LetsGetChecked, the world’s only personal health testing service, has raised $150 million, giving the startup a valuation of $1 billion, according to Bloomberg. 

The round was led by Casdin Capital and included an investment from professional golf superstar Rory McIlroy through his VC Firm Symphony Ventures. 

The service joins a diverse portfolio of business ventures for McIlroy, who won the Wells Fargo Championship in May — his 19th PGA Tour victory. 

Earlier this year, McIlroy partnered with Drive Shack on its tech-driven mini golf brand Puttery, which plans to launch in Dallas and Charlotte this summer.

LetsGetChecked, founded in 2015 with offices in New York and Dublin, has raised $260 million in total capital with the latest round, benefiting from an online health industry that has accelerated due to the pandemic. 

Last year, 1.7 million patients used its services, growing revenue more than 15-fold year-over-year.

Despite its early success, LetsGetChecked faces stiff competition in a digital health market worth more than $116 billion. 

During the first quarter of 2021, digital health startups generated $6.7 billion in venture funding, the best-funded quarter to date. 

Babylon, a startup that connects patients and doctors via an app, announced last week it’s going public via a merger with Alkuri Global Acquisition Corp., a blank-check company, for a valuation of about $4.2 billion.

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel sees a consolidating media ecosystem that is hungry for content, putting producers like Endeavor — and all types of sports leagues — in a strong position.

“There’s a finite number of creators and intellectual property to meet the demand, therefore increasing the value,” Emanuel told Deadline. He added, “investments will continue,” and that “prices are going up in every situation.”

Nowhere is that phenomenon more evident than in the prices commanded for the NFL’s latest media deals, which saw the league secure $113 billion for broadcasting rights through 2033.

Boxing and other ring sports, such as the Endeavor-owned Ultimate Fighting Championship, have been an entry point for mid-sized media companies to build an audience. 

• DAZN has focused on boxing and niche sports, while also moving into European soccer through its deals for Serie A’s international rights and reported interest in Premier League rights.
• Triller has also focused on fighting, while making inroads through alternative leagues such as Big3 basketball. 
• Showtime’s broadcast of the exhibition fight between Logan Paul and Floyd Mayweather cost viewers $49.99 a piece. Mayweather is estimated to have made between $50 million to $100 million and Paul between $5 million to $20 million. 

Major media companies are building large libraries of legacy and original content as they scramble for streaming subscribers, while exploring crossover possibilities with podcasts, music, merchandise, and other media. 

“You can bet that Amazon didn’t buy MGM just to leverage the library,” said Endeavor president Mark Shapiro, referencing the company’s $8.45 billion acquisition. “There’s going to be a lot of buying. There’s going to be a lot of original programming and there’s going to be a lot of spending.”

Simone Biles, the highly decorated U.S. gymnast known for her record-breaking moves, is taking the stage once again — this time with an all-female lineup aiming to increase their control over events long run by their sports’ governing bodies.

Following this year’s Tokyo Olympics, Biles is headlining the 35-city “Gold Over America Tour” (GOAT), making a statement of female empowerment following a history of abuse in U.S. gymnastics. 

The post-competition excursion will also look different from the usual USA Gymnastics Tour, which generated $2.6 million each for USA Gymnastics and partner AEG in 2016 — but against $7 million in total expenses. 

This tour won’t feature the full U.S. Olympic roster, nor will USA Gymnastics be the sponsor.

Instead, it will be presented by Simone’s new partner Athleta. Biles began working with the company in April, citing its work in uplifting women and young girls. 

The partnership prompted a move away from Nike, which the 24-year-old had worked with since she was 18.

Biles, who has a reported net worth of $6 million, has also been sponsored by Visa, Kellogg’s, Beats By Dr. Dre, and Hershey, among others since going pro in 2015.

The Olympic superstar has made history in just the last month.

• Over the weekend, Biles won her seventh U.S. all-around title — the most by any American woman — tying the record by any U.S. gymnast.
• In late May, Biles landed a Yurchenko double pike in her first competition in 18 months, a move no other female gymnast has ever even attempted in competition.

The Tokyo Olympics kick off July 23.

A boom demand, a trade war, and pandemic have combined for major price inflation in the bicycle business.

With gyms closed, mass transit a potential source of infections, and many cities reconfiguring traffic flow to be more bike-friendly, bicycle demand soared during the pandemic. U.S. bike sales grew 20% to $4.8 billion in 2020. 

However, supply has failed to meet the sudden growth in interest. Prior to the pandemic’s roadblock on supply chains, tariffs imposed by former president Donald Trump as part of his trade war with China caused buyers to hold back on orders as they waited for more favorable market conditions.

With demand high and supply low, prices for bikes and parts can be 15-25% higher than usual.

The problem isn’t entirely unique to bicycles.

• The cost of shipping a container from Shanghai to Los Angeles more than doubled — $1,800 at the start of 2020 to $4,200 a year later.
• The auto sector has been affected as well, as both Volkswagen and Honda have cut supply. Elon Musk has attributed rising Tesla prices to inflated supply costs.
• Peloton said in February it is investing $100 million to improve its supply chain after struggling to meet demand in a timely manner during the pandemic.
• The U.S. Senate is set to pass a $250 billion infrastructure bill, aimed at competing with and becoming less dependent on China. 

As for bikes, a reprieve does not appear imminent: supply chains could be backed up by two years.