International Sportstech News

Indian fantasy sports operator Dream Sports is shutting down its corporate venture capital unit, barely two years after it was launched. The company unveiled Dream Capital in August 2021 with a $250m commitment and planned to invest in gaming, sports and fitness startups in neighbouring areas to its core business, online fantasy sports platform Dream11. Dream Sports is India’s market leader in fantasy sports, having made more than $460m in revenue in 2022. But it is facing cash issues of its own due to the government imposing a 28% goods and services tax on industries including online gaming from this month. The move has led to businesses across the sector making heavy cuts to staff and operations.

For two weeks in July, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) hosts Wimbledon. IBM has been partnering with the Club for more than three decades, enhancing coverage of The Championships and engaging fans with rich data-driven insights. This year, some of the most compelling stories of the tournament will be told with the help of IBM® watsonx™, the enterprise-ready generative AI platform. The new Catch Me Up feature, available in the Wimbledon app and website, provides AI-generated summaries for every singles player—describing what happened in their last match and the challenges they face in their next one. Users can personalize their Catch Me Up list by adding their favorite players. If matches are live or video highlights are available, Catch Me Up provides relevant links.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the launch of ICC Immersive, a revolutionary app designed to transform the way fans experience cricket. ICC Immersive invites fans to step onto the cricket pitch from the comfort of their homes, offering a virtual experience. Developed in partnership with Quidich, a leader in sports technology, this app debuts during the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and is available for Apple Vision Pro users. The app harnesses advanced tracking technologies and various data sources to create an authentic replica of the stadium environment.

chelon has acquired ThriveX, signifying that the emerging fitness equipment brand is bullish on the recovery space. ThriveX is known for its advanced recovery solutions such as cold immersion therapy systems, smart hybrid saunas and compression boots and is a leading contender for Beyond Activ’s Startup of the Year award. ThriveX, which launched last June in Singapore and reported over $600,000 in sales within months, has since expanded its reach to the U.S., UAE, India, Thailand and Russia. 

Sports technology leader Hudl is on the verge of acquiring football analytics firm StatsBomb, as reported by The Athletic. Hudl, a premier performance analysis platform in the football industry, aims to consolidate its services in data, video, and analytics.  StatsBomb now covers over 100 football competitions worldwide, including three-quarters of Premier League and Championship teams, as well as two-thirds of MLS clubs. A significant draw for Hudl is StatsBomb’s potential to expand into other sports. In June 2022, StatsBomb introduced an American football product, leveraging their football analytics expertise to create a comprehensive college sport database. 

International Olympic Committee (IOC) Members will vote on the creation of Olympic Esports Games at the upcoming IOC Session held during the Paris Games. The IOC is already in advanced discussions with a potential host, and an announcement can be expected very soon after the last formalities have been finalised.

Future of Sport Lab (FSL) announced that nine Canadian sport tech startups have been accepted into its acclaimed incubator program. The companies come from a range of sectors including AI, athlete training, fan engagement, wearable technology and smart equipment, analytics and sports betting. Each of the startups will receive immersive programming in partnership with leading business incubator the DMZ, access to leading academics, and an opportunity to engage and receive mentorship from leaders across the FSL network.

Genius Sports and the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) have agreed to a global sports betting integrity information sharing and wider anti-match-fixing partnership. Genius Sports is the trusted integrity partner to over 150 sports leagues and federations worldwide, including the NFL, Premier League, PGA TOUR and DFB. It provides sports with comprehensive integrity services including 24/7 bet monitoring and reporting, bespoke education tools and robust intelligence solutions.

World Athletics and Tata Communications today announced a five-year global host broadcasting services deal covering World Athletics Series events. From 2025, Tata Communications will be a key strategic supplier for World Athletics, with a view to elevating innovation and audience engagement to new heights. As the host broadcaster of World Athletics Series events, Tata Communications will take on the pivotal role of crafting immersive coverage, and delivering customised, world-class live content across continents.

A global leader in AI automated sports video, Spiideo, announced the successful completion of a $20 million funding round led by Munich-based growth equity firm, Cipio Partners. The company will use this new investment to further accelerate innovation by expanding its product and AI teams, and drive growth through an expanded international sales team. Spiideo’s products are installed in over 6,000 venues and used by more than 4,000 teams across English football’s Premier League, NHL, NBA, Serie A, MLS, Ligue 1, NCAA, Liga MX, and Bundesliga.

