Sportstech & Member News

ASTN has once again represented Australia’s sports technology ecosystem in Taiwan through a long-standing partnership with the IAPS NYCU Accelerator. With a record-breaking 87 applications from 27 countries, competition was stronger than ever. Three ASTN member companies have been selected for the final accelerator cohort, highlighting the quality and global competitiveness of Australian sportstech innovation. This includes Minimis, SportsBox and Aircast. ASTN COO Amy Crosland joined international industry leaders in Taipei for the ASPN Sports Tech Accelerator Batch 3 Kickoff Bootcamp.

The Japan Australia Sports & Health Innovation Exchange (JASHIE) has opened expressions-of-interest to join their 2026 Delegation from 9–13 November 2026. The five-day program will take participants to Tokyo, Osaka and Awaji Island, connecting Australian organisations with leading Japanese innovators across sport, health, technology and beyond. The Delegation gives provides access to industry leaders, curated networking, and business matching opportunities - building partnerships ahead of Brisbane 2032. The Delegation is supported by Trade & Investment Queensland, NTT Data, Mizuno, Nakanoshima Qross and JA Network.

PMY Group will be supporting the New York Mets as they map fan movement and behavior across Citi Field and its surrounding precinct. With a multi-billion-dollar transformation taking shape around the Ballpark, understanding how fans navigate the venue and broader area has never been more critical. PMY's real-time intelligence platform, Optic, will guide the Mets with visibility into fan flow, mode share, communication effectiveness, and arrival and departure patterns across every event at the Ballpark.

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.

According to Drake Star's Q1 2026 Report a total of $US 130 billion sportstech-related deals were complete across 239 transactions in the first 3 months of 2026. This included $US115 billion in mergers and acquisitions, $US 2.9 billion in private financing and $US 4 billion-plus in new sports-focused fund formation. The themes shaping the next wave of activity include prediction markets, wearables & performance tech, youth sports infrastructure, and next-gen fan engagement formats.  

ASTN members TidyHQ, Clubland, Coachbetter, SportsCloud Australia and Spawtz will be part of the ' Transforming Sport Through Technology' stream at the 2026 National Sports Convention (NSC). Focused on “The Next Generation”, the stream will explore how technology, AI and digital innovation are rapidly reshaping sport, from participation and fan engagement through to performance, facility planning, governance and commercial growth.

Independent integrated marketing and communications agency Bastion has partnered with digital risk and online reputation management platform Social Protect to launch a new solution designed to make creator-led marketing safer, more sustainable and more effective for brands and talent alike. The new partnership responds to growing industry concerns around brand safety, toxic comment environments, reputational risk and creator burnout as investment in influencer and creator marketing continues to surge.

ASTN member CoachMate presented in front of the National Football Associations of Europe at the UEFA Champions Innovate showcase in Hungary, in the lead-up to the Champions League final recently. Throughout the 2025/26 season, UEFA, the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ), UEFA grassroots partner EA SPORTS FC and four start-up companies (including CoachMate) have worked together to enhance grassroots football environments across Hungary, with the shared goal of scaling successful initiatives across Europe.

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.

The German Football Association (DFB) is acquiring a stake in Coachbetter and becoming a strategic shareholder. With this investment, the world's largest sports federation – with more than eight million members and over 24,000 clubs – is partnering with Coachbetter to expand the digital infrastructure for amateur football. Coachbetter is the leading platform for club and team management in football.

The Global Institute of Sport recently hosted a masterclass on Fan Engagement and Marketing, bringing together two industry leaders to tackle the field’s most pressing issues. The Global Institute of Sport (GIS), which offers a Master’s in Sports Business and Sports Analytics through the University of Newcastle, regularly holds masterclasses with industry leaders as part of its curriculum. The latest focused on fan engagement and marketing, covering two key themes: the growing tension between live sport and online streaming, and the role of data in shaping the fan experience.

HITIQ has executed a non-dilutive grant agreement with the Victorian Government, supporting the company’s continued expansion of advanced manufacturing, research and development, and global commercial growth from its Victorian headquarters. HITIQ has announced the formal execution of a Grant Agreement with the Victorian Government, marking an important step in the company’s strategy to scale its brain health technology platform from Victoria.

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.

Coachbetter, a Switzerland-based sports technology company, has secured $US 8.2 million in pre-Series A funding. Coachbetter is a SaaS platform focused on modernizing the operational infrastructure of amateur and youth soccer clubs. The company will use the funding to expand its engineering and product teams, enhance platform functionality, strengthen collaborations with professional soccer organizations, and scale into new international markets and club structures. 

Sport Tech Hubs are architects of bespoke digital environments that drive measurable growth in sport and fitness. They use technology as a gateway to accessibility, inclusion, amazing experiences, injury prevention and high level coaching & performance. Sport Tech Hub have welcomed Hudl and Sports Performance Tracking as part of the ever growing suite of sporting technology that schools will be able to utilise in their sporting programs and facilities. This continues their mission to find the leaders in industry and allow teachers, coaches and student access to the best technology on offer.

