SportsTech Weekly: Innovation, Investment, and Strategic Partnerships
Week 16 of 2025 showcases robust funding activity, technology launches, and expansion across the global sports ecosystem
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.
Before we get started, if you didn’t manage to get last week’s developments, be sure to find the recap of week 15's sports tech highlights.
As we move through this past week, the sports technology sector continues to demonstrate remarkable momentum across multiple domains. From significant funding rounds supporting innovative startups to strategic acquisitions and partnerships, the industry is experiencing unprecedented growth and transformation.
This week's developments highlight how technology continues to reshape the sports landscape, with AI integration, performance analytics, and enhanced fan experiences taking centre stage. The geographic diversity of these initiatives—from Australia's Olympic talent identification programme to India's smart sports flooring innovations—underscores the global nature of sports technology's evolution and its increasing importance to the business of sports worldwide.
Without further ado;
FUNDING & INVESTMENTS 💰
Image source: StartupNews
Cricketer Glenn Maxwell enters his first business venture with an investment into Drive FITT, membership-based sports platform, designed around cricket, fitness and recovery
Sports tech startup SportsSkill has secured an investment in a pre-seed funding round led by Waimea Bay Investments, directed toward expansion into global markets
The founders of Topgolf have raised $34 million in a seed round, for a new tech-infused pool entertainment venture, Poolhouse, led by US VC firm Sharp Alpha
Dream Sports is set to acquire a 15% stake in Cricbuzz, a cricket content platform worth roughly $50 million, the first investment in a cricket-focused media entity
Teamworks, an operating system for sports organisations provider, received an undisclosed amount in debt financing from CIBC Innovation Banking
Why This Matters: The seed round for Poolhouse represents a huge vote of confidence in the "Topgolf model" expanding beyond golf into other recreational activities. With the Topgolf founders leveraging their proven expertise in combining technology, socialisation, and sports, this substantial early-stage funding suggests investors see enormous potential in tech-enhanced social sports experiences. This development could accelerate the transformation of traditionally casual activities into technology-driven entertainment destinations, potentially creating an entirely new category in the sports-entertainment landscape.
PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS 🤝🏼
Image source: Recast
NASCAR, has partnered with Recast, the fintech-for-media company to expand reach and drive engagement for motorsports fans globally
The NFL has selected NetApp, to allow for better managing of data, with the AI-powered startup becoming the league's official intelligent data infrastructure partner
The Kraft Group has announced a multi-year partnership with NWN to revamp its technology infrastructure, becoming the Official Technology Infrastructure Partner
JM Eagle LA Championship has partnered with IRCODE, a visual interactive experiences company, becoming the Technology Partner of the golf tournament
The MLS has announced its extended multi-year partnership with Tiktok, which will see the platform feature exclusive content and match highlights for fans
The Brazilian Football Confederation has extended its partnership with Sportradar Integrity Services in combating match fixing and other integrity issues in Brazilian soccer
Stats Perform, the sports data technology provider, announced an official data partnership with the Northern Super League for the next 3 seasons
Image source: ATP Tour
The ATP Tour has announced a multi-year global partnership with Austrian crypto firm Bitpanda, becoming an Official Partner of several other ATP tours as well
Nike and Hyperice have announced the release of their newest collaboration, The Hyperboot, mobile footwear designed to accelerate warm-up and recovery
Why This Matters: The NFL's partnership with NetApp signals a critical evolution in how major sports leagues approach their data management strategies. As the volume of sports data continues to explode—from player tracking to fan behaviour analytics—the NFL's investment in intelligent data infrastructure acknowledges that competitive advantage increasingly depends on how effectively organisations can process, analyse, and deploy insights from their data assets. This partnership could establish new benchmarks for data management across professional sports, potentially influencing everything from in-game strategy to business operations and fan engagement initiatives.
