Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian helps startup earn $22M-worth investments including 'industry-first' NBA & MLB deals

Serena Williams's husband, Alexis Ohanian, made his feelings known about taking Stanford alumnus' start-up, Playback, to new heights with his latest investment. He invested $22 million in the live streaming platform through his venture firm, Seven Seven Six.

Ohanian founded the online bulletin platform Reddit in 2005, which has since been booming in the business world. The tech mogul has invested in several budding companies, some of which have become unicorns. He became a shareholder of the new NWSL team, Angel City FC, which is now the most-valued team in the league after the CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, and his wife, Willow Bay, acquired major stakes.

Alexis Ohanian has shifted his attention to another start-up, Playback, a live streaming platform by the Stanford alumnus. He invested $22 million in the project with the help of Seven Seven Six and hopes to take the platform to new highs. In support, he shared a message on his Instagram story, reading:

"@watchplayback out here with a fresh $22m and an industry-first @nba and @mlb deal. I and @776fund are hyped to help them build."

Serena Williams's husband supports Playback with million dollar investment; Instagram - @alexisohanian

In March 2025, Serena Williams' husband announced the investment in an X post and noted how the platform differed from the popular Twitch.

"Been hard to keep this one a secret... We just backed @WatchPlayback. These guys are turning live games into a social experience where fans can watch with their favorite creators. It’s like Twitch, but built for diehard sports fans"

Playback joined hands with the NBA and MLB.tv, allowing fans to watch games with streamers and enthusiasts.

Serena Williams's husband once shared the instance when he faced criticism for predicting the successful future of women sports

Serena Willams' husband Ohanian at the Sportico's Invest in Sports New York - (Source: Getty)

The father of two daughters, Alexis Ohanian has been a staunch believer in women's and men's sports thriving together. He invested a billion dollars in Angel City FC in 2020 and expressed pride in witnessing the NWSL club being valued at $300 million now, as shared in the 'Why the Creator of Reddit's Next Big Bet is Women's Sports' session.

Ohanian also recalled the amount of shade he received from conventional investors when he predicted a women's sports team could peak at $1 billion.

"There's an amazing opportunity in women's professional sports and I'm gonna start by buying or beginning an NWSL team and one day I believe it can be worth a billion dollars. The amount of pushback I got for saying that a women's professional team could one day be worth a billion dollars looks so different from the response I got to saying that I believe Bitcoin could be a store of value."

Ohanian added:

"I spent one million dollars to buy that first franchise, Angel City FC. The team today is worth a little under 300 million dollars. It is the most valuable team in women's professional sports in the world..."

Ohanian's Seven Seven Six hosted a one-of-a-kind women-only track event, Athlos NYC, in September 2024.