International Sportstech News

Hudl, a global leader in sports performance analysis and scouting, and FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, renew their long-term rights agreement partnership. The multi-year deal covers the Men's and Women's World Cup and Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, and spans every level of the game - from continental and youth championships to club competitions and qualifying campaigns across five global regions. Both data and video from these competitions will be made available via Hudl Instat.

Comcast said that it plans to spin off NBCUniversal into a separate publicly traded company, the latest shift in an industry grappling with rapid technological change and new consumer habits. The independent NBCUniversal will include the Universal Pictures film studio, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, NBC News, the streaming service Peacock, the cable channel Bravo, a lucrative theme parks division and Sky. Comcast will focus on providing broadband, cable and wireless services to business and residential customers. 

Under the Dubai Sports Sector Strategic Plan 2033, the emirate aims to increase the sports sector’s contribution to gross domestic product from $US 2.77 billion annually to $US 5 billion by 2033, representing an increase of approximately 80 percent compared with current levels. The strategy also seeks to increase attendance at major sporting events from 1.67 million people annually to more than 4.1 million, while raising the number of major sporting events by up to 250 percent over the coming years. The growth is expected to be driven by sports tourism, broadcasting rights, commercial sponsorship, sports content creation and the digital economy linked to sport.

As part of the the 2026 World Cup FIFA are delivering a portfolio of existing and emerging technologies to enhance the overall quality of football on and off the pitch. These technologies include Football AI Pro, Semi-automated offside technology, Referee View, Video assistant referee system, Out-of-bounds technology, Connected ball technology, Goal-line technology and Football video support. 

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is taking its innovation incubator, Launchpad, global with a significant expansion into Asia. This multiyear commitment aims to discover and integrate cutting-edge technologies from the continent's burgeoning tech scene into the world of basketball. Launchpad, currently in its fifth cycle, connects promising early-stage companies with NBA properties for pilot programs, attracting hundreds of applicants for a limited number of slots each year.

AI-driven sports media and sports tech’s Sportway Media Group has raised €20 million, valuing the company at approximately €92 million. The financing was led by Gamma Waves alongside continued participation from existing shareholders. Founded in 2017 Sportway’s platform and managed service enable sports federations, leagues, clubs and media companies to professionally produce, distribute and monetise live sports content at scale. The company has deployed approximately 2,500 AI-powered camera systems across 21 countries, producing more than 250,000 live sporting events each year. 

The 146th IOC Session may have approved one of the most important governance reforms in the recent history of the Olympic Movement. Much of the attention has focused on the decision to evaluate individual disciplines, and not only entire sports, when determining future Olympic programmes from Brisbane 2032 onwards, but the deeper change goes further. The reform removes from the Olympic Charter the list of International Federations -IFs- recognised within the Olympic programme and grants the IOC greater flexibility in managing it. 

Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced its $US 100 million strategic investment in Cosm, a global technology, media, and entertainment company that is redefining the way the world experiences content through its venues and shared reality technology – an immersive experience that bridges the virtual and physical worlds. This investment advances SPE’s focus on experiential entertainment, fandom and technology.

SportIQ, a provider of smart basketballs and in-app shooting coaching, launched a new Spalding Smart Basketball built on Spalding’s TF-1000 indoor game ball platform. The new ball combines the feel and performance of the TF-1000 with SportIQ’s patented embedded sensor technology. Through a connected mobile app, players get real-time shooting analytics as well as AI-powered coaching without changing how the game is played. The TF-1000 platform is already used in approximately 40% of competitive basketball games in the United States.

FIFA, the world governing body of football, and DAZN, one of the world’s leading sports entertainment platform, have launched FIFA+ exclusively on DAZN, marking a significant new phase in their strategic partnership and a major step towards building the Global Home of Football. The move creates a single global destination for thousands of FIFA-related live events, archive content, and original programming. FIFA+ on DAZN will deliver around 8,500 live football events in selected territories annually.

PlayerData has raised a $US 12 million Series A as it expands its product suite and pushes further into connected performance technology. The round was led by Pentland Ventures, Darco Capital and Bolt Ventures, with additional backing from Tennis Australia and Kevin Durant’s 35V. The company is using the funding to scale its hardware and software offer, which now spans wearable GPS performance tracking, automated camera systems and connected-ball technology developed with Mitre.

Sphere Abu Dhabi will open its doors on Yas Island in the United Arab Emirates at the end of 2029. Developed through a partnership between the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) and Sphere Entertainment Co., the project marks the first time a Sphere venue will be built outside the United States. The 20,000-capacity Sphere Abu Dhabi will host three categories of events: Sphere Experiences or proprietary immersive productions that feature multisensory storytelling; concert residencies; and brand events that include everything from combat sports and conferences to product launches.

Professional Sports Authenticator’s parent company, Collectors, is investing $US 200 million into the authentication and grading giant to expand operations over the next 18 months. PSA will use the new funding to grow the company’s physical footprint, develop and deploy new technology and hire for 1,000 open and planned positions through 2026. The industry leader in trading card authentication by submission volume, PSA graded over 19 million cards in 2025 — more than 14 million ahead of its closest competitor.

