Sportstech & Member News

The seventh annual Global Elite Sports Conference will be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 2 July. The conference features world-class speakers from leading professional sport organisations and leagues including the NFL, NBA, AFL, and US colleges. Conference topics cover high performance, coaching, athlete engagement and development, fan engagement, venue and facilities management, event management, and international sports diplomacy. 

The Fourth Edition of ASTN’s annual report provides a comprehensive census of Australia’s sports innovation sector. Driven by consistent gains in both revenue and employment, Australia’s sportstech sector continues to prosper. In FY2025, the sector sustained its momentum with 10% growth, matching the pace of FY2024. Revenue climbed to $AUD 5.65 billion, while total employment reached 17,928 – highlighting an increasingly resilient and stable sector.

Cricket Australia (CA) has partnered with global technology company Partnerbrite to launch CrowdCatch, a cutting-edge ad tech platform designed to redefine how brands engage with cricket fans across the digital landscape. CrowdCatch allows CA’s commercial partners to tap into engaged audiences and seamlessly activate campaigns across top-performing digital channels, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

FrogBox has announced the extension of its partnership with Cricket Australia, continuing a shared mission to make community cricket more accessible, engaging and connected. This season alone, more than 20,000 community cricket matches have been live streamed using FrogBox technology, generating over 10 million highlight views via the Play Cricket app and 27 million views of FrogBox content on Play Cricket's social media channels.

Layercake has announced that its 'Streamcake' media orchestration and automation platform has won the Live Event Streaming award at the prestigious Asia-Pacific Broadcasting+ Awards 2025. Streamcake automates complex broadcasting workflows while delivering broadcast-quality live streaming across multiple platforms simultaneously. Our platform reduces operational complexity and ensures reliable, low-latency streaming for live events of any scale.

SURJ Sports Investment and Kings League have today announced a partnership to launch Kings League MENA, a regionally anchored version of the revolutionary seven-a-side football league founded by football legend and entrepreneur Gerard Piqué. The new joint venture will launch later this year and will bring an innovative and digital-first sporting experience to the MENA region, with Saudi Arabia confirmed as the league’s inaugural host.

SportsTech Sweden have announced the launch of their Sports Tech Bootcamp 2.0. The 4-week online program released in partnership with SportsTechX provides startup founder, sports enthusiast, or industry professionals a guide to navigate the global sports tech ecosystem. The program covers 10+ hours of expert-led video content, step-by-step roadmap on how to launch a sports tech venture and insights into funding, business models & global best practices

Sports Tech World Series (STWS) has announced the launch of the inaugural Sports Innovation and Technology Summit (Beyond the Game) to be held in Bengaluru from 16-18 July 2025. STWS is partnering with MM Activ to deliver the event. This summit will be a first-of-its-kind in India, bringing together industry leaders, investors, startups and athletes to showcase cutting-edge advancements and build an accessible, thriving sports tech ecosystem

The Investment League, a company providing expert insights at the intersection of finance and sports, has identified three emerging themes shaping Sports M&A in Australia. These themes include, streaming consolidation (eg. DAZN x Foxtel), infrastructure-led club plays (eg. KAM Sports x Western United) and private equity optimisation of undervalued teams (eg. Altor x JackJumpers)

Three dynamic Gold Coast companies have been selected to participate in the inaugural Gold Coast Sportstech Open Innovation Challenge with Southport Sharks. This six-week program gives startups a rare chance to embed in a live sporting environment, validate their solutions, and contribute to the future of sport in Queensland. The companies selected include, Pursuit Academies a digital athlete development platform enhancing player care, injury prevention, and long-term performance, Gatho.app an interactive virtual fan zones and hybrid event tech, making sport more accessible and connected and Imagine Realities, an augmented reality and 3D fan experiences that turn physical spaces into immersive stories.

Fempro Armour, the female-specific protective guard, has been approved by the AFL for use in the AFL & AFL Women’s league. Whilst the AFL does not offers formal endorsements, the our product meets the safety requirements for play at the highest level of women’s football in Australia.