PRODUCT LAUNCHES & TECH INNOVATIONS 🔬
Image source: Sports Business Journal
AWRE Sports announced a multi-year agreement with MLB’s Draft League and Appalachian League, becoming the the official camera and streaming provider
The Queensland government has developed an AI-powered application, leveraging computer vision to scout for potential Olympic athletes
Player tracking company STATSports, has launched Apex 2.0, the new GPS tracker designed to boost performance and prevent injury
Indian-based Gallant Sports announced the launch of an advanced new line of smart sports flooring and modular field systems
Major League Baseball (MLB) has reportedly held talks about licensing its streaming platform MLB.TV game package to broadcasters and/or digital platforms
The National Lacrosse League is set to debut a new multiview streaming option for NLL+ subscribers, allowing a fans to watch up to four live games simultaneously
Why This Matters: The Queensland government's AI-powered athlete identification application represents a potentially transformative approach to Olympic talent discovery. By using computer vision to identify physical attributes and movement patterns indicative of athletic potential, this technology could democratise the talent identification process, uncovering promising athletes who might otherwise be overlooked by traditional scouting methods. This initiative could fundamentally alter how countries approach Olympic development programmes, shifting from subjective assessment to data-driven talent identification that may ultimately reshape the competitive landscape of international sports.
ACQUISITIONS & CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS 🪜
Image source: WSC Sports
WSC Sports, the AI-driven sports content automation provider, has acquired Infront Lab’s Engines 365, helping sports teams manage and deliver digital experiences
Strava announced that it is set to acquire Runna, a UK-based tech company developing personalised running training plans and coaching
Revelyst Inc. announced a leadership transition plan for its San Diego-based Precision Sports Technology platform
Why This Matters: Strava's acquisition of Runna shows a strategic shift for the popular fitness platform from simply tracking athletic activities to providing personalised training guidance. This move positions Strava to capture more value from its massive user base by expanding from performance monitoring into coaching services, potentially transforming the app from a social fitness network into a comprehensive training ecosystem. As the boundaries between fitness tracking, social media, and personalised coaching continue to blur, this acquisition could accelerate the evolution of consumer fitness applications toward more holistic, AI-driven training solutions.
EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES & ACCELERATORS 🏗️
Image source: Global Institute of Sport
The Global Institute of Sport (GIS) and the University of Newcastle announced a partnership to establish a new innovative sports university campus in Sydney
Sports Innovation Lab, in partnership with Microsoft, launched a women's sports-focused AI education programme, gathering industry professionals in NYC
The Orlando Magic Venture Challenge selected five companies for its inaugural class, featuring EDGE Sound Research; Proto; Somnee; TOGETHXR; and VisioLab
Why This Matters: The Sports Innovation Lab's women's sports-focused AI education programme represents a critical step toward addressing both the gender gap in sports technology and the underrepresentation of women's sports in technological innovation. By specifically focusing on applications of AI for women's sports, this initiative recognises the unique challenges and opportunities in this rapidly growing segment. The programme could accelerate the development of tailored technological solutions for women's sports while simultaneously creating pathways for more diverse leadership in sports technology, potentially transforming both the creation and application of sports tech innovations.
FINAL THOUGHTS
We're witnessing an increasingly mature sports technology ecosystem characterised by strategic investments, cross-industry partnerships, and targeted product innovations (something you’ll hear time and again). The diversity of this week's developments, spanning talent identification, integrity protection, content distribution, and performance enhancement, illustrates how technology is becoming embedded across every facet of the sports industry.
Particularly notable is the acceleration of AI integration across multiple domains, from the Queensland government's athlete identification initiative to the NFL's data infrastructure partnership. These implementations are moving beyond experimental applications toward core operational capabilities that fundamentally reshape how sports organisations function and compete.
Looking ahead, we anticipate continued consolidation within the sports technology landscape as established players expand their capabilities through strategic acquisitions, while new entrants continue to attract significant funding with innovative approaches to persistent industry challenges. Organisations that successfully balance technological advancement with authentic sports experiences will likely emerge as leaders in this dynamic and rapidly evolving environment. Stay tuned for next week's roundup as we continue tracking the transformative developments reshaping the global sports technology landscape.
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 others who might benefit from these insights. The sports tech industry grows stronger when we learn together.