ASTN Member News

ASTN has opened expressions-of-interest for the 17th cohort of the Accelerator Program. Queensland and Western Australian-based startups will have priority access to the program, thanks to support from Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) in Queensland and Meshpoints in Western Australia. Selected startups will receive approximately 20 hours guidance from a pool of experienced mentors, as well as dedicated workshops on themed topics including business story-telling, investment pitching, international markets and sports systems. Applications close 16th March. 

ASTN Member companies Cellr, Myriad Studios, SportsAI, SWAARM and LSKD are amongst the many exhibitors in the leadup to the NRL Games at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday, 28 February. In addition, NRL hosted player signing sessions as part of Ozfest, prize draws and ASTN and its member companies participated in the sports innovation and tech showcase.

Australian video-based swimming timing system Olly Timing, is embarking on international expansion including the UK. Olly Timing will be demonstrating at the Swim England Summit on 19th March. Olly supports organisers, officials and operators to strengthen operational resilience, manage volunteer workload and enhance the overall competition experience.

Tradable Bits, a leading provider of fan engagement, data, and marketing solutions, has announced the appointment of Mike Morris as General Manager, Asia-Pacific (APAC). Based in Melbourne, Morris will lead Tradable Bits' APAC operations and growth strategy. He will work closely with league, team, and entertainment partners to help them acquire, unify, and activate first-party and zero-party fan data to drive deeper engagement and measurable commercial outcomes.

Twinlabs.ai and myFitApp have announced a partnership that combines myFitApp’s digital member experience with TwinLabs’ AI capabilities. The collaboration is focused on helping fitness operators better understand their data, move faster, and make smarter decisions, all without adding complexity. The solution positively impacts class utilisation, staffing efficiency, and member satisfaction.

ASTN is strengthening sportstech ties between Australia and New Zealand through a new collaboration with the team behind the Grit Works Queenstown Cycling Hardware Accelerator. Designed for early-stage cycling and outdoor hardware founders, the programme supports innovators to move from concept and prototype through to manufacturing-ready, globally deployable products. Founders will also gain exposure to ASTN’s broader sportstech ecosystem across Australia - expanding networks, expertise and commercial pathways. The 11-week accelerator kicks off on 27 April and is now open for applications.

Transact + CBORD, an award-winning leader in innovative campus technology, have announced a new agreement with leading global sports and entertainment point-of-sale (POS) provider MyVenue, which will change the game for campus commerce across collegiate sporting and special events. The partnership allows students to use stored-value campus funds for concessions purchases inside stadiums, arenas, and hospitality venues.

The AFL and Telstra have announced a two-year partnership with Champion Data to trial cutting-edge Optical Tracking Technology at Marvel Stadium, representing a significant advancement in football technology and innovation. A program that is set to pioneer the way AFL stadiums could look in the future, the trial will see more than 40 cameras installed at Marvel Stadium, creating a sophisticated data capture system designed to transform multiple aspects of the game.

Emma Thomson, Founder of Pitch It up, has been announced as a recipient of a 2026 Brisbane Lord Mayor's Women in Business Grant. Pitch It up have developed a unique light-weight balls are safe for players and students of all ages, including All Abilities participants with neurodiverse and physical disabilities. The Pitch It Up training aid that can be adapted to suit every player's individual skill level, and can be safely used at home, in the park, at the cricket nets, in schools and in clubs. Pitch It Up are expanding their portfolio to include an audible ball allowing vision-impaired students and players to train safely at home.

Active Education Australia and the Sports Excellence Scholarship Fund (SESF) have announced a national collaboration, united by a shared commitment to supporting active, healthy lives for young people across Australia. This partnership champions access, opportunity, and equity in sport, health, and physical activity for young people. By sharing networks, platforms, and communication channels, the partnership aims to amplify impact and create clearer pathways for young people to stay engaged in sport and physical activity.