Apple today previewed watchOS 11, with features for Apple Watch that build on its leading sensor technology, advanced algorithms, and science-based approach to offer breakthrough insights into users’ health and fitness, and more personalization than ever. The new Vitals app surfaces key health metrics and context to help users make more informed day-to-day decisions, and the ability to measure training load offers a game-changing new experience when working out for improved fitness and performance.

Fitbit is hoping to crack the market of wearable trackers for kids with their Ace LTE, a location-tracking smartwatch that incorporates activity gamification. The device features an array of small video games that children can play for limited periods before being told they must unlock more game time by meeting a certain activity goal. Youngsters can also play with the watch’s built-in Tamagotchi-esque game, the eejie.

Cisco and McLaren Racing have announced an expanded global partnership that now incorporates Cisco’s security solutions. This extension provides the team with comprehensive network visibility, enhanced threat intelligence, and streamlined security management across all their network operations. Professional sports organizations face a unique and elevated intensity of cyber threats. The combination of high-value data, widespread media coverage, and the involvement of various stakeholders makes these organizations prime targets for cyberattacks.

SportsTechX has released its Global SportsTech Ecosystem Report for 2024. The Report highlights a wave of consolation (M&A) as well as new funds & initiatives consistently entering the industry. Three key finding for this year include B2B solutions gaining importance, fitness tech continuing to attract investors and BigTech (eg Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta & others) heavily investing in sports, in various ways. 

Global sports data, live streaming and AI pioneer Stats Perform today announced it has secured the rights to exclusively collect and distribute official data and live streams for the ICC to licensed betting operators around the world. It includes the ICC T20 Men’s and Women’s World Cups, Men’s and Women’s Cricket World Cups, ICC Champions Trophy, and the ICC World Test Championship Final. Stats Perform will provide a comprehensive range of services for the ICC events to its wide portfolio of licensed betting operator partners, including real-time ball-by-ball match data and low latency video streams.

Sword Health, a pioneer of AI Care, artificial intelligence powering the delivery of care, announced a financing round of $US 130 million putting its valuation at over $US 3 billion. Sword has reinvented the way care is delivered, starting with back, joint, and muscle pain and has expanded to women’s pelvic health issues and sedentariness. The company has delivered over three million AI sessions to members to date and is available to over 10,000 employers across three continents.

USTA'a new strategic investment initiative, USTA Ventures, has invested in PlayReplay, a tennis technology company featuring an electronic line-calling (ELC) system set to increase access to accurate, user-friendly ELC for junior, adult and recreational play nationwide. The PlayReplay ELC system utilizes a minimally intrusive camera solution that provides a level of accuracy and precision not previously seen in replay technology priced for recreational competition. Through the PlayReplay app, or a touchscreen that can be installed courtside, players can immediately access necessary player and ball tracking data, “challenge” a line call and receive a visual representation of where the ball landed and an in/out ruling.

Turnstile has been appointed to value some of Riot Games key sponsorship assets. Esports assets are a powerful mix of audience reach and intellectual property value and Turnstile is built to unlock this sort of value proposition. Riot Games, #1 in the esports space, continues to shatter records for viewership across LoL Esports and Valorant Esports in 2024. With hundreds of thousands of engaged fans tuning in for the premier esports events, including the highly acclaimed League of Legends Championship (LEC) and VALORANT Champions Tour EMEA, the EMEA Riot team is ramping up efforts in partnership with Turnstile.

LALIGA and SportBoost have launched MEET LALIGA EA SPORTS, the second edition of the innovation programme aimed at startups around the world. The programme aims to identify disruptive technological solutions that can break down barriers between the physical and the digital, as well as generate new experiences that strengthen engagement with current and future fans. Immersive training solutions for grassroots football that improve the physical and mental well-being of young talents are also encouraged. The call will be open until 19th August 2024. The winning startup will receive a financial contribution of €10,000 to boost its project.

ThinkSport and Terre des hommes is organising a first full-day ideation session to kick off their 'Youth Sports Safety' Challenge that will take place on 12 September 2024 in Lausanne (Switzerland). Participants will include various participants from different sectors and backgrounds such as Safeguarding professionals, Child and Young Protection experts, Federations involved or willing to be more involved in the topic, young athletes, coaches, professionals of child participation, and researchers. The focus will be on brainstorming and developing innovative ideas to address the Challenge, leveraging the diversity of expertise within the group.

