Sportstech & Member News

Omni Biotech has today announced its investment from Skalata Ventures. Skalata has joined forces with the team led by founders Zac Farrow and Willem Poot to improve global health outcomes with immediate, actionable health metrics on devices they already own. Starting with a world-first hydration metric Omni is bringing elite-level monitoring into the mainstream.

Digital workout app Ladder closed a $US 12m Series A round led by Tapestry VC and LivWell Ventures. To date, the company’s focus on personalized, progressive strength training programs has helped it differentiate from general fitness or cardio-centric apps, reaching 50K+ paying members.

Sportable has announced that it has a raised $US 15m investment round from investors including South African-based venture firm HAVAIC, US-based Ryan Ventures and Australian fund XV Capital led by Stirling Mortlock and James Godfrey. Sportable deploys Micro-Tracking (MT) technology to enhance data collection and analysis in ball and contact sports, particularly rugby, soccer, and American football. 

Brisbane Roar have partnered with AQUAME to provide A-League Men and A-League Women high-tech water bottles, delivering them the best day-to-day hydration as professional footballers. AQUAME is a tech-integrated water bottle, offering UVC sanitation, drink reminders, and real-time tracking, all guided by an AI-enhanced app for optimal hydration.  

Teamworks has announce its latest partnership in the National Rugby League (NRL) with the Melbourne Storm signing a multi-year Hub & Smartabase agreement. Identifying Teamworks as an integral partner to continue delivering sustained success, Hub & Smartabase will allow the Storm to streamline operations and centralize medical data in one tech stack.

The sports industry in general has strong tailwinds with new capital coming in from multiple directions: Increased VC / PE activity, Big Tech, Sovereign nations / Family office wealth. The overall cautious investor sentiment has manifested itself in an interesting way for SportsTech startups. 2023 was the lowest year for Sportstech investment hat we’ve seen since 2015, will top out around $US2 billion. But it's been the highest year for M&A dealflow that we’ve ever seen, projected to cross $US11 billion.

KORE has announced that they have partnered with with Tennis Australia and the flagship Australian Open. Tennis Australia will use KORE's AI-powered Evaluate Social tool which will be pivotal in optimizing their social media impact, enabling smarter content decisions, and quantifying the value of owned and earned posts across the Summer of Tennis.

ProtectedSeas Navigator, the world’s most comprehensive database of marine life protections and their boundaries, has announced a new partnership with Deckee to make its environmental information freely available to boaters in an easy-to-use mobile app for the first time. Used by over a quarter of a million boaters so far, Deckee helps deliver the best possible boating experience by providing every boater – whether beginner or experienced – with the tools, insights and products they need to be smarter, safer, and enjoy themselves on the water.  

Endeavor Streaming, a global leader in premium video distribution and monetization across sports, entertainment, media, and lifestyle, has partnered with LiveLike, a leading audience engagement suite, to bring new fan engagement features to EuroLeague TV. The partnership includes an interactive experience within The Players’ View content that will enable viewers to feel closer to the action and engage with the commentators through a suite of features such as quizzes, polls, cheer meters and more.

The Premier League sold four years of UK broadcast rights for £6.7 billion, mostly to its biggest existing partners Sky Sports and TNT Sports, in a deal that cements its position as Europe’s most lucrative sports franchise. The price amounts to a 4% increase from the previous cycle, just for the live events, according to the league. The rights run from the 2025 to 2028 seasons.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Prime Video today announced a four-year deal to provide exclusive live broadcast rights in Australia for ICC cricket, which will be available on Prime Video Australia. The partnership will see Prime Video Australia exclusively stream all men’s and women’s events, including the Men’s and Women’s Cricket World Cups, T20 World Cups, Champions Trophy, U19s and the World Test Championship Final. The deal includes streaming rights in Australia for 448 live games from 2024 to 2027.

Bond University has partnered with Fempro Armour a Queensland company to develop cutting-edge protective body armour designed specifically for the female body. Fempro Armour uses patented impact absorption technology to reduce the force of contact to vulnerable areas identified in extensive research into common injuries to female athletes.

