Nike has acquired TraceMe, a Seattle-based startup co-founded by Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Investors in TraceMe include Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, YouTube founder Chad Hurley, and Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai.
TraceMe was founded in 2017 as a mobile app intended to provide fans with behind-the-scenes access to the lives of their favorite athletes and celebrities through exclusive videos and feature programming. Singer Ciara, Wilson’s wife, was among the first celebrities to join the platform. But in late 2018, TraceMe pivoted to launch Tally, a free-to-play sports prediction mobile app that has powered contests for the Los Angeles Rams and St. Louis Blues. TraceMe’s app was shut down.
According to GeekWire, Nike’s purchase was based on its interest in TraceMe’s original technology, not the Tally platform. In a statement, Nike explained that it had “acquired TraceMe to supplement the company’s content strategy on Nike-owned platforms.”
TraceMe CEO Jason LeeKeenan is now the Head of Nike Seattle, and other former TraceMe employees now at Nike include director of digital product design Sophie Otto, senior software engineer Vlad Iacob, director of engineering Duoc Nguyen, and director or product Trevin Chow.