The I3-INSHAPE is an EU project with the aim of strengthening the European digital economy by creating a network of Innovation and Investment Hubs in the field of sports and Healthy active lifestyle. The Project lasts for 36 months and seeks to support the creation of interregional innovation investments resulting in the commercialisation and scale up of innovative SME-led initiatives in the field of sports. Ultimately, this will contribute to a more active and healthier lifestyle for European citizens. 

Champions Innovate is a groundbreaking initiative that takes place in the months leading up to the men's Champions League final and brings together UEFA, commercial partners, the host city and start-up companies. Each season, the start-ups are tasked with finding innovative solutions to specific challenges set by the host city. After months of hard work to find ways to make the UEFA Champions League final more sustainable, the three Champions Innovate finalist start-ups – Pavegen, My Emissions and Pledgeball – presented their innovative pilot projects to a judging panel at a showcase event at London City Hall two days before the 2024 UEFA Champions League final. Each was teamed up with one of three Champions League sponsors – Rockstar Energy Drink (PepsiCo), Just Eat Takeaway.com and Mastercard.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and FanCraze today announced a multi-year partnership extension marking a milestone in the evolution of digital fan engagement with the launch of new products during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. The announcement also detailed the upcoming launch of ICC Crictos SuperTeam, a Web3 fantasy game featuring officially licensed ICC digital video collectibles. With SuperTeam, fans will be able to build fantasy teams using their ICC Crictos and compete in contests to win amazing rewards on a daily basis, week after week proving their cricket nous to the world.

The Olympic AI Agenda sets out a governance and oversight framework to identify and mitigate risk, and it will be a continuous process to leverage the insights and experience of prominent experts to support the deployment of AI for the Olympic Movement. It has been developed in collaboration with an AI Working Group – a panel of experts from around the world, including AI pioneers, academics, athletes and representatives of technology companies – convened by the IOC in 2023. The full agenda can be downloaded at: https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/International-Olympic-Committee/AI/Olympic-AI-Agenda.pdf

WSC Sports, the specialist in AI-powered sports content technology, has announced its evolution to an AI content management, creation, and distribution solution. The company aims to empower sports media rights holders to engage with fans through more personalised content, formats and viewing channels. As part of the company’s next phase of growth, WSC Sports is formally introducing three new solutions to its product suite: Around the Game, In-App Stories and Discovery Network. 

Lucia Ciric Bagaric became the first FANtium funded player to make a Grand Slam main draw, qualifying for the first round at Roland Garros.  This achievement comes with significant rewards including €69,000 in guaranteed earnings. As a side effect, her win triggered an immediate sell-out of her raise in less than 24 hours, raising $US 100k for her career. FANtium support some of the best next-generation tennis players, all carefully evaluated by a global network of tennis experts, offering athlete investment as a new asset class.

Kings League, a seven-a-side next generation football competition led by Gerard Piqué that brings together entertainment and sports, today announced a €60 million investment round. Kings League has connected with the Gen Z audience through digital channels and platforms, integrating gamified elements into traditional football to produce dynamic, high-scoring 40-minute matches.

The NCAA and the nation's five biggest conferences announced Thursday night that they have agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion to settle a host of antitrust claims, a monumental decision that sets the stage for a groundbreaking revenue-sharing model that could start steering millions of dollars directly to athletes as soon as the 2025 fall semester. They signal the end of the NCAA’s bedrock amateurism model that dates to its founding in 1906. The deal still must be approved by the federal judge overseeing the case. it will usher in the beginning of a new era in college sports where athletes are compensated more like professionals and schools can compete for talent using direct payments.

Life Time, the luxury athletic country club operator that’s in expansion mode, has made its app free to non-members, so anyone can access Life Time’s premium wellness offerings, including on-demand fitness classes. Life Time app users can access barre, boxing, cardio, cycle, dance, strength and yoga classes, training videos, nutrition and exercise coaching programs, meditation experiences, articles and podcasts. There is also an opportunity to shop for health and wellness products across apparel, nutrition and beauty products with exclusive in-app pricing.