As Australia’s outdoor visitor attractions cope with the seemingly growing unpredictability of extreme weather, operators are increasingly turning to data to adapt and respond in real time. Traditionally, weather was treated as a background variable in tourism forecasting. Today, it is becoming a frontline factor directly shaping visitor behaviour, revenue models, and operational planning. Data from Nola Technologies underscores this, with a nationwide analysis of venue traffic that it undertook in April 2025 revealing stark differences tied to localised weather conditions. The analysis identified outdoor venues saw a 40 to 60% decline in entries on rainy days and indoor attractions experienced a 10 to 16% increase in visitor traffic, often without warning.

Strava, the app for active people, announced it has acquired the core assets of The Breakaway, the Y Combinator incubated cycling training app. The deal follows the recent news of Strava acquiring Runna, a leading running training app. The Breakaway offers personalized cycling training, innovative ride analysis, and achievement tracking tools. The investment demonstrates Strava's continued investment in its developer community and open API, which enables third parties to connect and build new experiences for athletes.

In recent years, sports have become more than just entertainment—they've evolved into a powerful asset class attracting billions of dollars in global investment. Sports investment funds represent a growing niche within the alternative investment space. These funds pool capital to invest in sports teams, leagues, media rights, sponsorship deals, and related assets such as technology and infrastructure. 

Catapult, which makes wearables that enable data analytics for professional sports teams, announced that revenue for the full year to March 2025 rose 19% to $US116 million ($A180 million). The company is earning more money from its agreements with 3,600 professional sports teams around the world, and those contracts are lasting longer. A total of $US66 million of revenue came from Catapult's "Performance & Health" segment, which are the wearables it sells to teams that allow them to track player performance and biometrics. Its secondary segment, a video solution used for coaching, brought in $US32.6 million ($A50 million), an increase of 42% from the previous year. Catapult shares were 10.2% higher at $4.74 around midday on Wednesday, lifting its market capitalisation to $A1.3 billion.

Former ASTN Chair and Lifetime Member James Demetriou has won a Sport Award at the 2025 Cyprus Diaspora Forum for his contribution to sports innovation. The event featured 14 categories, including The Arts, music, finance, community, conflict and resolution, and sport. The event saw around 350 attendees from various corners of the globe, with a notable presence from the Australian continent.

Genius Sports has launched BetVision, the world’s first interactive in-game wagering product for soccer. Sportsbooks can now offer the ground-breaking BetVision experience across many of the world’s leading soccer competitions. As part of the launch, Genius Sports has partnered with Infront, the rights holder for several top-tier football competitions, for premium video content. BetVision harnesses AI to augment the live broadcast with data-driven insights and storytelling features that highlight player names and personalized bet tracking innovations.

A group of professional sports team insiders, including Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban, is launching a $US 750 million private equity fund designed to take small stakes in US pro sports teams. The Harbinger Sports Partners Fund will focus on acquiring stakes of as much as 5%, the group said in a statement. It expects to invest $US 50 million to $US 150 million in each transaction

Springbok Analytics, the platform for rapid MRI and AI-powered analytics for muscle insights to support training, recovery, and long-term health, has announced its first WNBA partnership. Springbok announced a partnership with WNBA champion, the New York Liberty, as the tip-off for the 2025 season commences.

In August 2024, the NFL opened its doors to private equity investments in teams. Ares and Arctos were the first to strike. Ares Management Corporation acquired a 10% stake in the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium, and the F1 Miami Grand Prix, at a $US 8.1 billion valuation. Arctos took a 10% stake in the Buffalo Bills, at a $US 5.8 billion valuation. In December 2024, two families acquired small stakes in Jeffrey Lurie's Philadelphia Eagles, bumping the franchise value north of $US 8.3 billion. Last week the San Francisco 49ers sold a 6% stake to a trio of Bay Area families (the Khosla, Griffith, and Deeter families), valuing the franchise at $US8.5 billion - the highest for a sports team globally. 

