After retiring as one of the all-time greats of tennis, Serena Williams has gone all-in on investing her wealth as her net worth is said to be above $300 million as of 2024. In a recent post on TikTok, she revealed she has a whopping 85 companies in her portfolio, 14 of which were unicorns and some even decacorns.
Unicorn, in corporate lingo, refers to start-ups that achieve a $1 billion valuation. Decacorns, whereas, is a tag for companies valued above $10 billion. Clearly, Williams’ investment choices have paid great dividends. Here is a look at five of the top corporations she has put her money in.
1. Impossible Foods is one of the most famous names Serena Williams has invested in
A food manufacturing company that serves plant-based substitutes for meat products, Impossible Foods made headlines in 2016 for their Impossible Burger. Founded in 2011, they develop replacements for beef, pork, chicken, sausages, and more. Understandably, the company is incredibly popular among vegans and vegetarians.
Serena invested in the company in 2019 and Impossible Foods has only grown since then. They reportedly considered going for an IPO at a $10 billion valuation in 2021 (Business Insider). While the plans to go public faced a delay, it gave a fair idea of how highly the company is valued. Hence, it could perhaps be one of the decacorns Williams claimed to have in her portfolio.
2. Noom
Noom is an app-based technology company for weight loss and food and exercise logging, working on a subscription model. Their USP is their emphasis on mental well-being and all-round behavioural changes to get fitter. Incorporated in 2016, Serena Williams came on board as an investor in 2019 (Business Wire).
Soon after the 23-time Grand Slam champion came on, the company went for another round of funding in 2021. According to Tech Crunch, they hit a valuation of $3.7 billion after the round. Like Impossible Foods, Noom also apparently planned an IPO in 2022 at a $10 billion valuation. However, they decided to drop immediate plans after layoffs.
3. Daily Harvest
Daily Harvest is a health food delivery service that works on a package subscription model. Customers can create meal plans from the numerous smoothies, bowls, pastas, soups, flatbreads, ice pops, and more, and have them delivered to their homes or offices.
Serena Williams invested in 2017 along with Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow (Yahoo). The 2015-founded company became an unicorn a couple of years ago with a valuation of $1.1 billion (Forbes).
4. Serena Williams invested in MasterClass and contributed as an expert
MasterClass is a tech company that offers internet-based courses led by accomplished individuals in various fields. Former President Bill Clinton, Bill Nye, and Alicia Keys are among the noted people with lessons on the platform. Subscriptions to MasterClass begin at $15 per month.
As per AndSimple, Serena Williams came on board as an investor in 2015. She also added her own courses to their services. MasterClass’s last public valuation in 2021 was $2.85 billion, comfortably in unicorn territory, according to Forge.
5. Esusu
Esusu is a new-age fintech company that helps rent-paying customers boost their credit scores. Founded in 2018, they automate rent payments and share reports with credit bureaus.
CNBC reported that Williams added the company to her portfolio in 2021. Esusu announced that they hit unicorn status after another round of funding in 2022 at a $1 billion valuation. This is one of the youngest companies in the WTA legend’s portfolio.
