Sportstech & Member News

Foxtel Media has announced a landmark expansion into the metaverse, launching the Kayo SPORTS Stadium on Roblox. The initiative marks a first-of-its-kind joint venture between Foxtel Media and gaming marketing leader Livewire, with development handled by Gamefam. In a commercial move, the AFL, Cricket Australia, and Supercars have all signed on as inaugural partners. Kayo SPORTS Stadium allows fans to interact with their favourite sports through dedicated zones, each featuring two bespoke mini-games.

The Australian Open startup program, AO Startups, has opened applications for the 8th intake of its Program. AO Startups is seeking exceptionally talented founders building groundbreaking technology across robotics in sport, live event tech, all things padel, community sports tech and anything in sport, entertainment, health or sustainability. Shortlisted founders will be interviewed by key Tennis Australia and AO Ventures executives shortly after the application phase. Applications close 11th May 2026.

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.

Broadcast coverage of the NBA is regarded as being among the most innovative in the live sports industry. The league’s national domestic broadcast partners – NBC, ESPN/ABC, and Amazon Prime Video – have all introduced a range of new on-air graphics, different camera angles, and unprecedented positions for commentators and analysts during the 2025-26 season. Through a multi-year partnership NBC Sports Regional Networks is utilising Sportradar’s GameFrame technology to enhance live coverage of the NBA. GameFrame uses AI to turn player-tracking data into on-air graphics and statistics, alongside animated replays, shot maps, and other customised digital features.

Surf Farm, the landmark surf and lifestyle destination located at the gateway to the Sunshine Coast at the Glass House Mountains, has announced Wavegarden as its official surf technology partner. With this partnership, Wavegarden is set to add a highly anticipated new world-class complex to its global network of 12 surf parks worldwide, three of them in Australia.

TidyHQ, a leading compliance and governance platform for sports organisations, has announced a partnership with the Ovens & Murray Football Netball League (OMFNL). The majority of OMFNL clubs already run their day-to-day operations on TidyHQ. However, OMFNL has now implemented TidyConnect, a solution that links the league and its clubs together on the same platform - the same source of truth.

Fencing Singapore has signed a five-year agreement with revolutioniseSPORT to support the next phase of growth and digital transformation for fencing in Singapore. As the national body for a growing community of more than 5,000 fencers, Fencing Singapore continues to invest in systems and structures that can scale with participation while maintaining strong governance and operational efficiency.

Griffith University and Swimming Australia have entered a bold new partnership to ensure the Gold Coast’s Para athletes have access to the world’s best training environment in the lead up to Brisbane 2032 and beyond. The tailored three-year program supports and elevates para athletes and aims to reduce barriers for participation and talent identification and enhance performance pathways for para athletes.

PMY Group deployed its AI-powered crowd intelligence platform, Optic, at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. The platform uses CCTV, ticketing, accreditation, point-of-sale, event management systems, and LiDAR sensors to anonymously measure crowd movement and behavior, delivering real-time data to event operators through dashboards. 

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.

Taiwan's ASPN Sports Tech Accelerator has received a record number of entries in version 3 of the program. The program received over 80 applications from 27 countries, setting a new benchmark. The final selection of startups advancing to the Kickoff Bootcamp on June 3 is expected to be announced in mid-May.

HITIA, the head impact monitoring technology and Sports Buddy's HURT injury management platform have partnered to create a connected approach to concussion care in community sport. This partnership is designed to link objective head-impact data with structured injury-management workflows, helping clubs improve incident documentation, compliance processes and player recovery tracking.

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.

Rookie Me will be hosting the 2026 Future Green & Gold nationwide talent search for the Australian Institute of Sport in Melbourne and Sydney in July. The testing events provide new and existing athletes between the ages of 13 and 23 the opportunity test their raw talent, with athletes potentially selected across16 Olympic Sports. 

Snowtunnel, the Australian startup behind revolutionary indoor skiing technology, has announced that its first facility will open in Melbourne later this year, marking a significant milestone in urban snow sports. Following the global reveal of its patented "Endless Mountain" technology, Snowtunnel has officially secured the location for its Global Headquarters and Pilot Showcase Site. Situated in Melbourne’s West, just 11 kilometres from the CBD, this facility will serve as the world’s first physical window into the future of urban snow sports.

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.

Education provider, the Australian Fitness Academy has partnered with Australian health and wellness platform 3D Measure Me to transform how personal trainers can track their clients' progress. The partnership introduces a new standard in progress tracking education, combining body measurement and composition insights with clear, visual outcomes that clients can easily understand. The 3D Measure Me app will be integrated into AFA's nationally accredited Certificate III and IV in Fitness program, as well as its internationally delivered Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) course in Singapore and Malaysia.

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.

Venues Ōtautahi, New Zealand’s largest venue, event, and culinary services management company, has deployed MyVenue’s point-of-sale (POS) solution at four venues. One New Zealand Stadium, which officially opens this weekend by hosting the Super Round of Super Rugby Pacific, will use 200 MyVenue-powered POS devices to serve fans across concessions, premium clubs, and suite locations. A further 100 devices will operate across Wolfbrook Arena, Hagley Oval, and Christchurch Town Hall.

Melbourne’s epicentre of live events, Melbourne Park, is partnering with global ticketing provider AXS to deliver a world-class ticketing experience for year-round events outside the Australian Open (AO), making it easy for fans to access world-class sport, music and entertainment. As a global ticketing provider, AXS powers the world’s most iconic venues, including The O2 in London, Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Melbourne-based basketball stats and highlights startup, Superstat, has announced that it has launched in the US. Superstat uses AI and computer vision to analyse basketball game footage, providing automated stats, highlights and insights.

