ISPO Brandnew & Sports Tech Nation 2024

As in previous year, the best startups will get the chance to present themselves live on stage during ISPO Munich 2024. Check out the previous winners. For the first time, Sports Tech Nation 2024 will be collocated with ISPO.

For details regarding Sports Tech Nation events at ISPO, please check the agenda and speaker details here.

Please download the factsheets for ISPO Brandnew and Sports Tech Nation 2024 and also contact ASTN or send an email to info@astn.com.au for further details.

Sports Tech Nation and ISPO team up

For the first time, 2024 Sports Tech Nation was co-located with ISPO in Munich. The event was organised by Colosseum and started with an afternoon of sharing insights amongst global leaders in business, sports and technology. This was followed by a full day of presentations and discussions and ended with an insightful visit to ISPO.

ASTN’s collaboration with several industry peers and aligned organisations inspired many takeaways and key learnings from the events in Munich, which mirror activities similar to ASTN’s programs.

Sportstech entrepreneur education

Presentations at the ‘Founders Gathering’ re-iterated important insights on market research, customer focus and business models – core themes already embedded in ASTN’s early-stage and growth-stage programs.

Sportstech networks in France, Norway, the Netherlands and Israel shared learnings on how sportstech innovation ecosystems collaborate. ASTN continues to foster relationships with many of these like-minded networks, supported by its program delivery partnership with GSIC, powered by Microsoft.

Venture Capital

The panel discussion with Corporate Venture Capital and VC’s reaffirmed the trends highlighted in ASTN’s 2024 Sports Innovation Report. Sports, as a stand-alone ‘asset class’, has attracted growing interest, with deals being recorded from diversified sources.

Key insights include:

• Early-stage sportstech investment landscape is emerging
• Global sportstech M&A and VC continues to grow, defying broader economic pressures
• Increased interest and deals from diversified sources, including sovereign funds, VC and private equity, corporate venture capital, family offices and high-wealth, globally recognised elite athletes
• Increased developments and deals from big technology companies
• Growth opportunities for the sportstech sector at the intersection of adjacent industries, e.g. wellness & health, media & entertainment as well as defence and occupational health & safety
• A growing global sportstech startup and investment ecosystem
• Across Europe, leading sports brands engage with technology and startups through open innovation

Female-led design

As businesses learn to embrace and adapt to the female consumer in sports, the ‘shrink it and pink it’ mentality no longer meets the mark. For example, women-specific equipment and apparel is gaining massive traction with advanced textile materials being specifically selected with the female anatomy in mind. Similarly, upper body protective gear is gaining recognition as a category with many new designs and innovative materials coming to market.

New sports and forms of engagement

The rise of new racket sports like padel and pickleball is sparking development of new equipment, apparel and footwear, alongside innovative court materials tailored for these emerging sports. In addition, where sport and entertainment start to converge, technologies such as LED-powered glass floors are elevating the event delivery experience, offering a new level of audience engagement.

Event Gallery