Sportstech & Member News

Australian enviro-tech startup Samsara Eco and its partner, athletic apparel, accessories and footwear brand lululemon, have today launched the first product made from enzymatically recycled polyester. The lululemon limited edition Packable Anorak jacket is made from a variety of inputs, including mixed plastic waste, lululemon apparel at the end-of-life stage, and converted carbon emissions. The jacket is available for purchase online in Australia, the US and Canada beginning today. 

Greenfly, the leader in powering short-form content workflows for sports, media, and other brands, today announced the closing of equity investments of $14 million led by global sports tech investor ADvantage, with participation from Ryan Sports Ventures, Mercato Partners, and NBA Equity. The Greenfly Platform is core infrastructure for short-form content operations, allowing the world’s largest sports and entertainment organizations to create, aggregate, collect, organize and distribute short-form content throughout their ecosystem.

Advanced body composition analytics pioneer Evolt, has entered a strategic partnership with digital fitness solutions company, EGYM, signalling a pivotal shift within the industry as individuals increasingly adopt a holistic approach to health. The collaboration, announced at IHRSA in Los Angeles earlier this month, merges EGYM’s fitness equipment and digital platform with Evolt’s cutting-edge composition analysis technology, offering gym members comprehensive insights into their health and fitness. 

PlaySpark recently announced a partnership with Oceania Pro Wrestling (OPW). OPW have launched their OPW Nation fan engagement platform for their upcoming StarrCast Downunder event in April. OPW Nation will be a key innovation piece that will help OPW drive excitement and value for fans in the lead up to the event, create a sense of fan community amongst their audience through fun games and challenges, whilst giving them the chance to earn great prizes for their interactions. 

Sportradar and Oddin.gg, an award-winning B2B betting-solutions provider for esports, today announced they have entered into a multi-year strategic partnership to offer audiovisual streaming of Oddin’s exclusive esports content to Sportradar’s betting operator clients around the world. The deal will support Oddin.gg’s growth ambitions in the expanding global esports market, whose betting turnover was estimated to be €83 billion in 2023. It will extend the reach of Oddin.gg’s official competition content by leveraging Sportradar’s market leading position as an AV betting provider.

A new sports tech startup, Volley, aims to revolutionize the way racquet sports players (platform tennis, tennis, padel and pickleball) train with its AI-enabled sports training machine. Unlike traditional tennis ball machines that simply launch balls at varying speeds and heights, Volley’s trainer robot leverages AI and vision software to collect data as you play, learn your skill level and simulate live gameplay.

Alta Global Group (NYSE American: MMA), a technology company that is enabling the global martial arts and combat sports industry to maximize the monetization opportunities available to the sector by increasing consumer participation in the sport and building upon existing community offerings within the sector, announced the pricing of its NYSE initial public offering of 1,300,000 ordinary shares at a price to the public of $5.00 per share, for gross proceeds of $US 6.5 million. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the listing for marketing and sales, product development, research and development.

EGYM Genius creates fully automated personalized training plans that are precisely tailored to the respective club and all of its equipment, including free weights. Trainers and members benefit from the insights from seven billion EGYM data points and counting. EGYM Genius is the new driver of the entire EGYM ecosystem, which seamlessly connects its components: EGYM Smart Strength (including the Fitness Hub and connected Smart cardio), training plans, workouts of all kinds (including classes and training outside the gym recorded with apps and wearables) as well as motivational and community tools such as Gameday and the Branded Member App.

Riddell, the industry leader in football helmet technology and innovation, announced the strategic acquisition of longtime partner Simbex. With the addition of Simbex' premier engineering and health science product development expertise, Riddell will further elevate its position at the forefront of sports technology. Simbex is a premier product design and development firm with over 20 years of experience in the sports, medical, and health technology markets. 

News Corp Australia’s News Sport Network today announced it is joining forces with Partnerbrite, an internationally renowned fan audience platform. Partnerbrite is an ad-tech platform that transforms partnerships with fan targeted digital campaigns on social, video and display channels. It solves a major problem in sports marketing – providing a full-funnel solution for brands to target audiences, without sports organisations needing to share their data.  News Sport Network and Partnerbrite will work to sell their offerings together, work with brands to identify appropriate properties in the sport industry to invest in and work with sporting partners to identify appropriate commercial partners for available categories.