The owner of Ticketmaster is being sued by the US government over claims it is running an illegal live event "monopoly" which is driving prices up for fans and pushing out smaller competition. The complaint says a break-up between Live Nation and Ticketmaster is on the table and experts claim this combined with other solutions could help fans and artists. Ticketmaster, which merged with Live Nation in 2010, is the world's largest ticket seller across live music, sports, theatre and more. The company said it distributed more than 620 million tickets in 2023.

The IIT Madras Centre of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics (CESSA) is planning to support nearly 200 sportstech startups over 5 years across the domain areas of computer vision, data analytics, AI, ML, and biomechanics. Going forward, IIT Madras is working on four areas in the sector, which include technology to enhance player performance, analytics, education, and supporting sports tech startups.

The New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS), a leading hub for sports innovation and research, and NTT DATA, a global digital business and IT services leader, have entered a strategic technology partnership to leverage technologies and create new value propositions for NZCIS's sports and accommodation facilities. The partnership will realize the full potential of data-driven insights and innovation in the sports industry through joint activities and proof-of-concept projects.

Smart dumbbell maker, Kabata, secured $US 5m in a seed round led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from numerous athlete-investors, including NFLer Bradley Chubb. Building on a $US 2m raise two years ago, the company is preparing to ship its first units later this year. Kabata dumbbells use built-in sensors to support velocity-based training (VBT), measuring reps, time under tension, power, and calories. Its AI-driven software develops a training program based on users’ ability, automatically adjusting weight while adapting exercise based on form quality.

RedBird Capital and Weatherford Capital are launching a college sports-specific investment fund, one that could lend as much as $2 billion to athletic departments across the US. Led by RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale, Collegiate Athletic Solutions (CAS) is hoping to cash in on a college sports industry in upheaval, with athletes on the verge of more robust compensation and schools seeking new funding sources to stay competitive.  The new venture plans to initially partner with five to 10 athletic departments, offering $50 million to $200 million to each.

BridgeAthletic, the premier provider of strength and conditioning software, announced today the closing of a strategic growth capital investment and the acquisition of Game Plan, the leading learning management system built to serve athletic organizations and teams. The combination of BridgeAthletic and Game Plan offers the industry's first integrated athlete development solution trusted by every major professional sports league and more than 10,000 sports teams and tactical groups globally.

Populous, the renowned global sports and entertainment venue and events design practice, announced today a strategic investment in OnePlan, the world’s leading event site and venue planning software company. OnePlan’s innovative GIS mapping collaboration platform is used by over 50,000 events in 110 countries, delivering up to 85% time-savings for its customers. The platform simplifies the planning of live events and venues through easy-to-use, collaborative mapping tools. 

Indian sports-tech firm Stupa Sports Analytics has raised ₹28 crore in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Centre Court Capital and Peer Capital. The funding happened at a post-money valuation of ₹98 crore. The firm has raised ₹7.5 crore so far in three separate rounds. The latest fund pool will be deployed to attract top AI/ML and engineering talent to build advanced solutions in the rapidly growing sports-tech industry. The fund will also power Stupa’s ambitions to expand globally into markets like the US, UK, Australia, and West Asia while deepening its existing presence in regions like Europe and Asia.

Netflix is no longer simply in the “sports-adjacent” business. On Wednesday, the streaming giant announced a three-season deal with the National Football League that will include showing two Christmas Day games on its service this year. It’s the first time Netflix has become partners with a major sports league.

Sharp Alpha Advisors has successfully closed its second venture capital fund, Sharp Alpha Fund II, surpassing its target with a $US 25 million raise to invest in early-stage companies within the sports, gaming, and entertainment sectors. Sharp Alpha Fund II focuses on seed investments between $1 million and $2 million. 

Garmin has reported a 40% revenue increase to $343 million in its fitness category during Q1 of 2024, setting a new first-quarter record that the tech company says was led by strong demand for advanced wearables. Notably, revenue from Garmin’s outdoor segment trended upwards. Earlier this year, Garmin released its 2023 Fitness Report, showing that users logged 19% more activities using fitness equipment in the year, with double-digit growth in strength training, stair climbing and elliptical activities. Although strength training has dominated fitness industry discourse, Garmin’s report showed that HIIT activities soared in 2023, with a 112% year-over-year increase. Outdoor activities, such as walking, trail running and cycling, also ramped up.