SportsTech Weekly: AI Partnerships Dominate Industry Growth
Week 9 of 2025 showcases tech giants entering sports, strategic AI collaborations, and significant investments reshaping the future of sports technology
Hello sports tech enthusiasts 👋🏼 Welcome to Regen Sports, your twice-weekly deep dive into the intersection of sports and technology. Every Monday, catch up on the week's most important developments in sports innovation, and every Thursday, explore in-depth analysis of trends, companies, and technological breakthroughs reshaping the future of sports.
As always, if you didn’t manage to get last week’s developments, be sure to find the recap here. Now onto this week’s headlines, the sports tech ecosystem continues to expand and evolve with remarkable speed. The convergence of AI and sports has reached new heights with OpenAI making its first motorsports collaboration and multiple AI-powered platforms securing significant partnerships and funding.
Meanwhile, traditional sports organisations are rapidly evolving their technological capabilities, from FC Barcelona's innovation hub investments to the ATP's strategic content partnership targeting younger audiences (something we’ll see more and more of).
This week's developments highlight how technology is not merely enhancing sports but fundamentally transforming the industry's operational, commercial, and engagement models.
Without further ado;
PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS 🤝🏼
Image source: FC Barcelona
Chip Ganassi Racing becomes the first IndyCar team to partner with OpenAI on a research collaboration, as well as OpenAI’s first collaboration in motorsports
FC Barcelona‘s innovation hub, BIHUB, announced an investment in Riterz, an AI-powered platform designed to digitalise sports sponsorship
Grand Slam Track™, the professional track competition announced global sports AI tech company, Stats Perform as the exclusive global data and betting rights provider
Playfly Sports, the fan engagement platform, has agreed a 15-year multimedia rights deals partnership with Texas A&M, reportedly worth $515M, starting in July 2026
The ATP tour has announced a content partnership with Overtime, offering BTS tennis content to Overtime's 100M+ millennial and Gen Z/Alpha audience
Manchester City have announced a partnership with Vtex, a digital e-commerce platform, becoming the club’s Official Digital Commerce Orchestration Partner
The National Hockey League has partnered up with Apple, making the Apple watch the de facto smartwatch for on-ice referees
Content creation platform Greenfly has signed an extension to their content partnership, covering a multi-year, league-wide deal with German football’s DFL governing body
Sports performance analysis and scouting company Hudl, has announced a renewal of their scouting rights partnership with United Soccer League
Why This Matters: OpenAI's partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing represents a major milestone in motorsports technology integration. As the first collaboration between a leading AI research lab and an IndyCar team, this partnership could transform race strategy, vehicle performance optimisation, and driver training. The insights gained could eventually cascade throughout motorsports and potentially influence consumer automotive technology, creating a new benchmark for AI application in high-performance sports environments.
AI & TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS 🦾
Image source: Sportsvideo
FlightScope, the company for tracking and analysing sports performance data, announced the launch of Badger AI, an advanced AI assistant for golfers
Fastbreak.ai, the AI-driven sports scheduling platform, announced a strategic partnership with the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
AI-Media, an AI-powered captioning and translation solutions provider, announced its partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to provide captioning services
AiFi, a spatial intelligence platform,in collaboration with Verizon and the Atlanta Hawks opened the Hawks Express cashierless checkout store at State Farm Arena
The Sacramento Kings, in collaboration with Ticketmaster, have partnered with OneCourt, enhancing accessibility for blind and low vision fans
University of Cincinnati Athletics announced a partnership with Lava.ai, a provider of fan engagement and data activation solutions, to enhance fan engagement experiences
Why This Matters: The Sacramento Kings' collaboration with OneCourt (the 2nd NBA team to do so) demonstrates a meaningful application of technology to improve sports accessibility. By leveraging innovation to enhance the experience for blind and low-vision fans, this initiative sets an important precedent for inclusivity in sports entertainment. As professional sports leagues face increasing pressure to become more accessible, this partnership showcases how technological solutions can break down barriers and create more equitable fan experiences, potentially influencing industry-wide standards for accessibility.