Populous has joined Building 4.0 CRC, an industry-led research initiative co-funded by the Australian Government. The Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program aims to fund industry-led collaborations between industry, researchers and end-users. Building 4.0 CRC aims to foster a thriving Australian advanced manufacturing sector, deliver better buildings at lower costs, and develop the human capacity to lead the future building and construction industry. Populous APAC is partnering on the #48 shared interest project titled “Scoping Study for Building the Future – Circular Economy,” and aims to design out waste and pollution by maximizing the utility of products and materials, thereby reducing excessive material extraction and manufacturing.

Portuguese star striker, Cristiano Ronaldo will release wellness app ERAKULIS on 3 April. Declaring “balance is everything”, the world’s most-capped player is leveraging his elite training to deliver fitness, nutrition and mental balance programmes. Stacked with 1,000+ workouts and 400 recipes, the app includes personalised wellness plans, expert-led video consultations and community support.

GameDay, the leading online sports portal solution provider has announced a partnership with Downball Australia, the national governing body for the widely beloved sport of downball. Starting from the upcoming season, Downball Australia will leverage GameDay’s comprehensive suite of services, including national membership registration, competition management systems, officials management, and product-led training programs. Additionally, the collaboration will introduce advanced business intelligence capabilities through GameDay View and integrations with popular apps and voucher systems to further engage the downball community.

HITIQ has announced a partnership with the National Rugby League (NRL) for the 2024 season. The NRL has initiated a trial of HITIQ's state-of-the-art head impact mouthguard technology, aiming to evaluate the product's fit for broader rollout within rugby league. In addition to the NRL's trial, several teams have independently adopted HITIQ's instrumented mouthguard (iMG) technology to measure, mitigate, and better understand head impact exposure during training, games and competitions. 

The Premier League has today announced a four-year partnership with Rezzil, the virtual reality (VR) software developer. Rezzil, a Manchester-based VR software firm, are specialists in the production of sports gaming software for athlete training and game analysis within virtual reality. The Premier League and Rezzil will work together on the development of a VR game, which is expected to be launched later this year. The game will place users on the pitch and in the boots of their favourite Premier League players, offering fans a unique opportunity to recreate iconic Premier League goals and moments from within the perspective of virtual reality.    

Queensland University of Technology's (QUT) Centre for Data Centre launched its new Sports Data Science & AI Next Generations Graduate Program on 28th March. The event also featured two interesting panel discussions around Sports Tech, AI, and all the research around it now and in the future. Panelists included domain experts from Queensland Academy of Sport, Australian Sports Commission, QUT, ASTN, CSIRO's Data61 and University of NSW Data Science Hub. Details of the new program are at https://lnkd.in/gbQqWyfU

Club Ducks has announced a partnership with the SANFL Eagles FC. The Club Ducks sponsorship management solutions are designed to help clubs like the Eagles streamline their operations and enhance their partner relationships. Andy Hood, Commercial Manager at the Eagles, shared the news: "The platform is brilliant. It will make us more effective and, most importantly, give us the ability to service our partners well. We have been searching for a platform that is both affordable and tailored to our needs, and we have found it with Club Ducks.".

 XV Capital and Stadia Ventures have formalized a partnership to offer ‘Innovation as a Service’ to Australian and New Zealand sports organizations and live events. Stadia brings its wealth of experience in advising global sports entities. In collaboration with XV, Stadia are extending this expertise to Australasia through our 'IaaS' offering. This initiative is strategically designed to support sports organizations in regions where resources are limited, ensuring they can effectively consider, plan and execute sustainable and effective long-term strategies.

Basketball Forever, a rapidly expanding and highly engaged independent sports media brand, recently disclosed the successful closure of its Series A funding round, amassing over $US4 million. The fundraising was prominently spearheaded by Yolo Investments. Basketball Forever uniquely integrates its gaming operations with its content distribution, leveraging its website and social media platforms to engage users with a compelling second screen experience. Following the establishment of its presence in North America, Basketball Forever is set to channel these funds towards bolstering its growth, aiming to capture a larger audience within the region, branching out into additional sectors apart from basketball.

GTG Network, a leading Australian sports analytics company, are continue to expand its operations into the quick-play arcade game segment. GTG Network and Sinclair Broadcast Group are partnering on Game Center, a new direct-to-consumer platform offering personalized and interactive fan experiences with gamification elements aimed at growing fan engagement with the help of fandoms and social communities. A total of 79 Sinclair stations are making Game Center available on their websites. With 30 unique games across sports, word and number puzzles, trivia as well as cards and casino, the game collection is intended to have broad appeal from fans.