One of one of Australia’s fastest-growing sports tech startups, PlayHQ, is excited to announce a new partnership with New Zealand Cricket. The move follows a successful partnership between PlayHQ and Cricket Australia, and sees NZC join a raft of major sports across Australia and New Zealand who have turned to PlayHQ to streamline their community competition and program management.

Racing and Sports is pleased to announce it has signed a multi-year contract with Playbook Engineering to supply pre-race data and pricing services across Playbook’s platform brands. The three-year contract is to be the exclusive supplier of RAS’s best-in-class wagering technology solution, racing data and editorial content.

Guy Bracher is leaving the Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) after working with Australia’s sportstech startups and scaleups in the early ASTN days and again for the last two years.

The founders of real-time gym analytics platform, Barbell Mate, have just launched an affordable timing gate platform called Timing Mate for the high performance sports market.

Sport tech enterprise Crionet has acquired a majority stake in LIGR, a company offering cloud-based graphics, streaming and highlights solutions for sports at all levels. Founded in 2016 in Sydney, Australia, LIGR is renowned for providing cloud-based live graphics solutions for sports broadcasts. The company already delivers solutions across a diverse spectrum of sports around the world, including American football, soccer, rugby, basketball and tennis.

Hang Media has completed a $9.2 million Series A funding round. HANG will use the proceeds to accelerate product development and audience growth, expanding its leadership position in the direct-to-consumer sports media category. HANG enables fans to mingle with their heroes on livestreams across YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch.

Global gaming marketing leader Livewire is today launching Gameview, a new adtech platform providing a one-stop access point for marketers wanting to reach gamers. The new platform combines exclusive gaming media, sophisticated targeting and real-time effectiveness metrics with a creative studio.

Online sports betting operator Picklebet has secured $AUD 15m in a Series A funding round. DraftKings’ multi-stage venture capital firm Drive by DraftKings took part in the round. Last year, Picklebet entered into a two-year deal with Racing and Sports (RAS). The deal saw RAS provide its risk managed trading service to Picklebet’s racing offering.

South Australian entrepreneurs Kayla Itsines and Tobi Pearce will once again lead the SWEAT fitness empire they founded, after buying back the company they sold to US firm iFIT in 2021. Itsines, who has been the face of the brand since she and Pearce founded the company in 2015, said on Tuesday the decision to take back control is about “ensuring the best future for Sweat”. The price of the acquisition has not been disclosed.

ECAL has announced its new collaboration with the Frost Bank Center, the home of the San Antonio Spurs, to bring a slick and sophisticated digital calendar experience to basketball fans and concert goers. This partnership is yet another significant integration for ECAL, the world’s leading calendar marketing platform, designed to boost ticket sales, enhance customer engagement, and elevate the event experience for venues and stadia.

AllTrails, the world's largest and most trusted outdoor platform, was awarded iPhone App of the Year by Apple, celebrating its outstanding approach to helping people explore the outdoors. The 2023 App Store Awards spotlight app and game developers who are providing users with meaningful experiences and inspiring cultural change. Out of nearly two million apps in the App Store, AllTrails is recognized as the iPhone App of the Year for its innovative experience, user-friendly design, and, according to Apple, "for helping the world find their way outside."

PMY Group (PMY) is proud to announce that its Founder and CEO, Paul Yeomans, has been recognised as a National Finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 Australia awards. This prestigious nomination places him among an elite group of innovative entrepreneurs across the country. Under Paul's visionary leadership, PMY has emerged as a global leader in transforming major venues and events through cutting-edge technology.

The MyVenue POS solution's impact on the global sports and entertainment venue sector was recognized last night, with MyVenue winning a national category at the Australian Export Awards. “In just over 18 months, 75+ stadiums, arenas, and other major hospitality venues have deployed MyVenue’s point of sale solution in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia,” said CEO Tim Stollznow.

The world of sports and entertainment is about to witness a remarkable event, Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL) presented by JetSynthesys. GEPL will be streamed on JioCinema and Sports18, reaching millions of viewers daily. GEPL opens doors to cricket, video gaming and e-sports enthusiasts, offering a magnificent prize pool of INR 2.51 crore (US $300k).