LX Health is strengthening its SportsTech focus for 2026 through a partnership with the National Rugby League (NRL), reinforcing the LuminaX HealthTech Accelerator’s commitment to technologies operating at the intersection of health, performance, and elite sport. For the 2026 cohort, LuminaX will continue supporting startups across injury prevention, concussion and brain health, recovery and rehabilitation, performance analytics, wearable technology, digital health platforms, and athlete wellbeing. 

PlayHQ, a global leader in competition management platforms, and Rugby Canada have announced a strategic partnership set to modernize registration infrastructure and unlock player development insights across Canadian rugby. The partnership provides Rugby Canada and provincial organizations an integrated platform that will consolidate provincial operations into one unified view, giving administrators the tools to manage registrations, compliance, competitions, and communications from a single interface.

Melbourne-based AI sports tracking platform Superstat has officially been announced as one of 19 startups in the Startmate Accelerator program (Summer 2026). Startmate has invested $AUD 2.28 million in the cohort, giving each startup $120,000 for a 7% stake. Superstat delivers automated stats and actionable insights, not just numbers, helping teams strengthen what works, fix what doesn’t and giving clubs an unfair, game winning advantage.

The Groundbreakers Challenge is a global open‑innovation call designed to connect the most promising sport‑tech startups with real industry challenges from leading sports organizations. In this edition, through GSIC’s proven methodology and PEAK Conference’s world‑class stage, selected startups gain the opportunity to pitch live in Las Vegas, engage directly with decision‑makers, and unlock potential pilot collaborations that can accelerate their impact worldwide. Deployable products and solutions across fan engagement, media tech and sponsorship, venue management and athlete performance. Applications close 15 March.

Basketball Australia has unveiled its revolutionary Coach Development Framework this week, establishing flexible coaching pathways designed to support basketball mentors nationwide from grassroots to elite levels. The Framework blends online modules, face-to-face sessions, practical experience, and self-directed learning, providing coaching education to suit any location or schedule. Basketball Australia has partnered with etrainu and their online education platform as well as Coach Logic where coaches receive feedback and actionable advice on their development.

The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN), announced new agreements with the Queensland Government’s Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) and the Department of Sport, Racing and Olympic and Paralympic Games (DSROPG), to deliver a program of work aimed at strengthening Queensland’s sportstech and sports innovation ecosystem. The initiative aligns with Queensland’s broader innovation, economic development and legacy objectives as the State continues to build momentum toward the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and reinforces Queensland’s position as a nationally and internationally relevant hub for sports innovation.

ASTN has announced two major international engagement opportunities in March and April 2026. These initiatives are designed to elevate Australian sportstech companies on the global stage, open new pathways into international markets, and strengthen Australia’s presence across the sports innovation ecosystem. ASTN and its delegation will be part of SPORTEL Singapore 24-25 March and PEAK Conference in Las Vegas 20-22 April. Exclusive opportunities, including exhibiting within the 'ASTN hub' at PEAK and priority access to participate in SPORTEL's Pitch Perfect competition, will be provided to delegates. 

Professional Australian baseball team, the Adelaide Giants, identified the value in digitising the fan experience and partnered with Cellr to design and deploy a multi-layered strategy that amplified engagement, attendance, and revenue. Cellr provided expertise and insights to strategically support the Adelaide Giants vision, and rapidly deployed the Cellr platform to support 4 key activations fan engagement, CRM growth and attendance lift.

Minimis is consolidating the $US 20 billlion wearables market by merging the sports watch and bike computer into a standalone head-up display sunglasses. Minimis Flow will let runners and cyclists track and see everything they need within a lightweight pair of sports sunglasses, without dependence on any other device. The glasses will be fully standalone with a built-in optical heart rate tracker, ANT+ chip, GPS, eSIM and more. This enables athletes to leave their phones at home and make calls on the go. The funding round was backed by Entrepreneur VC, technical leadership from Microsoft HoloLens and a US track cycling champion.

The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN), in partnership with LIV Golf, delivered a ASTN & LIV Golf Sportstech Showcase & Industry Event in Adelaide on 10th February, celebrating South Australia’s growing sports innovation and technology ecosystem. Held in the lead-up to LIV Golf Adelaide, the event brought together leaders from sport, technology, data, media, startups, investment and government to explore how innovation is shaping elite performance, fan engagement and the future of professional sport. Panelists included leaders from LIV Golf, Champion Data and the Adelaide Crows FC.