Future of Sport Lab (FSL), Canada’s premier SportsTech accelerator, announced the selection of ten innovative startups for its acclaimed incubator program. This year’s cohort features a diverse range of ventures spanning AI, athlete training, fan engagement, wearable technology, and athlete wellness, including several Canadian-founded companies and a startup led by former NHL star Mike Weaver and Canadian Olympian Jill Moffatt.

DoubleTake Sport hosted the broadcast services for the inaugural Trans-Tasman Throwdown on behalf of TEG Sport, Basketball Australia, and Nine. The three-game series, held in Adelaide, the Sunshine Coast, and Hamilton (NZ) in early May, featured the Boomers and Opals taking on the Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns, and was broadcast in Australia on 9Go!, in New Zealand on Sky, and to viewers worldwide. The broadcast provided Multi-camera coverage, live stats integration with FIBA LiveStats/Genius Sports, remote production and commentary, courtside commentary and hosting with full production integration.

US Sailing, the national governing body for the sport of sailing in the United States, has announced a new multi-year partnership with Zhik, global leader in high-performance water wear. As the Official Technical Apparel Supplier for the US Sailing Team, Zhik will provide cutting-edge gear designed to enhance athlete performance on the water, with a focus on innovation, comfort and endurance.

Komo Technologies has officially become a Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) Partner. CTS collaborates with best-in-class tech innovators from around the globe. This partnership underscores the strength of Komo’s platform to deliver seamless, scalable, and cutting-edge engagement solutions to the media and entertainment industry. CTS has nearly 80 partners globally across areas such as content delivery, video analytics and media production.

PMY Group has been announced as the Global Technology Partner for the inaugural World Technology Games - a groundbreaking event launching next year. The celebration of science, technology and human ingenuity will showcase the brightest minds and talent through thrilling competitions such as drone racing, autonomous driving, and much more. As Global Technology Partner, PMY will deliver the event’s technology, content, and data solutions.

Tradable Bits has signed a league-wide deal to build fandom and supercharge sponsorship efforts with Northern Super League (NSL), the new Canadian professional women's soccer league launched this past month. Tradable Bits will provide data acquisition, analysis, and activation solutions at the league and team levels. The NSL joins Tradable Bits' rapidly expanding roster of league-wide clients that includes Rugby Canada, Australian Football League, Northern Basketball League, Netball Australia, Netball New Zealand, and East Asia Super League.

EngageRM, a leading provider of business and marketing automation, CRM, and data analytics solutions, has announced its acquisition of Power’d Digital, a comprehensive first-party channel platform. The integration of Power’d’s first-party channel capabilities will empower EngageRM’s platform to deliver even more personalized and data-driven fan interactions.

The South Australian Sports Institute, University of South Australia and Sportmatch have partnered to provide students an opportunity to experience a day in the life of a professional athlete as told by the athletes themselves. The experience also provided exposure to a high performance sporting environment and the tools of the trade that sport scientists use to create the greatest athletes on the world stage. The organisations launched the 'Discovering Greatness' program with Loreto College Marryatville this week.

A research team from the Chair of Biomechanics at the University of Bayreuth examined the soles of more than 100 running shoes. The results revealed that over a third of the heel areas were poorly designed and may therefore contribute to the risk of injury for runners. Using four measurement parameters, the Bayreuth researchers examined 112 shoes from various manufacturers.  the researchers found that 38% of the 112 tested shoe models were either over-designed (too little cushioning due to excess hardness) or under-designed (too little cushioning due to excess softness).

Virtually Human Studios is launching a reworked version of its digital horse racing game ZED Run as ZED Champions on the Base blockchain. ZED Run, once among the most recognisable blockchain games, saw a sharp decline in activity and trading volume by early 2025.  Zed Champions is a digital horse racing game that maintains core ideas from Zed Run—such as breeding and competing with virtual horses—whilst modifying the underlying mechanics. The game will launch with 4,320 digital horses, each tied to a balance of $ZED tokens.