The most advanced sport in the world is turning to Artificial Intelligence to solve a problem that many broadcasters have struggled with for decades. Formula One is using AI to create 3-times slow motion replays from standard speed cameras. AI is also used on some of the graphics, like car tracking and virtual graphics signage, for up to eight cameras. AI is used to position signage within the frame so it looks real when cars drive in front of it. 

Andorra Business and Andorra Research + Innovation (Andorra), in partnership with Global Sport Innovation Center Powered by Microsoft  (GSIC) and with the support of SPSG Consulting (SPSG) are launching the second edition of the Andorra Sports Scale-Up Program, to select a second cohort of the best sport-tech companies in Andorra and across the world, and help them in their internationalization process. The program aims to identify the most promising technological solutions that can help improve the sports industry in general, with priority over those focused on winter and mountain sports, and have the potential for scalability and internationalization.

PMY shares their expertise and explores the emerging trends in sports stadium tech - key trends include, frictionless tech becoming the norm, sports-anchored mixed-use development districts, mixed reality & immersive experiences and AI data insights and crowd intelligence.

Coles Little Athletics Australia today announced it is extending its partnership with KommunityTV Team as the Official Streaming Partner for the 2024 and 2025 Coles Australian Little Athletics Championships. KommunityTV will provide the digital platform to live stream the 2024 & 2025 Coles Australian Little Athletics Championships (ALAC), in addition to writing and producing local stories about the competing Little Athletes in the lead-up and during the up-coming 2024 ALAC.

Kronos services a wide range of national and international sporting events. Being at the center of sports technology, it understands the importance of cloud-based technology. Kronos had a goal of making its products and offerings available and easily achievable by many sporting and non-sporting organizations. To do that, it had to integrate 28 different sporting software systems into one cloud-based platform. To build a solution that will satisfy international sporting events like the Special Olympics World Games Berlin, Kronos turned to Microsoft, joining Microsoft for Startups and the Founders Hub program. Kronos did this not only for its longstanding partnership with Microsoft, but for the scalability and security of a cloud platform like Microsoft Azure.

Next Level Racing® are pleased to announce its exciting new partnership with Karting Australia, the nation’s governing body for kart racing. This collaboration will see the entities join forces to enhance the karting experience for enthusiasts across Australia. One of the key objectives of the partnership is providing attendees with a unique opportunity to engage with cutting-edge simulator technology while gaining an appreciation for the sport of kart racing.

Queensland University of Technology, in partnership with AusCycling and Zwift hosted Australia's first National eSports Cycling Championship on 22 March. QUT welcome some of Australia's top men and women's cyclists to The Cube for the finals event. 27 QUT students assisted with the delivery of this event, from IT configuration to production, broadcasting, commentating and everything in between. Many of these skills and capabilities are learnt and led through our esports program which delivers Oceanic Varsity and Oceanic Development Tournaments to the region for Riot Games every week on campus.

Esports lounge network True Gamers has announced plans to build a large-scale ‘esports island’ in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The island will include training facilities, a tournament venue, content creation spaces and hotels for accommodating esports and gaming personnel. The island will feature several locations focused on competing, providing boot camps or offering accommodation. The Digital Tower is the name of the island’s hub which will include spaces for meetings, startup accelerators and animation studios. In addition to the tower, an arena will be built, called the TG Arena. It will feature spaces for esports tournaments as well as a computer club with around 100 PCs, a simulation racing section and a space for console gaming.

Ultrahuman, a wearable tech company with products such as a habit-tracking ring, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and an upcoming home health device, has secured $US35 million in a Series B equity and debt funding round to fuel growth and support advanced research in the health monitoring space. The centerpiece of  Ultrahuman (and what sets it apart from competitors) is its multi-device health ecosystem by gathering a large set of biomarkers on its integrated platform. It’s a differentiating factor that expands Ultrahuman past the pure smart ring space.

THE AFL will trial ball-tracking technology in the VFL and VFLW on Friday with a view to possibly introducing it to its elite competitions. The League has developed and tested the 'Smart Ball' over the past 18 months in conjunction with ball manufacturer Sherrin, technology company Sportable, graphics partner Intaneous, and Victoria University and will test the technology in a game for the first time this week.