Genius Sports, a global leader in real-time sports data, announced it has completed its acquisition of Legend, a global, digital sports and gaming media network. With the acquisition of Legend, Genius Sports is uniquely positioned as the only company operating two synergistic businesses across official sports data and media and advertising.

Betterguards, a global leader in injury prevention and recovery innovation, has announced the acquisition of Nextiles, a materials science and wearable sports technology company. The integration of Nextiles and Betterguards creates a new wearables ecosystem and data platform designed to unlock capabilities across injury prevention, athlete recovery and performance monitoring. Both Betterguards and Nextiles were selected for the NBA Launchpad program in 2022.

Life Time is turning its 190+ clubs into a real-world testing ground for wellness tech startups. It wants to become a testing ground for the next big thing in wellness technology, unveiling a program called the Life Time Innovation Hub. Life Time is looking for companies in wearables, human performance and recovery tech, nutrition platforms, training software, AI for facility management, energy and water efficiency and infrastructure that improves the performance of large-scale spaces.

Pickleball Inc. has become the new parent company of the Carvana PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball following a $US 225 million structured investment led by Apollo Sports Capital. The capital raise results in the largest singularly-operated pickleball ecosystem in existence, integrating professional and amateur pickleball with leading technology, retail, and infrastructure platforms. Pickleball Inc.’s newly-merged business verticals generated over $US 140 million in 2025 revenue on a combined basis.

The withdrawal of backing for LIV Golf by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), last week showed even a trillion-dollar cash cow has its limits. But the PIF’s exit from LIV Golf was not just about value, but more the first big step in a wider strategic shift by the PIF and Saudi kingdom to redirect many of the billions it spends around the world to home, ahead of the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

Major League Soccer (MLS) has announced the 2026 cohort of the MLS Innovation Lab, its flagship initiative focused on identifying, deploying and scaling the next generation of sports technology. Now in its third year, the program brings together leading startups from around the world to actively test and prove cutting-edge solutions in three areas of focus: player performance, fan engagement, and media production. The five companies selected in this years cohort are Springbok Analytics, Orreco, Fit:match, Advanced Image Robotics and WMT AI Ticketing.

The sports industry continues to represent one of the fastest growing segments of the global media and entertainment economy. In 2025, revenues collected by the sports IP owner ecosystem reached an all-time high at $US 174 billion, extending the upward trajectory of the past decade. The sports IP market has exhibited an underlying compound annual growth rate of 6% since 2015, almost twice the rate of global GDP growth. The market remains on course to exceed $US 260 billion by 2033.

World Athletics boss Lord Sebastian Coe said he will not "strangle" the innovation that has led to a new market in super shoes. However, the two-time Olympic 1,500-metres champion told the BBC that the governing body had a "regulatory responsibility" to the sport. Super shoes have come under the spotlight again after last weekend's record-breaking London Marathon, where Sabastian Sawe became the first man to run sub-two hours for the 42.2-kilometre distance in an official race. He was wearing Adidas's new Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 shoe, the first to weigh less than 100 grams. Adidas claims the technology within the latest version of its super shoe, including advanced foam and carbon-infused "energy rods" assists in generating high energy return and improves running economy by 1.6 per cent.

WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organisation) has released a new report on sports intellectual property, covering patents, trademarks and designs. Asia accounts for 63% of patents and 76% of design filing, with China and India emerging as the fastest growing regions. Whilst Europe leads the way in trademarks (42%), reflecting a dense concentration of clubs, branding and commercial entities. The most significant sports for innovation is golf, soccer racquet sports, whilst swimming and cricket are achieving strong growth.

Teamworks, the operating system that powers more than 7,000 elite sports organizations globally, has announced a significant growth investment led by Hg, a leading investor in technology, data and services businesses. This investment more than doubles Hg’s total investment in Teamworks to $US 200 million. This latest growth investment moves Teamworks’ valuation to above $US 1.5 billion. Alongside its investment, Hg brings significant operational resources to support AI development, including their AI product incubation program.

InStudio’s stakes in the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Chargers, acquired via a partnership with another firm, are the most attention-grabbing names anchoring a $US50 million sports and performance fund the Los Angeles-based firm is launching. However the fund plans to invest the majority of its assets in earlier-stage startups bringing AI into sports. InStudio participated last year in Springbok’s $US 5m series A round, which counted the NBA’s venture capital arm among its investors.

TPG, a leading global alternative asset management firm, has announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire Learfield, the USA's leading media and technology company powering college athletics. The company serves as the monetization engine for collegiate sports intellectual property (IP), linking more than 12,000 brands and over 1,200 institutions with an integrated suite of sponsorship and media solutions, ticketing technology, licensing management, name, image, and likeness (NIL) strategy, and AI-enabled data platforming.