Volleyball NSW has announced a new partnership with Club Ducks, aimed at supporting Premier League clubs with a modern tool to better manage their current and future sponsors. Through the partnership, Premier League clubs will gain access to Club Ducks’ sponsorship management platform, a purpose-built resource designed to help clubs organise, maintain, and grow their sponsorship and partner relationships. The platform enables clubs to track existing sponsors and deliverables, while also providing tools to create professional pitch decks that can be used to attract new commercial partners. 

Nine new companies have joined Tennis Australia's AO StartUps, strengthening theircommitment to AI enabled innovation across sport and major events. The new cohort includes VueMotion, Bettercup, CRED, Bronco, truefuels, National Pickleball League, Aircast, RootNote and Outcoach. This reflects the program’s commitment to shaping the future of sport, sustainability, fan engagement and performance through real world experimentation at the Australian Open. A total of 41 startups have piloted their solutions with AO Startups over the last 4 years.

ESG Perform has launched a game-changing platform to help companies benchmark their reporting of Environmental, Social and Governance performance. ESG Perform have built a platform comprised of 23 measurable elements as a benchmark for companies to measure performance.

PBR Australia, in partnership with SportsAI, has announced the official launch of the Watch PBR Australia LIVE app for the 2026 Monster Energy Tour season. This platform builds on traditional livestream viewing and redefines how fans connect and engage with live sport and its athletes, delivering a fully immersive 360° virtual reality experience, live from inside the arena. The app blends live sport, immersive technology and interactive viewing.

Volleyball WA has announced a new partnership with FrogBox, an Australian sports technology company that connects sporting communities through accessible and shareable video. FrogBox will introduce its live-streaming technology to the sport, allowing matches to be easily broadcast, shared and accessed by athletes, officials, supporters and the wider community. The partnership will be piloted at the Alcohol. Think Again Beach Tour (ATABT) WA Open 2026.

The Japan Australian Sports & Health Innovation Exchange (JASHIE), which is hosting a series of events in Queensland from 16-20 March, is offering Australian sportstech and healthtech startups the opportunities to pitch to one of Japan's leading sports businesses, Mizuno Corporation. Mizuno is actively seeking partners developing technologies in two interest areas including mental training, running, smart arenas, exercise performance visualisation, body temperature, sleep and body odour. ASTN is a partner in the JASHIE program, and is promoting the program to its member-base.  

Nominees for the fourth Sports Business Tech Awards have been announced, with South Australian company, MyVenue nominated in the category for Venue and Franchise Operations Technology. Spanning eight different categories, the 46 finalists were selected by the Sport Business Journal (SBJ) in-house judging committees for their innovation, creativity, organizational excellence, industry influence, and leadership over the past year. External judging panels will now determine the winners, who will be revealed on May 18 at the Hard Rock Hotel in New York City. 

Melbourne-based sports technology company PlayHQ has entered a binding agreement to be acquired by Alpine Software Group (ASG), marking a significant cross-border transaction in the global sports and recreation technology sector. The acquisition will see PlayHQ become part of ASG’s growing portfolio of vertical SaaS businesses. ASG has acquired more than 45 software companies since 2016, focusing on scalable platforms serving highly specific industry sectors. The PlayHQ platform manages registrations, payments, competition administration and game-day operations, having processed more than 11 million registrations and scheduled 3.1 million games.

Manchester City has today launched CityCoach, a new coaching content platform designed to support coaches across the world with access to high-quality learning material based on the Club’s coaching methodology. Available through the coachbetter.com app, CityCoach brings together elements of Manchester City’s coaching expertise and modern digital innovation to deliver a rich, structured learning experience for coaches across the world.