Dimers.com, a leading sports analytics website, developed by Melbourne-based Cipher Sports Technology, has officially launched its revolutionary sports betting product, Dimers Pro. This new product offers a suite of tools and analytics to help users make informed decisions and elevate their betting experience. Dimers, which serves nearly one million monthly users with free access to top-tier sports betting models and technology, is transitioning to a subscription-based model at less than a dollar a day. This reflects the platform's commitment to delivering an enhanced and more sophisticated service to its dedicated user base.

DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating), the leading global rating system in Pickleball, has announced a strategic partnership with PlaySight, a pioneer in sports AI and analytics technology. This collaboration aims to elevate the pickleball experience for players, clubs, tournaments, and leagues worldwide. DUPR assigns players a rating between 2.000-8.000 based on match results, regardless of age, gender, location, or skill level. Leveraging this expertise, the partnership will integrate DUPR ratings seamlessly into PlaySight’s innovative platform, offering players increased access to advanced AI technology to gain a better understanding of their game play, and unlock advanced analytics and insights into their performance. 

Within the luxury water sports market, the eFoil company known as Flite (and its corresponding product Fliteboard) is making its high-end product more accessible with the introduction of its newest product, Flite AIR. Retailing at $US6,995, this product offers a more accessible price point for water sports consumers and a more extensive product range for its more than 300 authorized partners across 90 countries. The Flite AIR model, whose construction combines a rigid foam-core platform with a reinforced inflatable outer section, significantly lowers the cost. This compares to the original Fliteboard model made from carbon fibre and aluminium that starts at $US10-12,000, up to $US21,000.

LIGR Live is thrilled to unveil its groundbreaking partnership with the Horizon League. The partnership will usher in a new era of dynamic, data-powered live-streaming highlights for the Men’s and Women’s Basketball games and League Champion events throughout the 23-24 season. In collaboration with Genius Sports, LIGR will harness the pinnacle of official NCAA data, delivering real-time, automated highlights to the league office and its members. The Horizon League has taken a giant leap forward in enriching the live-streaming experience, ensuring unparalleled coverage and engagement for fans.

GHD Digital, the digital transformation business of global professional services firm GHD, has partnered with PAM to redefine digital wayfinding, aiming to empower precinct owners and operators worldwide. This collaboration merges GHD Digital’s proven digital transformation expertise with PAM’s advanced navigation prowess. Their joint focus centers on digital transformation initiatives within key industry verticals like mining, health, transport, construction, event facilities, campuses, and smart cities.

Australian sports hydration company PREPD has made significant step in their journey beyond the realm of sports, demonstrating our dedication to combatting dehydration through innovative solutions. PREPD are looking to revolutionise hydration practices in the demanding environment of mining, and contribute to the well-being and safety of workers in the mining industry.

Sportradar and the National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced the launch of enhanced betting-related functionality within NBA League Pass, powered by emBET, Sportradar’s over-the-top (OTT) solution. Sports betting content, such as point spreads, over-unders, and money lines, will be seamlessly integrated into the NBA’s live streaming platform, elevating the in-play betting experience. Where sports betting is legal, users can opt-in to have the convenience of viewing and selecting bets directly on NBA League Pass. When ready to place a bet, they are directed to FanDuel or DraftKings, the NBA’s official betting partners, through a seamlessly embedded link.

TwinLabs.ai, a leader in creating next-generation digital twin plaforms for venues, live events and beyond, today won the Confluent Data Streaming Startup Challenge. Back in September 2023, Confluent, leaders in data streaming technology, launched the Data Streaming Startup Challenge to identify innovative early stage startups that are using data streaming to solve real world challenges. They backed this up with a $1M prize pool for the finalists!  In January TwinLabs.ai reached the top 10 semi-finalists, in February the final 3, and today TwinLabs.ai were announced as the winners of the Confluent Data StreamingStartup Challenge along with a $500,000 investment from Confluent. Over the past few weeks, each of the 3 finalists presented pitches to a judging panel including senior executives from Confluent, but also some of the industries leading venture capital firms such as Sequioa Capital, BenchmarkCapital, and Index Ventures.

Startups from the climate, food, and energy sectors came together at London's House of Sport for the Champions Innovate programme, entering an exciting second phase to enhance the social and environmental impact of the UEFA Champions League final. The workshop was the second of three taking place in the build-up to the UEFA Champions League Final in London on 1 June. It gave the startups the opportunity to ask questions to experts from UEFA and sponsors, run their plans past staff from the UEFA Innovation Hub and the Greater London Authority, and exchange insights with the other organisations.

