Nike Acquires Russell Wilson’s Seattle Startup, TraceMe

Ella Chochrek

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Russell Wilson has worn Nike cleats since 2016 — but the quarterback’s associations with the Swoosh now go beyond his footwear choices.

The athlete’s Seattle startup TraceMe — a company with financial backers including Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos and Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai — was acquired by Nike, the athletic wear giant confirmed to FN.

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Founded in 2017, TraceMe began as an app that aimed to connect celebrities and their biggest fans through behind-the-scenes content. The startup pivoted last year, however, shifting its focus to a service called Tally, a sports prediction app.

“Nike, Inc. has acquired TraceMe to supplement the company’s content strategy on Nike-owned platforms,” a representative from the brand told FN.

While the Swoosh is known best for its footwear and apparel, the Beaverton, Ore. company is making a push toward digital. In April, Nike moved to trademark two terms pertaining to tech: the word “footware,” to use in reference to its “smart” sneakers, and the word “cryptokicks,” to be used for a Nike cryptocurrency.

Nike executives highlighted the importance of technology to the company’s strategy in its first quarter earnings report late last month.

“Our targeted strategic investments are accelerating Nike’s digital transformation and extending our competitive advantage,” explained EVP and CFO Andy Campion in a statement at the time.

The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

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