NBA Champ Andre Iguodala Investing in Modular Construction

Andre Iguodala is looking to parlay his NBA success into something similar in the investing world, honing in on a real estate startup.

The four-time champion will run $200 million venture capital fund Mosaic, the New York Times reported. The 39-year-old, who retired from professional basketball during the offseason, raised the fund with longtime business partner Rudy Cline-Thomas.

Mosaic is focused on seed- and early-stage investments for companies in the enterprise software, fintech health care and sports company sectors. But one its first investments is in Vessel, a multifamily modular builder.

On its website, Vessel champions its mission to provide “access to homes that are exciting, sustainable, and attainably priced.” The startup is led by Neil Rubler, who has spent decades in the multifamily development business.

Modular construction is gaining steam as an affordable construction option compared to traditional homebuilding. In prefabricated construction, different parts of a home or property are built in a factory, then shipped to a site and pieced together. It’s a tricky investment, though: modular home startup Veev Group raised $400 million last year, only to lay off a third of its staff months later as it pivoted from high-rise apartments to smaller homes.

Iguodala and Cline-Thomas have been interested in the tech sector for some time, playing the stock market starting in 2010. When Iguodala joined the Golden State Warriors in 2013, however, the Bay Area’s tech scene became readily accessible.

The former NBA Finals MVP started taking stakes in companies such as Zoom and Cloudflare, as well as taking meetings with venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz. Previous investments also include Nextdoor and Apartment List.

Iguodala was also one of several NBA players to invest in a $1 billion Boston real estate project being developed by Tishman Speyer.

Iguodala spent 20 years in the NBA, playing for four different teams, including separate stints with the Warriors. In addition to his championships, he was an All-Star once and won several defensive accolades during his career.

— Holden Walter-Warner