Mumbai-based Dream Sports invests $US 50 million into Cricbuzz and Willow TV (both owned by Times Internet), gaining a minority stake in cricket's global media ecosystem. Cricbuzz and Willow TV collectively have 185 million monthly users across more than 150 countries. Cricbuzz is a cricket media platform whilst Willow TV is a North American cricket broadcaster. Dreams Sports investments intend to provide more real-time analysis and statistics, engagement and commerce integrations and AI-driven predictions.

Champion Data and LIV Golf have won the 'Best Use of Fan Engagement Tech by a Sports Organisation' category at prestigious STA Awards. The judges were impressed by the platform’s clean execution and clever tailoring, which brought fans closer to the action without overloading the experience. Others nominated for the category included BatFast and ECB, Infosys and Roland Garros, National Basketball Association (NBA) x Monterosa, and Supertri and The British & Irish Lions.

The France sports technology market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.7% from 2024 to 2030, reaching approximately $US 3.46 billion by 2030. Initiatives like France 2030 are accelerating this growth with billions in innovation funding, while the Paris 2024 Olympics provided a catalyzing widespread tech adoption. As of early 2025, France hosts a vibrant sports tech ecosystem with approximately 681 companies operating in this sector. Among these, 96 have secured funding, collectively raising over $US 1 billion in venture capital. 

Queensland-based smart sports locker concept SportsBox has announced that it going global. The concept that makes sports equipment more accessible to communities around the world is expanding into 10 countries through a combination of pilots, partnerships and distributors. The expansion includes the USA, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Singapore, Malaysia, Portugal, Spain and Brazil. With support from the Queensland's Department of of Sport, Racing, Olympic & Paralympic Games (via the ActiveKIT Program) SportsBox is currently rolling out 25 lockers across Queensland. 

YouTube will stream the NFL's Week 1 game in Brazil to a worldwide audience for free, the NFL has announced this week. The Los Angeles Chargers are scheduled to play at Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo on 5th September. Their opponent will be revealed when the NFL releases its full schedule Wednesday night. This will mark the first exclusive NFL game to be streamed live and for free in its entirety on YouTube and YouTube TV.

iReel has announced a partnership with Sportlogiq to advance performance intelligence. This collaboration brings together Sportlogiq’s industry-leading tracking data and performance insights with iReel’s cutting-edge Generative AI platform. The partnership enables teams, leagues, and media organisations to uncover deeper layers of analysis and redefine how sport is understood, presented, and optimised. Sportlogiq, is a global leader in AI-powered hockey analytics and a pioneer in computer vision across elite sport.

PMY Group has been named the Official Technology Partner for Grand Slam Track™, the global home of track competition launched by four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson. PMY powered Grand Slam Track’s inaugural Slam in Kingston, Jamaica, in April, and will continue to provide best-in-class technology management, integration and support events in Miami (May 2–4), Philadelphia (May 30–June 1), and Los Angeles (June 27–29), as well as those in the years to come.  PMY will provide tailored technology solutions including connectivity, network coverage, audiovisual systems, surveillance, event communications and on-site tech support.

Techtel, a leading independent broadcast technology systems specialist in the Asia-Pacific region, has announce a new distribution partnership with Cartoni, a globally renowned manufacturer of professional camera support systems. This agreement sees Techtel become an official reseller of Cartoni products across Australia, expanding its portfolio of premium equipment for the broadcast, film, and live production sectors.

Basketball Queensland (BQ) has announced a step forward in its commitment to developing athletes and coaches through the integration of state-of-the-art Hudl video technology. BQ’s continued partnership with Hudl has seen Hudl Focus Indoor cameras installed across all courts at BQ’s home base, complemented by the portable Hudl Focus Flex used for offsite high performance events. The fully automated system will automatically record high-definition video from optimal angles.

Body scanning app and ASTN premium member, 3D Measure Me, has been nominated for the People's Choice Small Business category award at this year's AUSactive National Awards Program. The People’s Choice Award allows the public to support their favorite nominees. Voting closes 16th June, with the winners announced at the AUSactive National Awards Gala on 19th September.