It was only revealed a few days ago and yet the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 is now a record breaker. Adorning the feet of Sabastian Sawe as he powered his way to a sub-2 hour marathon and new world record at the 2026 London Marathon, this is the lightest racing shoe from Adidas ever, weighing in at an average of just over 97 grams. It’s 30% lighter than the previous iteration of the shoe. It also has a 39mm stack, maximising the cushioning and energy return.  The major change from the Pro Evo 2 is the carbon technology in the shoe has been totally redesigned.

The NFL announced today that it is partnering with TMRW Sports to develop and operate a professional flag football league for women and men. The new professional league will launch with support from a broad and influential investor pool, including NFL clubs, established institutional and strategic investors, and current and former NFL players.

Playlist, the parent company of Mindbody, Booker, and ClassPass, has announced the closing of its merger with EGYM, a global innovation leader in smart fitness technology, AI-enabled workout programming, and corporate wellness solutions, establishing the world’s largest full-stack fitness and wellness operating system. The transaction, which included $US 785 million in new equity investments and values the combined enterprise at $US 7.5 billion

Wearable health leader Whoop has announced a funding raise of $US 575 million at $US 10.1 billion valuation which will be used for global expansion. The round was led by Collaborative Funding, and included investments from leading athletes Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Rory McIlroy, Virgil van Dijk, and Mathieu van der Poel. In the past 12 months, Whoop has received medical clearances and launched blood testing. Whoop are building a personal, preventive health platform powered by continuous biometric data, advanced analytics, and AI to help people understand their bodies and improve their health in real time.

Global sportstech advisory firm, SportsTechX has released the 9th edition of the Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report 2026. The report focuses on some of the structural shifts reshaping the sportstech industry, including consolidation of the industry, changes in direct-to-consumer broadcasting and the re-emergence of the competitive running sector.

Teamworks, a leading global sportstech company powering more than 7,000 elite sports organizations globally, has announced the acquisition of Pro Football Focus (PFF)’s enterprise (B2B) business. The acquisition includes PFF's proprietary game event data and analytics platform that NFL teams and collegiate football programs rely on daily.

As part of Nike and WSL Football’s multi-year partnership, Sportable’s Connected Ball and advanced tracking technology will bring new levels of performance insight and data to women’s football within the matchday and training environment. The Barclays Women’s Super League is the first football league in the world to use the technology. Sportable’s FIFA certified Connected Ball technology will be integrated into Nike’s Official Matchballs, with player-tracking systems to be deployed in Barclays WSL matches. 

Genius Sports has announced a new multi-year integrity, technology and AI partnership with the Pac-12 Conference to power the next generation of sports betting, integrity, fan engagement and monetization, and performance analysis in college sports. As part of the agreement, Genius Sports will deploy GeniusIQ, its data and AI platform, in every venue across Pac-12 football and men’s and women’s basketball competitions, creating a single, intelligent foundation for tracking data and video capture, real-time insights, and commercial activation.

CVC Capital Partners has raised $US 4.3 billion for its Global Sport Group (GSG) division after reportedly agreeing a complex financing deal with Pimco and KKR. The agreements value GSG at around $US 8.1 billion. The division was launched by CVC in September 2025 to host its multibillion-dollar sports portfolio, which includes investments made in soccer’s LaLiga and Ligue 1, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Volleyball World, as well as Prem Rugby, the United Rugby Championship (URC) and the Six Nations.

McLaren has announced the launch of an exciting new venture, McLaren Golf.  This launch will extend McLaren’s DNA, built on decades of experience in elite motorsport and supercar engineering, into a new category, led by a dedicated team of golf-industry experts and world-class engineering minds.

ShotQuality, the AI-enabled real-time performance intelligence platform used by sportsbooks, market makers, and quantitative trading groups, has announced a partnership with Kalshi, the first federally regulated prediction market exchange in the United States. Kalshi and ShotQuality will work together around real-time event intelligence and structured data generation for live events and broadcasts.

Genies, an AI avatar technology company powering the next era of interactive digital identity, and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) have announced a licensing partnership to offer Genie avatars for NBPA member. This opens up new ways for players to connect with fans across games and apps. Through the collaboration, Genie avatars may be licensed to developers to create games and apps, supercharged by Genies' developer ecosystem.

The National Football League has launched the Innovation Hub Challenge, a pathway designed to move sports technology startups to integration-ready MVPs that could be piloted across the league. The Challenge is open to technology teams, organizations, and individuals with working products and demonstrated capabilities. There are three challenge categories - Fan Journey & Personalisation, Local Monetisation & Commerce, and Event Discovery & Global Engagement. Applications close 22 March, with the finalists showcasing their solutions 23-25 April.

Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) have announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Paramount will acquire WBD, forming a premier global media and entertainment company. The deal is worth an estimated $US 111 billion. The merged company will hold one of the industry's most compelling and competitive portfolios of sports rights, including: the NFL, Olympics, UFC, PGA Tour, NHL, Big Ten and Big 12 Football, NCAA College Basketball, and Champions League.

In a move meant to bolster the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled digital health products, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated two guidances to ease its oversight of general wellness devices and clinical decision support (CDS) software. The agency said that the changes will provide product developers with more flexibility and predictability in bringing products to market, while ensuring that medical-grade products continue to be regulated.