The Sixers Innovation Lab — led by Seth Berger, a Malvern resident whose name is synonymous with entrepreneurship and basketball in the Delaware Valley — recently launched a second venture fund that will support early-stage startups across the country, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal. 

Founded in 2014 by the parent company of the 76ers, Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, the Sixers Innovation Lab originally backed Philly-area entrepreneurs but has since expanded over the past three years.

This new fund has raised almost all of its $25 million goal, with investments heading toward startups in sports, e-sports and gaming, direct-to-consumer products and packaged goods, and media and entertainment.

Berger, who was the founder and CEO of Paoli-based AND 1, a footwear and clothing brand that was popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, said that the lab has helped an “unprecedented level of diverse companies and talent.”  

Berger, who coaches the nationally renowned boys basketball team at the Westtown School, also said that the fund is looking to make its first investments next month.

“We look forward to seeing how his leadership and guidance will serve to support exciting new businesses during a critical stage of their growth,” 76ers managing partner Josh Harris said of Berger. 

Read more about Seth Berger in the Philadelphia Business Journal.