Dream Sports and Microsoft have partnered to enhance India's gaming market, leveraging Dream Sports' extensive user base and Microsoft's AI expertise. The collaboration, announced at WAVES 2025, aims to publish Microsoft's gaming titles locally and develop AI-driven gaming experiences tailored for Indian gamers. This initiative taps into India's booming $3.8 billion gaming market, which boasts 600 million gamers.

SportsEngine Play has agreed to a multi-year extension with Pixellot, accelerating the NBC streamer’s efforts to activate game streaming from youth sports facilities across the U.S.  SportsEngine Play will continue to help sports facilities of all sizes reduce their financial barriers of entry to streaming by offering a live and on-demand solution at no cost. The platform serves a constantly growing list of more than 10,000 facilities. 

WHOOP, the human performance company, has launched WHOOP 5.0 and WHOOP MG, two next-generation wearables designed to unlock a new approach to personal health and longevity. The devices offer 14-day battery life in a seven percent smaller form - and introduce category-defining features, including Healthspan with WHOOP Age, Heart Screener with on-demand ECG and Blood Pressure Insights.

Since adopting VueMotion's AI-powered biomechanical analysis in 2022, the Minnesota Vikings have seen a continuous decline in lower body injury rates, bucking the league-wide trend. In the 2024 season: The Vikings ranked top 3 in the NFL for fewest games missed due to lower body injuries — well below league average. They were #1 in the league for the lowest number of players missing consecutive games due to lower body injuries. By integrating VueMotion into daily player monitoring, injury rehabilitation, and performance optimization, the Vikings not only protected their players but preserved millions of dollars in player salary and competitive advantage.

Cool Beans Underwear was featured on the Today Show during the NRL Magic Round in Brisbane. Founder Saara Jamieson shared her journey, how Cool Beans is different and why the NRL chose to work with Cool Beans as part of the NRL Magic Round Tech Sprint.

Rookie Me have announced a partnership with NZ Rugby. Rookie Me will conduct a talent search program for the Black Ferns, New Zealand's female rugby team. In June 2025 Rookie Me will be conducting four regional Testing Combines across Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, and Auckland with the top 30 athletes invited to a national Combine.

Tennis Australia has launched the next edition of its AO Startups program. AO Startups accelerates elite founders through priority access to the Australian Open and professional and community sport. It provides a unique opportunity for startups solving large problems in sport, health and entertainment to build, test or pilot on the world stage with Tennis Australia and the Australian Open. AO Startups are seeking exceptional founders across four key areas - the quantified human, the event experience, the padel and pickleball experience and  the 'wildcard' (anything in sports, entertainment, health and sustainability). Applications close 28th May 2025.

The Gold Coast Sportstech Open Innovation Challenge has been launched to build meaningful partnerships with one of Australia’s most progressive semi-professional sporting organisations the Southport Sharks. The challenge focus areas include, enhancing player safety, elevating performance, driving sports innovation and community and fan engagement. The program is powered by the ASTN Invest Gold Coast and Southport Sharks, and is supported by the Gold Coast Health & Knowledge Precinct. Expressions of interest close 18 May, with a 6-week program kicking off on 22nd May. 

Unrivaled Sports, US's leading youth sports experiences company announced a strategic investment by DICK'S Sporting Goods which led the company's latest funding round. The strategic investment of $US 120 million will help to deliver and expand best-in-class youth sporting experiences, programs and destinations for young athletes across the nation. In the last year Unrivaled has built a national footprint across 30 states through acquisition, now hosting over 600,000 young athletes and nearly 2 million family members and fans.

ASICS has announced the launch of Run Concierge, a collaboration with Boston-based startup Neurun. Run Concierge is a first-of-its-kind AI-driven platform that integrates the latest advancements from Google Maps and Google Cloud to serve as a personal AI running guide. Run Concierge will debut later this summer across Race Roster’s and Njuko’s extensive network of racing events in North America, Europe, and Australia.