FUNDING & INVESTMENTS 💰
Image source: Jupiter Links GC
Bayern Munich player Harry Kane has invested in Tiger Woods' TGL team Jupiter Links GC, becoming a limited partner in the team
Yashaa Global Capital VC fund, with a $75 million target fund size, will look to invest in sports tech, esports, fitness, and related industries.
Founders of crypto exchange Gemini, the Winklevoss brothers, invested $4.5 million for a 45% stake in Real Bedford FC
Prorizon, a Manchester-based health and sports tech startup, successfully raised £400k in a pre-seed funding round led by GC Angels
SponsWatch, a Sweden-based AI-powered sports sponsorship analytics company, successfully raised €1m in seed funding, led by node.vc
Why This Matters: The Winklevoss brothers' investment in Real Bedford FC represents an increasing convergence of crypto wealth and traditional sports ownership. With a 45% stake, this move suggests growing interest from tech and crypto entrepreneurs in transforming lower-league football clubs through technology-driven approaches to fan engagement, revenue generation, and talent development. This investment could serve as a case study for how digital-first thinking might revitalise smaller sports organisations and create new operational models for clubs outside the elite leagues.
DIGITAL EXPANSION & INNOVATION 🔬
Image source: Globenewswire
Fanatics, has announced an expansion in Hyderabad with the launch of a digital sports innovation centre, with plans to double its workforce to 500 people over the next 2 years
Sports streaming service DAZN, announced the launch of its basketball division, to be led by former NBA sports executive Jesus Bueno
Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech selected 10 startups for the fifth edition of it’s programme, with the 6-month programme set to start this week
The Argentine Football Association (AFA), has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange, XBO.com, making digital asset trading accessible and secure
Aston Villa FC, in partnership with Socios.com, announced the launch of the AV150 Digital Collectibles, an extension to their 150th Anniversary Sticker Album
Paris Saint-Germain unveiled PSG Labs, a new global venture platform dedicated to accelerating technology in sports, fan experience, and performance.
Why This Matters: Fanatics' expansion in Hyderabad with plans to double its workforce to 500 people signals the growing importance of India as a talent hub for sports tech development (I broke down a report about it here). This investment reflects the strategic value of combining India's technical expertise with global sports merchandising and fan engagement models. As sports organisations increasingly compete for digital talent, establishing innovation centres in technology-rich markets like India could become a competitive advantage, potentially accelerating the development of next-generation fan experiences and commerce solutions.
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS 📈
Fastbreak AI, the AI-powered sports operations engine, announced the acquisition of Barcelogic, a European sports schedule optimisation provider
Why This Matters: The acquisition demonstrates the growing sophistication of AI-powered sports operations platforms. By integrating European scheduling expertise with their existing AI capabilities, Fastbreak is positioning itself to address one of sports' most complex operational challenges, on a global scale. This consolidation could lead to more efficient league operations, improved athlete welfare through optimised travel and recovery periods, and enhanced broadcast scheduling that maximises audience engagement across different markets and time zones.
As week 9 comes to an end, we're witnessing an unprecedented acceleration in sports tech integration across all levels of the industry. The strategic partnerships between tech giants and sports organisations, coupled with substantial investments in AI-powered solutions, underscore the industry's commitment to innovation. Particularly noteworthy is the emphasis on accessibility and inclusivity, with multiple initiatives focused on enhancing the sports experience for diverse audiences.
Looking ahead, the convergence of AI, data analytics, and fan engagement technologies promises to create more personalised, accessible, and immersive sports experiences. As traditional sports entities continue to embrace digital transformation, and technology companies further embed themselves in the sports ecosystem, we can expect to see increasingly sophisticated solutions that not only enhance performance and operations but fundamentally reimagine how sports are experienced by fans worldwide. Stay tuned for next week's roundup as we continue to track these transformative developments in sports tech.
Track the Trends. Spot the plays. Shape the game.
Thanks for reading,
Dean
P.S. If you found this newsletter valuable, please share it with colleagues who might benefit from these insights. The sports tech industry grows stronger when we learn together.