Investment Made by SURJ in Professional Triathletes; Possibility of T100 Event Being Hosted by Saudi Arabia
The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has announced a successful Series C funding round, securing approximately $40 million in investment. This round was led by Saudi Arabia's SURJ Sports Investment, the sports arm of the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund [1][2][3][4][5].
SURJ, established by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) in 2023, played a pivotal role in the funding round, though the exact contribution remains undisclosed [1][2][3][4][5]. Other key investors include Cordillera Investment Partners, which initially invested $10 million earlier in March 2025 and participated again in this round [1][5]. New York-based Verance Capital, led by sports veteran Lyle Ayes, also joined as a strategic investor in the round [1][3][5]. Sir Michael Moritz, a founding investor of the PTO, also participated in this round [1][2][4][5].
The funds raised will primarily support PTO's global expansion, with a focus on accelerating growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Saudi Arabia is likely to become a future host for PTO's flagship T100 Triathlon World Tour events [1][3][4][5]. The PTO aims to innovate race formats and expand participation at both elite and amateur levels, as exemplified by T100 events that blend professional and mass participation racing [3][5].
Saudi Arabia's interest in triathlon, a key Olympic sport, and its ambitions to host the Olympic Games further underscore the country's growing sporting influence [6]. The investment in PTO aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a broader strategy to build a global sports ecosystem [3].
In a related development, Austin FC, an American professional soccer club, has seen its valuation surge past $900 million, according to industry estimates [7]. However, this article focuses on the PTO funding news.
References:
[1] PTO Announces Series C Funding Round. (2025). Retrieved from https://www.pto.org/news/pto-announces-series-c-funding-round
[2] SURJ Leads PTO's Series C Funding Round. (2025). Retrieved from https://www.surj.sa/news/surj-leads-ptos-series-c-funding-round
[3] PTO's Vision for Global Expansion. (2025). Retrieved from https://www.pto.org/vision
[4] Saudi Arabia's Role in PTO's Global Expansion. (2025). Retrieved from https://www.arabnews.com/node/1917291/sport
[5] PTO Funding Round: Key Investors and Details. (2025). Retrieved from https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/pto-funding-round-key-investors-and-details
[6] Saudi Arabia's Olympic Ambitions. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.olympic.org/saudi-arabia
[7] Austin FC Valuation Surges. (2025). Retrieved from https://www.austinfc.com/news/austin-fc-valuation-surges
Despite Saudi Arabia's SURJ Sports Investment leading the Series C funding round, the exact contribution remains undisclosed. The funds raised will mainly support the Professional Triathletes Organisation's (PTO) global expansion, with a significant focus on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
