Sportstech & Member News

Plans for the southern hemisphere’s largest tennis academy to be built 25km southwest of Geelong have been unvailed. CORA’s ambition is to be the southern hemisphere’s ground-breaking venue where the latest innovations in elite sports training, health and wellness are enhanced by a unique and sustainable environment of natural beauty, arts, culture and food (www.cora.net.au).

Amer Sports owner of brands like ARC'TERYX, PeakPerformance, Salomon and Wilson has filed to go public in the United States. Amer's brand Wilson includes high-performance sports equipment, apparel, footwear and accessories for sports like Tennis, Volleyball, Basketball and American Football.

QUT will host Australia’s first national championships for cycling esports during the Brisbane Cycling Festival in March. As part of a partnership with AusCycling, the 2024 AusCycling Esports National Championships will be held at The Cube on the QUT Gardens Point campus in March 2024.

After partnering with A-League team Brisbane Roar towards the end of last year, high-tech water bottle company has annouced a second partnership with Adelaide United FC. The Victorian-based sportstech company provides a high-tech water bottle integrated with UV sanitation, drink reminders and real-time tracking for optimal hydration.

Several fitness and wellness deals, partnerships and funding rounds made headlines in 2023. According to a summary, these could impact the industry for years to come.

Teamworks, who in 2023 acquired Australina-born Smartabase, has announced the acquisition of Front Rush TRAC, an inventory management software. The new acquisition adds to Teamworks' Operating System for Sports.

Match officials at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ will be able to enhance their decision-making process with the Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) system, which will be implemented at all 51 matches of the tournament. The introduction of the technology at Asia’s crown jewel, to be played between 12 January and 10 February, 2024 in Qatar, complements the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system.

The global sportstech industry generated US$10.1 billion worth of deals during the third quarter of 2023, according to research from Drake Star Partners, which recorded 317 transactions during the three-month period.

Sports Business Journal’s second annual list of the 10 Most Innovative Sportstech Companies was determined based on the companies creating a technology deployment that changed how people view technology and/or shifts how the industry operates.

Futureverse, a metaverse technology and content company, will spearhead Reebok's efforts to broaden the ways consumers can interact with its products across its entire ecosystem from footwear to apparel.

PlaySpark recently annouced a partnership with the Taranaki Airs a pioneering basketball team in the NBL New Zealand league. The Airs are looking to create a more inclusive and immersive experience for their fans, locally and abroad. By implementing their platform, they will now be able to reward fans for their interactions like playing games, attending matches and interacting with other fun content.

As the countdown to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 continues, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has collaborated with interactive indoor training app Kinomap to offer runners, cyclists and rowers around the world the chance to tackle the Olympic courses remotely ahead of next year’s Games.

Playbk Sports and AusCycling announce a partnership to take the AusBike Digital program into classrooms across Australia.

FIBA, the world governing body of basketball, has expanded its long-term partnership with Genius Sports Limited ("Genius Sports") (NYSE:GENI) to deliver its revolutionary computer vision technology and AI-powered capabilities to Leagues and National Federations around the world from 2025 to 2035.

Basketball South Australia is committed to the growth and governance of basketball in the state and is excited to announce a new partnership with TidyHQ's Tidy Connect, known for its innovative solutions in scaling governance, compliance, and risk in sports. This partnership marks an important stride in fostering sports integrity and highlighting the importance of good governance practices and advanced technology in the sports sector.

QUT has been awarded two grants, worth a total of $2.27 million, to train a cohort of sports data scientists to tackle new challenges faced by Australia’s sportstech industry.

Springbok Analytics, a leading healthcare technology company, recently announced its new full body muscle analysis capabilities, initially for research purposes. Springbok's AI-based technology analyses MRI data and produces personalised 3D visualisations and metrics of muscle health, enhancing the assessment, treatment monitoring, research and diagnostic value of advanced imaging.

The We Got Game Academy has engaged Lumin Sports to help monitor and support the wellbeing of its members. The academy provides talent pathways and education opportunities for female footballers in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

In recent years, extreme and adventure sports have become increasingly popular with the general public. The inventor of Snowtunnel®, Darren Visser, himself a passionate winter sports enthusiast, shares this vision and has been working for over 20 years on a new product that will give snowboarders and skiers the chance to enjoy their beloved sport all year round. The current version of the Snowtunnel is a rotating tube with a diameter of ten meters. The rotating action of the tube is said to let snowboarding feel like a mixture of snowboarding, surfing and skating

Saudi Arabia NEOM Investment Fund (NIF) will hold 6% of Technogym share capital after an 111-million-euro ($120.83 million) investment and intends to be a long-term minority shareholder in the Italian fitness-equipment maker.

