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NBA's Carmelo Anthony joins the VC crowd

The New York Knicks small forward teams up with former NBC executive Stuart Goldfarb to create the investment firm M7 Tech Partners.

Ben Fox Rubin Former senior reporter
Ben Fox Rubin was a senior reporter for CNET News in Manhattan, reporting on Amazon, e-commerce and mobile payments. He previously worked as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and got his start at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
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Carmelo Anthony Getty Images

New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is jumping into the venture-capital world.

He has teamed up with former NBC executive Stuart Goldfarb to create the New York-based investment firm M7 Tech Partners, TechCrunch reported Monday, with a focus on early-stage funding of digital media, consumer Internet, and tech startups.

The name "M7" stands for "'Melo seven," a combination of Anthony's nickname and jersey number.

The firm's first investment is in New York-based children's media company Hullabalu. Other investors in Hullabalu include SV Angel and Alexis Ohanian, Reddit's co-founder.

Anthony is part of a growing roster of current and former NBA players who have gone into venture capital and investing, with former Dallas Mavericks player Jamal Mashburn launching a VC firm last September. The LA Lakers' Steve Nash creating a marketing and VC firm in 2010, and former San Antonio Spurs star David Robinson co-founded a real-estate fund a few years before that.