Melbourne-based cycling apparel brand MAAP has opened its first retail concept store in Europe – MAAP Lab Amsterdam. Following the success of the brand’s flagship store in Melbourne, the new Amsterdam Lab will bring MAAP’s luxury cycling and streetwear clothes to the city’s vibrant creative culture and community. The Lab concept – which symbolises the spirit of living a ‘Life Around Bikes’ – is one that MAAP intends to implement in major regions worldwide. 

THE AFL has launched an all-new set of free resources designed to help coaches of youth-aged Australian rules footballers. There are around 10,000 registered coaches of youth football teams with players in the 13-18 age range across Australia and the new Youth Coaching Curriculum will help to provide comprehensive support for these coaches who will in turn be able to give their young footballers the best-possible experience. It aligns the digital coaching platform, Rookie Me Coach, to the AFL coaching curriculum, and help coaches save time and improve their training sessions through an easy-to-use digital platform,

Ireland’s reputation as a world leader in sports analytics and performance data got a significant boost yesterday with the launch of the country’s first-ever postgraduate course designed for industry professionals seeking cutting-edge knowledge in the business of sports. The new Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Analytics, Technology and Innovation, is the result of a strategic collaboration between Technology Ireland Digital Skillnet, SportsTech Ireland, and Technological University Dublin’s Enterprise Academy.

The Gold Coast Titans have today announced their new online platform, sharing their ground breaking Leagueability program with junior rugby league clubs across the nation. The online educational program will efficiently address the educational and resource needs, paving the way for thousands of Australians to participate in inclusive Rugby League initiatives. An initiative with Playbk Sports, the Gold Coast Titans will share their Leagueability program through an online platform, assisting community clubs in creating their own sustainable and inclusive rugby league programs.

Sports data and technology company IMG ARENA has scored an early legal victory against competitor Stats Perform in a closely watched legal dispute in the UK. A British court denied Stats Perform's petition for summary judgment (one party argues there is no real dispute involving material facts and that moving party is entitled to win the case as a matter of law) effectively moving the case forward. The ruling comes one year after IMG in March 2023 filed a legal claim for inducing or procuring breaches of contract and unlawful means conspiracy against rival Stats Perform at the UK's High Court of Justice. More specifically, IMG alleges that Stats Perform hired scouts to collect live betting data across several European football/soccer leagues exclusively contracted with IMG.

Thousands of esports fans are set to flock to Melbourne when global digital gaming festival DreamHack takes over Melbourne this April. Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos today announced DreamHack Melbourne 2024 will transform Melbourne Park from Friday, 26 April to Sunday, 28 April – backing local jobs, boosting businesses and attracting thousands of gaming enthusiasts from interstate and overseas to Australia’s digital games capital.

Myzone has announced the launch of MZ-Open, an access function that enables Myzone gym users to experience all the benefits of Myzone’s world renowned heart rate training ecosystem through their Android or Apple smart watch. By integrating with Apple and Android smart watches Myzone reduce barriers to entry, helping gym operators encourage even more members to join the Myzone community.

ZONE3 has launched what is being billed as the world’s first biodegradable performance-focused wetsuit, the latest iteration of the ZONE3 Vision. With an RRP of £399, the new model Vision wetsuit uses biodegradable rubber – Terraprene, from neoprene specialist, Yamamoto. According to ZONE3, the Terraprene material preserves high quality and performance, while being able to biodegrade entirely in landfill conditions.

Cape Bionics has launched the new Cape custom-fit Therapy range, with specific garments for rehabilitation, joint stability, exercise recovery and activity for different muscle groups.  New programs of multiple garments and regimes have been developed for optimum Grade 2 and 3 rehabilitation, such as ACL surgery. Using an iPad and our own Cape app, health professionals can 3D scan their clients and offer medical-grade compression.

With younger generations of fans wanting to consume sports through short-form content operators leading each of the major leagues are actively experimenting with new formats and initiatives that reflect younger fans' distinct priorities and media consumption habits. This includes experimenting with platforms like Roblox and TikTok and partnering with the likes of Nickelodeon.

Football fans are in for a game-changing viewing experience this AFL Premiership Season with the launch of Sports Entertainment Network's (SEN) latest product offering, SEN Sync, in collaboration with DrinkWise – an innovative new feature set to redefine how fans experience the game at home. SEN Sync seamlessly synchronises the SEN commentary team's live call with the unfolding on-screen action. This new technology enhances the at-home viewing experience by giving fans unprecedented control over how they immerse themselves in the game.