Australia’s most popular destination for sporting goods, rebel, is opening the doors to its new flagship store at Emporium Melbourne on Thursday, 30 November. The flagship store has been designed to be a hyper-immersive sporting and fitness experience, boasting a NBA-sized ‘Stephen Curry Rooftop Court’ half-court, a dedicated Yoga and Wellness zone and the ‘rebel FIT LAB’; with 3D scanning and pressure plate technology to help customers find their perfect fit. The space also includes interactive digital games in a Football Zone, including AFL game ‘Take The Mark and soccer games ‘Top Bins’ and ‘Match the Footy.’

HITIQ has extended its relationship with the Western Australian Football Commission (WAFC), further cementing HITIQ's leadership in the Australian Football community. WAFC acknowledges that the precision and reliability of the data collected by HITIQ mouthguards has been instrumental in their approach to player performance and welfare. 

PlayerMaker have announced the University of Wollongong will be using their boot sensor technology in enhancing both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in exercise and sports science.

Diamond Kinetics and Marucci Sports have launched the The CATX Smart baseball bat. It's the first-ever fully-integrated Smart Bat approved by USSSA for in-game use. It features a Diamond Kinetics Gen-4 bat sensor built into the knob, that does not require charging. The CATX Smart seamlessly connects to the DK app on an iOS device via Bluetooth, providing hitters with real-time data on every swing - in-game or in the cage.

At a time when Artificial Intelligence is transforming the sports industry at an unprecedented pace, Founderz and GSIC (Global Sports Innovation Center powered by Microsoft) introduce their groundbreaking Online Program in AI in Sports. The program, to which you can already pre-enroll, is available from today to start learning in February 2024, is launching at a critical time: the global AI in sports market is expected to grow to $16 billion by 2030.

Following a competitive tender process, Sportsnet, Canada’s #1 sports network, has selected Sportradar to deliver innovative, data-driven content that creates a more immersive experience for sports fans in the North American region. Viewers can anticipate the seamless inclusion of real-time statistics, player information and advanced data sets into Sportsnet broadcasts, all made possible through Sportradar’s OnAir service. 

Tech Mahindra, a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting and business re-engineering services and solutions, announced it has collaborated with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build a sports cloud platform. The offering focuses on building next-generation digital capabilities for sports organizations, and delivering immersive and personalized experiences to sporting enthusiasts worldwide. 

The Peach Belt Conference today announced that the league has entered into a partnership with Linius Technologies Limited to provide Linius Whizzard, an automated video highlights, content curation, and video personalization solution, to its 10 member institutions.  The partnership is the first in the United States for Linius which is based in Melbourne, Australia.

The team behind runna, the world’s #1 rated personalised running coaching app that launched in 2021, has closed its latest venture capital round having raised £5 million. The coaching app uses advanced technology combined with real-world running and strength and conditioning plans and workouts from top running coaches to personalise every user’s experience based on their ability, goals and schedule.

Strava is introducing a new feature called Flyover, which allows users to replay their activities via a 3D video map. Flyover is powered by Fatmap, a 3D mapping platform that Strava acquired earlier this year.

The Collective® – the women-focused practice within Wasserman, a global leader in sports, music, entertainment and culture – released today a new study substantiating the growing media representation and cultural impact of women’s sports in the context of the larger sports media ecosystem. A key figure revealed that women’s sports comprise on average 15% of total sports media coverage, with increased content notably driven by the growth of streaming and social media.

The Brisbane 2032 infrastructure program will be funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments under the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Intergovernmental Agreement. The $7 billion-plus infrastructure program will reshape some of Queensland’s most significant venues and precincts, leaving a legacy for the community well after 2032. On 24 November 2023, it was announced that the Project Validation Report (PVR) Summary ( 1.3 MB), and design and construction procurement will now begin

SportBusiness’ newly published Global Media Report 2023 reveals the combined worldwide media rights value of all sports properties has climbed to $US 55.986bn over the last 12 months, up 2.4 per cent from $US 54.698bn in 2022. The value is expected to pass $60bn for the first time in 2024 as the return of the Olympic Games and Uefa European Championship add weight to the total.