The start-ups for the 2026 edition of UEFA's Champions Innovate, which will focus on grassroots football, have now been chosen. CoachMate, a sports education content delivery platform, has been selected as one of four startups for this year's program. Champions Innovate is a programme created to address modern, meaningful, and relevant challenges identified by UEFA and the host national association of the UEFA Champions League final. In 2026, the UEFA Champions League final will take place in Budapest, and the Champions Innovate programme will shine a spotlight on the beating heart of the game: grassroots football. ASTN member 

Layercake, an Australian digital engineering company and Oracle partner, announced that its media orchestration and automation platform, Streamcake, can now run on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). This provides Layercake’s customers with greater choice to help them drive innovation and digital excellence. Streamcake enables media companies, broadcasters, sports organisations, and other live event producers to unify broadcast production, digital streaming, and operations automation on a single, highly scalable cloud platform. 

PlayHQ and Cricket Scotland have announced a new partnership that will transform how club and community cricket operates across Scotland. The collaboration will see the existing player registration and live scoring data systems merge, streamlining domestic cricket operations with a unified competition and membership management platform.

The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has today been announced as a member of the newly activated Trade Diversification Network (TDN), a national initiative bringing government and industry closer together to support Australian exporters to diversify and grow into new international markets. The announcement was made by Senator the Hon. Don Farrell, Minister for Trade and Tourism, and is being delivered as part of the $AUD 50 million Accessing New Markets Initiative, led by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade). Following a competitive application process, 40 national peak industry bodies from across Australia have been selected to participate in the Network.

An inbound sports and health delegation will visit Queensland from 16-20 March led by the Japan–Australia Sports & Health Innovation Exchange (JASHIE). JASHIE aims to connect, grow, and sustain an innovation ecosystem between both countries—accelerating technology development, fostering partnerships, and driving economic and social impact. The delegation is powered by Mizuno and Nakanoshima Qross, and supported by the ASTN and Invest Gold Coast. Expressions-of-interest are open to both Australian and Japanese companies to participate in the delegation in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Fastbreak AI has teamed up with XV as its exclusive partner in Australia and New Zealand. Fastbreak’s AI-powered platform is already trusted by the AFL, NRL and 60+ major global leagues including the NBA and NHL. The partnership expands Fastbreak AI’s presence in the Australia and NZ region with a strong professional sports footprint, an exciting roadmap of major and annual events, and a fast-growing youth sports market.

USA Cycling has announced a four-year partnership with GymAware, a global leader in velocity-based training technology. GymAware’s products are widely regarded as the gold standard, backed by over 23 years of legacy in the field. As part of this collaboration, GymAware has recently provided weight room performance monitoring equipment to support the USA Cycling track sprint team in Carson, California. The partnership will give track sprint athletes and coaches access to real-time data and insights to inform daily training and support individualized programs designed to optimize performance.

Australian-founded VueMotion is transforming athlete care and performance through accessible, AI-powered movement intelligence. As part of AO StartUps, VueMotion will pilot their cutting-edge biomechanics platform with Tennis Australia’s National Academy to elevate the performance of the next generation of stars.

Advance Queensland have acknowledged the outstanding achievement of Queensland Government-supported businesses at the Australian and New Zealand Sports Technology Awards (ANZSTA) and the 2025 Australia Sports Tech Conference in October. Three Queensland companies were category winners at the ANZSTA Awards - GravityFit, BoostAR and Anti Ordinary. Another five Queensland companies were finalists including Fempro Armour, tagSpace, Talk All Sport, Valor Esports and SportsAI.

ASTN members, Bodd (3D body scanning company) and Pitch Up (Facility booking tool), have been selected to take part in the Australian Sports Commission’s (ASC) virtual innovation hub, The Park, which is setting out to explore cutting-edge solutions to some of the sector’s biggest challenges. A total of five companies have been selected including previous ASTN Pre-Accelerator participant, Safeguarding You as well as HITIQ and Sports Velocity Systems.

Champion Data has announced a new partnership with the PGA of Australia and Golf Australia as the official broadcast graphics provider for the PGA Tour of Australasia. The Champion Data team is delivering a purpose-built, elevated broadcast graphics package crafted exclusively for Golf Australia, rolling out across 20 Golf tournaments throughout the 2025/2026 schedule.