalls in their argument identified by the lower court or explain why the previous opportunities to do so were insufficient, a Ninth Circuit panel decided Tuesday.

• The Ninth Circuit green-lit a denial of plaintiffs’ breach of express warranty …