The Darwin and Districts Cricket Competition has partnered with MyClubtap to launch a free fantasy cricket competition for the upcoming season, with separate leagues for the A-Grade Men's and Div-1 Women's competitions. The DDCC Fantasy competition is supported by RNS Australia, a premium cricket gear brand looking to expand its footprint in the Northern Territory.

Basketball New Zealand has re-signed with CoachMate, the sports education platform that transforms volunteer-led coaching and team management into insightful, easy, and fun experiences. The renewed partnership marks an exciting next step for both organisations as they continue working together to support coaches, volunteers, clubs, associations, schools, and communities across Aotearoa with practical digital tools and quality coaching resources.

The Australian Football League (AFL) and clubs have renewed and expanded their partnership with Tradable Bits, selecting the company's fan data platform to power digital fan engagement across both the AFL and AFLW. Following a competitive RFP process, Tradable Bits was selected to continue as the league's fan engagement partner, reinforcing a long-standing relationship that began in 2019.

Australian sports broadcasting solutions company, Layercake, has recently won the Pitch Perfect Innovation Contest at SPORTEL Singapore. The win validated two key things for Layercake - first, that the industry recognises the fragmentation problem across sports distribution, and second, that there’s real appetite for infrastructure that simplifies it. With a focus on Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Layercake is witnessing a clear shift from rigid, long-term distribution models to more flexible, event-driven and audience-first strategies.

EngageRM has announced a new partnership with the Everett Silvertips, bringing their platform to one of North America’s leading junior hockey organisations. By bringing memberships, partnerships and fan engagement into one system, EngageRM are helping the Silvertips simplify day-to-day operations, unlock new commercial opportunities and strengthen the connection with their fanbase.

Queensland-based female protective wear company, Fempro Armour, has featured as part of News Corp's 'Back Australia' series. The campaign focuses on backing Australian companies that design and manufacturer in Australia. The campaign showcases Fempro Armour's work in creating female-specific cricket body armour. Fempro's upcoming Vanguard Cricket System has been developed specifically for female cricketers, combining impact protection with integrated apparel to improve comfort, stability, and confidence in play.

Aircast has been named the Grand Prize Winner of the 2026 Golfweek Tech Lab, recognised at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club for innovation that is redefining how live sport is delivered to fans. The Golfweek Tech Lab brought together a curated field of the most forward-looking startups in the business of golf, evaluated by a panel of industry judges and event attendees across categories spanning broadcast, fan engagement, performance, and operations. The platform delivers live video at 0.3 second latency over shared and wireless networks. Fans can switch camera angles, pull up alternate feeds, and follow the action across a sprawling course in real time, without the lag that has defined "second-screen".

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.

ASTN Members InSquare, Minimis, SportsBox and Aircast have been selected for the first stage of the new ASPN Sports Tech Accelerator in Taiwan. Supported by the Ministry of Sports, this year's applications reached a record-breaking high, with 86 sport-tech startups from 27 countries joining us from Taiwan and around the world. 

Minister Dimopoulos has announced the first step towards LaunchVic and Breakthrough Victoria coming together to create Innovation Victoria. Since its establishment, LaunchVic has helped Victoria’s startup ecosystem grow nearly 20-fold. It’s now home to 4,400 startups valued at $AUD 139 billion. Breakthrough Victoria has committed $AUD 497 million across 91 investments, attracting $AUD 1.4 billion in co-investment, helping shape the state’s economic future. Innovation Victoria will provide the capability uplift, connections and capital pathways to accelerate the commercialisation from idea to growth, scale and global opportunity.

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.

TwinLabs.ai helped Total Fitness use AI-powered digital twin technology to analyse how members actually used gym spaces and equipment. The insights revealed stronger-than-expected demand for strength and functional training areas, leading Total Fitness to redesign layouts, optimise equipment allocation, and improve member experience. The success of the pilot has prompted a broader rollout across its gym network.

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.

Greater Sum Ventures (GSV) has announced a majority investment in Tapin2, a leading provider of self-service, suite catering, and mobile ordering technology for sports and entertainment venues. The transaction marks GSV’s second major investment in the live venue technology space, following its majority investment in MyVenue, the cloud-native point-of-sale platform, one year ago.

A total of twelve Irish Sportstech companies are heading to Australia and New Zealand to meet with sports organisations, partners and investors across the region. Organised by Enterprise Ireland, the delegation includes representatives from Kitman Labs, ORRECO and Output Sports, recognised leaders in the global sportstech industry.

Rugby Australia has appointed Komo as its official fan and member engagement platform, embedding the Australian-built technology across its entire national rugby ecosystem.  The partnership sees Komo deployed as the fan engagement platform across Wallabies, Wallaroos, Sevens, NSW Waratahs, ACT Brumbies, and Super Rugby Pacific. Teams are able to launch branded fan hubs, live in-stadium activations, gamified campaigns, loyalty programs, and sponsor activations in minutes, while capturing the first and zero-party fan data that feeds Rugby Australia's CRM.

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.