Omni Biotech has today announced its investment from Skalata Ventures. Skalata has joined forces with the team led by founders Zac Farrow and Willem Poot to improve global health outcomes with immediate, actionable health metrics on devices they already own. Starting with a world-first hydration metric Omni is bringing elite-level monitoring into the mainstream.

Digital workout app Ladder closed a $US 12m Series A round led by Tapestry VC and LivWell Ventures. To date, the company’s focus on personalized, progressive strength training programs has helped it differentiate from general fitness or cardio-centric apps, reaching 50K+ paying members.

Sportable has announced that it has a raised $US 15m investment round from investors including South African-based venture firm HAVAIC, US-based Ryan Ventures and Australian fund XV Capital led by Stirling Mortlock and James Godfrey. Sportable deploys Micro-Tracking (MT) technology to enhance data collection and analysis in ball and contact sports, particularly rugby, soccer, and American football. 

Brisbane Roar have partnered with AQUAME to provide A-League Men and A-League Women high-tech water bottles, delivering them the best day-to-day hydration as professional footballers. AQUAME is a tech-integrated water bottle, offering UVC sanitation, drink reminders, and real-time tracking, all guided by an AI-enhanced app for optimal hydration.  

Teamworks has announce its latest partnership in the National Rugby League (NRL) with the Melbourne Storm signing a multi-year Hub & Smartabase agreement. Identifying Teamworks as an integral partner to continue delivering sustained success, Hub & Smartabase will allow the Storm to streamline operations and centralize medical data in one tech stack.

The sports industry in general has strong tailwinds with new capital coming in from multiple directions: Increased VC / PE activity, Big Tech, Sovereign nations / Family office wealth. The overall cautious investor sentiment has manifested itself in an interesting way for SportsTech startups. 2023 was the lowest year for Sportstech investment hat we’ve seen since 2015, will top out around $US2 billion. But it's been the highest year for M&A dealflow that we’ve ever seen, projected to cross $US11 billion.

KORE has announced that they have partnered with with Tennis Australia and the flagship Australian Open. Tennis Australia will use KORE's AI-powered Evaluate Social tool which will be pivotal in optimizing their social media impact, enabling smarter content decisions, and quantifying the value of owned and earned posts across the Summer of Tennis.

ProtectedSeas Navigator, the world’s most comprehensive database of marine life protections and their boundaries, has announced a new partnership with Deckee to make its environmental information freely available to boaters in an easy-to-use mobile app for the first time. Used by over a quarter of a million boaters so far, Deckee helps deliver the best possible boating experience by providing every boater – whether beginner or experienced – with the tools, insights and products they need to be smarter, safer, and enjoy themselves on the water.  

Endeavor Streaming, a global leader in premium video distribution and monetization across sports, entertainment, media, and lifestyle, has partnered with LiveLike, a leading audience engagement suite, to bring new fan engagement features to EuroLeague TV. The partnership includes an interactive experience within The Players’ View content that will enable viewers to feel closer to the action and engage with the commentators through a suite of features such as quizzes, polls, cheer meters and more.

The Premier League sold four years of UK broadcast rights for £6.7 billion, mostly to its biggest existing partners Sky Sports and TNT Sports, in a deal that cements its position as Europe’s most lucrative sports franchise. The price amounts to a 4% increase from the previous cycle, just for the live events, according to the league. The rights run from the 2025 to 2028 seasons.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Prime Video today announced a four-year deal to provide exclusive live broadcast rights in Australia for ICC cricket, which will be available on Prime Video Australia. The partnership will see Prime Video Australia exclusively stream all men’s and women’s events, including the Men’s and Women’s Cricket World Cups, T20 World Cups, Champions Trophy, U19s and the World Test Championship Final. The deal includes streaming rights in Australia for 448 live games from 2024 to 2027.

Bond University has partnered with Fempro Armour a Queensland company to develop cutting-edge protective body armour designed specifically for the female body. Fempro Armour uses patented impact absorption technology to reduce the force of contact to vulnerable areas identified in extensive research into common injuries to female athletes.

One of one of Australia’s fastest-growing sports tech startups, PlayHQ, is excited to announce a new partnership with New Zealand Cricket. The move follows a successful partnership between PlayHQ and Cricket Australia, and sees NZC join a raft of major sports across Australia and New Zealand who have turned to PlayHQ to streamline their community competition and program management.

Racing and Sports is pleased to announce it has signed a multi-year contract with Playbook Engineering to supply pre-race data and pricing services across Playbook’s platform brands. The three-year contract is to be the exclusive supplier of RAS’s best-in-class wagering technology solution, racing data and editorial content.

Guy Bracher is leaving the Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) after working with Australia’s sportstech startups and scaleups in the early ASTN days and again for the last two years.

The founders of real-time gym analytics platform, Barbell Mate, have just launched an affordable timing gate platform called Timing Mate for the high performance sports market.

