Former NBA Star Rick Fox Scores $12M In Pre-Seed Funding For Tech Startup

Rick Fox does it all. After 13 seasons in the NBA, including as a key member of the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship run in the early 2000s, the 53-year-old has seamlessly moved into a successful acting career and now the world of tech.

In 2021, Fox co-founded Partanna, a carbon-negative concrete company, alongside architect Sam Marshall, and in May 2023 the pair raised $12 million in pre-seed funding.

Partanna will join companies like Sylvera and Impossible Foods who focus on climate-friendly solutions to daily problems. “At Partanna, our mission is to delink development from pollution and build a sustainable future for all,” Partanna’s website says. “We are pioneers of the world’s first zero-emission technology that naturally removes carbon from the atmosphere, allowing us to create innovative solutions that meet the needs of tomorrow without sacrificing the planet.”

According to AfroTech, Fox started to think of innovative ways to combat climate control during the COVID-19 pandemic after seeing the devastating toll Hurricane Dorian had taken on the Bahamas—where he currently resides.

“It got me to a point of thinking about a bigger crisis, which was one that we were facing at home in the Bahamas, which is the consistent impact of the climate and the storms that were happening on a yearly basis at a different level than what I grew up with,” he said.

For Fox, it is meaningful work as it impacts not only his life but future generations.

“I’ve been a part of a lot of amazing journeys and industries, from entertainment to movies and TV,” he said. “I’ve been on sets with Oscar-winning actors and directors, and I’ve been on championship NBA teams. There’s been nothing more rewarding for me in my life than to be a part of this team where we’re leaving something behind.”

According to AfroTech, Partanna‘s current valuation is $190 million.