In the competitive world of health and fitness technology, cutting-edge body composition technology innovator Evolt 360 is fast-tracking its global expansion via significant new partnerships with Goodlife Fitness Canada, Matrix Fitness and Jetts Australia. GoodLife Fitness Canada is a behemoth of the Canadian fitness scene and the fourth largest globally with 650,000 members across 200 clubs and a team of over 13,000 associates. Evolt 360 is set to play a pivotal role in enhancing GoodLife’s offering with its innovative body composition monitoring technology to be used as a personal training assessment tool to inform customised training plans for GoodLife members.

Emerging from the collaboration of Dorilton Capital and Williams Racing, FanCapital plans to partner with premier athletes and teams to build the largest sports vertical audience and incremental monetization platform. FanCapital has announced that Formula 1 driver, Alex Albon, has joined as client #2 and will play a pivotal role on the company's advisory board.

Olympic legend, Cathy Freeman OAM, has today officially opened the Blacktown City Council’s new Blacktown Exercise, Sports and Technology (BEST) Hub. The newly constructed $100 million facility was fully-funded by Council and sits within the Blacktown International Sports Park – venue for the Sydney 2000 Olympics softball and baseball competitions.

GameDay, powered by Stack Sports and in conjunction with Stack Team App, have partnered with Cricket Hong Kong, China to create a streamlined database and communication framework for their High-Performance Pathways division. The project is designed to ultimately enhance the digital experience of pathway players and track their engagement throughout their journey from developing to high performance athletes, while also providing a valuable cloud-based resource for cricket administrators across the pathway programmes.

The NFL today announced the HealthTECH Challenge I, a crowd-sourced challenge to accelerate innovations that can help make playing surfaces more consistent and safer for players. HealthTECH Challenge I will provide up to $100,000 to entrants with ideas that further improve the safety and consistency of playing surfaces. Submissions close 20 February 2024.

The NCAA's Big Ten Conference and Big Ten Network today announced a groundbreaking partnership with Greenfly, the leading platform for short-from content capture, organization, and distribution, to power the flow of digital media assets for thousands of Big Ten student-athletes. The multi-year partnership will allow the conference to provide student-athletes across 14 member institutions sophisticated access to tailored content they can leverage to build their brands.

The Global Wellness Institute has valued the Physical Activity market at $US976 billion, and is expected to grow to $US1.4 trillion by 2027. Beyond gyms, the Global Wellness Institute breaks the industry into six sectors: fitness, mindful movement, recreational sports, tech, apparel, and equipment. Fitness tech (including wearables and workout apps) has grown most rapidly, becoming a $US64 billion market in its own right. Right behind, apparel/footwear and equipment have surpassed pre-pandemic values, worth $US372 billion and $US 137.5 billion, respectively.

Sports social media monitor, Shunt, has today released its latest measures of Australia's sports social media landscape.  A total of 150 leagues across eight sports or codes including the AFL, AFLW, NRL, Netball, Basketball, Football, Rugby and Cricket. Where the NSW NPL has built a massive audience in excess of 100K, NBL1 is punching out a staggering 7 plus posts per day so far in 2023. Checkout what league, association and geographic region from eight sports around the country was the Facebook Audience Allstar, Publishing Pro, Fan Favourite and Performance Powerhouse from Jan-Oct 2023.

Announced in September 2023, Rosterfy will be working with not-for-profit organisation, Disability Sports Australia, to streamline and manage their impressive national network of volunteers and 70 come-and-try events. Disability Sports Australia (DSA) is one of Australia’s nine (9) National Sporting Organisations for people with disability with a focus on enabling more Australians with disability to be active more often. The platform officially went live in mid-November 2023 and volunteers can now register directly with DSA on the Rosterfy plaform.

Ahead CES 2024, NASDAQ-listed Vuzix, a supplier of Smart Glasses and Augmented Reality (AR) technology announced the expansion of its Ultralite OEM Platform with its new Ultralite S AR smart glasses aimed at sports and fitness users. The Vuzix Ultralite S, has been named a CES® 2024 Innovation Awards winner in the Wearable Technologies and Sports & Fitness categories.

With an innovative approach towards increasing member engagement, gym brand World Gym Australia has joined forces with the Australian health tech innovator Coach Welly. The alliance promises to personalise member experiences using AI, aimed at strengthening customer loyalty and satisfaction.