Sport tech enterprise Crionet has acquired a majority stake in LIGR, a company offering cloud-based graphics, streaming and highlights solutions for sports at all levels. Founded in 2016 in Sydney, Australia, LIGR is renowned for providing cloud-based live graphics solutions for sports broadcasts. The company already delivers solutions across a diverse spectrum of sports around the world, including American football, soccer, rugby, basketball and tennis.

Hang Media has completed a $9.2 million Series A funding round. HANG will use the proceeds to accelerate product development and audience growth, expanding its leadership position in the direct-to-consumer sports media category. HANG enables fans to mingle with their heroes on livestreams across YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch.

Global gaming marketing leader Livewire is today launching Gameview, a new adtech platform providing a one-stop access point for marketers wanting to reach gamers. The new platform combines exclusive gaming media, sophisticated targeting and real-time effectiveness metrics with a creative studio.

Online sports betting operator Picklebet has secured $AUD 15m in a Series A funding round. DraftKings’ multi-stage venture capital firm Drive by DraftKings took part in the round. Last year, Picklebet entered into a two-year deal with Racing and Sports (RAS). The deal saw RAS provide its risk managed trading service to Picklebet’s racing offering.

South Australian entrepreneurs Kayla Itsines and Tobi Pearce will once again lead the SWEAT fitness empire they founded, after buying back the company they sold to US firm iFIT in 2021. Itsines, who has been the face of the brand since she and Pearce founded the company in 2015, said on Tuesday the decision to take back control is about “ensuring the best future for Sweat”. The price of the acquisition has not been disclosed.

ECAL has announced its new collaboration with the Frost Bank Center, the home of the San Antonio Spurs, to bring a slick and sophisticated digital calendar experience to basketball fans and concert goers. This partnership is yet another significant integration for ECAL, the world’s leading calendar marketing platform, designed to boost ticket sales, enhance customer engagement, and elevate the event experience for venues and stadia.

AllTrails, the world's largest and most trusted outdoor platform, was awarded iPhone App of the Year by Apple, celebrating its outstanding approach to helping people explore the outdoors. The 2023 App Store Awards spotlight app and game developers who are providing users with meaningful experiences and inspiring cultural change. Out of nearly two million apps in the App Store, AllTrails is recognized as the iPhone App of the Year for its innovative experience, user-friendly design, and, according to Apple, "for helping the world find their way outside."

PMY Group (PMY) is proud to announce that its Founder and CEO, Paul Yeomans, has been recognised as a National Finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 Australia awards. This prestigious nomination places him among an elite group of innovative entrepreneurs across the country. Under Paul's visionary leadership, PMY has emerged as a global leader in transforming major venues and events through cutting-edge technology.

The MyVenue POS solution's impact on the global sports and entertainment venue sector was recognized last night, with MyVenue winning a national category at the Australian Export Awards. “In just over 18 months, 75+ stadiums, arenas, and other major hospitality venues have deployed MyVenue’s point of sale solution in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia,” said CEO Tim Stollznow.

The world of sports and entertainment is about to witness a remarkable event, Global e-Cricket Premier League (GEPL) presented by JetSynthesys. GEPL will be streamed on JioCinema and Sports18, reaching millions of viewers daily. GEPL opens doors to cricket, video gaming and e-sports enthusiasts, offering a magnificent prize pool of INR 2.51 crore (US $300k).

Australia’s most popular destination for sporting goods, rebel, is opening the doors to its new flagship store at Emporium Melbourne on Thursday, 30 November. The flagship store has been designed to be a hyper-immersive sporting and fitness experience, boasting a NBA-sized ‘Stephen Curry Rooftop Court’ half-court, a dedicated Yoga and Wellness zone and the ‘rebel FIT LAB’; with 3D scanning and pressure plate technology to help customers find their perfect fit. The space also includes interactive digital games in a Football Zone, including AFL game ‘Take The Mark and soccer games ‘Top Bins’ and ‘Match the Footy.’

HITIQ has extended its relationship with the Western Australian Football Commission (WAFC), further cementing HITIQ's leadership in the Australian Football community. WAFC acknowledges that the precision and reliability of the data collected by HITIQ mouthguards has been instrumental in their approach to player performance and welfare. 

PlayerMaker have announced the University of Wollongong will be using their boot sensor technology in enhancing both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in exercise and sports science.

Diamond Kinetics and Marucci Sports have launched the The CATX Smart baseball bat. It's the first-ever fully-integrated Smart Bat approved by USSSA for in-game use. It features a Diamond Kinetics Gen-4 bat sensor built into the knob, that does not require charging. The CATX Smart seamlessly connects to the DK app on an iOS device via Bluetooth, providing hitters with real-time data on every swing - in-game or in the cage.