Coachbetter has announced a partnership with Adelaide United Football Club and supporting their Junior Development Program. Coachbetter is the unified operating system for grassroots football clubs that connects club operations and coaching in one system. The Coachbetter solution supports the Academy's coaching staff with tools and insights that help them strengthen their programs and deliver an even greater experience for their players.

Fetch TV has announced a major expansion of its sports lineup with the launch of Unbeaten, a linear sports channel that delivers a wealth of live international action and emerging global competitions to Australian sports super-fans. Unbeaten, owned by Australian sports content company Inverleigh, delivers wall-to-wall sporting action with a primary focus on live competition across football, basketball, combat sport while offering a front-row seat to sports often under-represented in mainstream broadcasting or streaming, making it a compelling alternative for sports fans. 

‍In the world of professional soccer, a hamstring injury can derail a season, and a reinjury can be devastating. For Jamie Blair, Performance Coach for Charlotte FC Crown Legacy second team, finding a way to not just heal the injury but fundamentally correct the underlying movement flaws was essential. By integrating VueMotion into his technology suite, Jamie successfully guided a Charlotte FC player through a hamstring rehab, correcting movement patterns to ensure a rapid, robust, and lasting return to the pitch.

A new executive education program designed to shape the next generation of sports industry leaders is set to launch in June 2026, offering participants a rare blend of academic insight and real-world application at the highest level of global sport. The Executive Edge in Sport, delivered by the Global Institute of Sport (GIS) in partnership with the Rotman School of Management Executive Programs, will provide current and aspiring leaders with the tools needed to navigate an increasingly complex and rapidly evolving sports landscape.

Layercake has announced a strategic integration between its Streamcake platform and Ceeblue’s Media Fabric, a leader in real-time video streaming technology, to deliver end-to-end streaming solution combining advanced workflow automation with ultra-low latency delivery. The integration enables customers to deploy, manage and scale live video workflows with sub-second end-to-end latency. 

Layercake, the company behind the intelligent media orchestration platform Streamcake, today announced the formalisation of its integration with Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, as a core capability within its platform. By combining Bitmovin’s encoding, playback and analytics capabilities with Streamcake’s orchestration and automation engine, Layercake enables organisations to design, deploy and operate complete media workflows across the entire content lifecycle, from ingest through to delivery and playback.

Marvel Stadium and General Manager, Scott Fitzgerald, has been shortlisted for two awards in TheStadiumBusiness Awards 2026. This includes Venue of the Year (Marvel Stadium) and Executive of the Year (Scott Fitzgerald). The Venue Of The Year Award recognises the venue that deserves recognition for their outstanding performance over the past 12 months. The Executive Of The Year Award is awarded to the sports venue leader, pioneer or visionary that has consistently over-delivered.

PitchCast has announced its integration with PlayCricket, enabling enhanced digital coverage and engagement for grassroots cricket. The collaboration allows clubs and competitions to seamlessly capture, stream and share matches, providing richer data and content experiences for players, fans and administrators.

Judo Australia has partnered with specialist software and compliance firm, Safeguarding You, to launch an first for Australian sport – Charlie, an AI-powered Concussion chatbot. Charlie will empower judoka, their training partners, coaches, parents, and onlookers to ensure any suspected concussion is assessed against the CRT-6, the current protocol for determining next steps if someone has had a head knock or is simply feeling shaken or unwell.

Tiparra, the Australian digital engagement platform helping clubs, events, venues and destinations build their own branded mobile experiences, announced the release of several major new features designed to deepen audience engagement and unlock stronger commercial outcomes for sporting organisations. This includes fan offers, fan-generated content, prediction activities and flexible news feeds.

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.

ASTN will be holding a networking event in Perth on the evening of Wednesday 29th April focusing on The Future of Fan Engagement and Stadium Experience. The expert panel includes Cassandra Calleja (The Sports Networker),  Matthew O'Sullivan (Fremantle Dockers), Chris Andrich (VenuesWest) and Dr Martin Schlegel (ASTN - Australian Sports Technologies Network). The panel will explore how technology is reshaping the way fans connect with sport— inside and beyond the stadium.

Former Melbourne Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen has made his first big move since announcing his retirement from the NRL, investing in a mental performance platform. Papenhuyzen is turning his attention to business backing Optimize Mind Performance (OMP), a Sydney founded, now Boston-based, sports-tech startup that provides athletes with mental skills training resources. 

Perth Football League’s A-Grade Men’s and A-Grade Women’s competitions are set for a major upgrade, with remote camera technology from GameFace and Premier Data’s advanced analytics delivering in-depth player stats and professional-level analysis. The system will not only deliver expert, play-by-play statistical breakdowns, but also enable matches to be live-streamed directly via the Local Footy Hub platform.

Leading sports streaming technology company Layercake has won the SPORTEL Pitch Perfect Innovation Contest in Singapore, as part of the SPORTEL Conference. Layercake's solution, Streamcake, reduces infrastructure costs to ultra-low latency live event delivery for sports.

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.

WearOptimo’s hydration sensor, in the first human trial, has achieved initial proof of concept has already outperforming the clinical gold standard of blood draws. The results caught global attention and led to deeper collaboration with Rolex through its Perpetual Planet Initiative, which supports explorers, scientists and organizations creating practical solutions to global challenges. Rather than chasing the consumer market straight away, founder Mark Kendall focused on where the technology could save lives and drive change - mining, defence and elite sport.

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. 

ASTN has delivered two masterclasses to SportWest and its members in Perth. The sessions focused on educating sports organisations on the fast-evolving development of technology and AI in sport. The masterclasses introduced a roadmap to help build capacity and capability in the digital transformation journey as well as provide an overview of AI in Sports and an introduction to a responsible-use framework and AI tools.