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Serena Williams retired from professional tennis in 2022 with 23 Grand Slam singles titles. What came after is a separate story. Over the preceding decade she had been quietly building an investment portfolio that looked nothing like the standard athlete endorsement playbook. She took equity stakes, not licensing fees. She co-founded companies instead of lending her name to them. She put capital into women's sports at a time when most institutional money was looking the other way.
Williams operates primarily through Serena Ventures, the venture capital firm she founded before her retirement, and has extended her reach into fashion, wellness, entertainment production and professional sports ownership. Her portfolio spans multiple industries and two professional sports leagues. The transition from the tennis court to the boardroom has been deliberate, disciplined and, by most measures, highly profitable.
These are the seven companies and ventures that define the Serena Williams business empire.
The venture fund and the brands she built
1. Serena Ventures
The most significant engine of her post-tennis wealth is Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm she founded to close the funding gap for underrepresented entrepreneurs. The firm has invested in over 60 companies, with a portfolio that includes fintech platform Esusu and education startup MasterClass. Williams raised over $110 million in her inaugural fund, moving the firm from a personal investment vehicle into a serious institutional player. The majority of capital flows to founders who are women or people of color.
2. Will Perform
In late 2022, Williams co-founded Will Perform, a clean-beauty and wellness brand targeting physical recovery. Recognizing a gap in the market for topical pain relief that felt like self-care rather than medicine, she launched a line of products including Will Relieve and Will Soothe. The company entered a retail partnership with Target, securing immediate nationwide distribution. The brand reflects Williams' conviction that recovery is a daily ritual, not just an elite athletic concern.
3. S by Serena
Her fashion label, S by Serena, is a direct-to-consumer lifestyle brand focused on inclusive sizing and empowerment-driven design. It has shown at New York Fashion Week, presenting pieces that blend athletic functionality with high-fashion aesthetics. By maintaining full creative control and ownership, Williams bypasses the standard licensing models that most athletes use. The brand is anchored by her Greatness campaign, which turns her personal identity into a retail experience.
The entertainment bet
4. Nine Two Six Productions
Named after her Sept. 26 birthday, Nine Two Six Productions is Williams' entry into multimedia and entertainment. The production company was established to elevate diverse voices and develop stories underrepresented in mainstream Hollywood. Through this entity, she has initiated projects including a film adaptation of the bestselling novel Carrie Soto Is Back. It gives Williams editorial control over her own legacy while expanding her footprint into film, television and digital content.
Her sports ownership portfolio
5. Angel City FC
Williams was an early investor in Angel City FC, the Los Angeles-based National Women's Soccer League team. Her involvement was part of an ownership group that fundamentally revalued women's professional sports. The club generated record-breaking sponsorship revenue and ticket sales before playing its first match, establishing a new commercial benchmark for the NWSL. Williams' stake represents a calculated bet on women's sports as an undervalued asset class.
6. Miami Dolphins
In 2009, Williams and her sister Venus became the first Black women to hold an ownership stake in an NFL franchise when they joined the Miami Dolphins ownership group. The stake is a minority position, but the investment has appreciated significantly as NFL valuations have climbed sharply over the past decade. The position places her inside one of the world's most profitable sports leagues alongside a network of billionaire co-owners.
7. Toronto Tempo
Williams recently joined the ownership group for the Toronto Tempo, a WNBA expansion team set to debut in 2026. The move aligns with her public advocacy for women's basketball and her belief in the league's commercial potential. By entering the Canadian market, she is helping internationalize the WNBA while securing a stake in a high-growth professional league. Her involvement extends to the team's visual identity, connecting her interests in design and sports under a single investment.
