News, features & insights from the world of SportsTech. Every Week.
A Saturday morning newsletter this week on account of travels.
Were at the Impulse Summit in St. Gallen as partners for the Startup competition, where Piing took the win! Congratulations to them and the other finalists. Was a really enjoyable session with high quality pitches and jury interactions.
Back to our regular programming for November, where the focus is the upcoming 5th edition of our Global SportsTech VC Report.
As a little preview of the analysis to come in the report, I posted a list on LinkedIn of all the new funds that we’ve seen enter the SportsTech market over the last 12 months. 31 new funds with $4B+ in capital to be deployed. Expect some fireworks. Full details are in the article below.
Speaking of fireworks, in case you didn’t know, the Indian festival of light Diwali is this weekend. So Happy Diwali to those who celebrate it. And for those who don’t, wish an Indian friend for a chance at some delicious sweets and treats 🪔
Feature Article
More VCs in SportsTech: 31 New Funds with at least $4B+ to Deploy
2023 has been a rough year for SportsTech startups looking for funding, amount invested at a 5 year low. Though M&A dealflow has been at an all-time high.
So it’s not that there’s no capital, it’s just being deployed in a different way.
Though it’s been most interesting to see the sheer number of funds coming into the space over the last 12 months. Either new investors or existing investors with follow on funds.
31 Funds with at least $4b+ of announced capital over the last 12 months, by our count. Yes some of that has already been deployed but most of it is yet to hit the market 💰
That’s a fair bit of dry powder and we’re waiting for the boom 💥
We’ll let the numbers speak for themselves when the 5th edition of our Global SportsTech VC Report #GSTVCR23 comes out at the end of the month.
Go to the article for the list of funds who have made announcements in that period. It includes links to the funds and the news source to know more.
To startup founders and people building things: Even if 2023 has been slow, be patient and find ways to ride it out.
To quote “The Dark Knight”, or Thomas Fuller if you prefer, – The night is darkest before the dawn 🦇
Global SportsTech VC Report 2023: Coming Soon
We’re about a month away from publishing the 5th edition of our SportsTech VC Report, summarising what’s been a really interesting year so far for SportsTech.
Dealflow is at a low, not a lot money going around. Yet interest has never been higher with new funds are being almost announced every week. Curious times. We’ll get into it.
Word to startups, investors and other interested stakeholders: partnership options available. Reach out if you want to be involved.
Top News from the World of SportsTech
🥊 Netflix is reportedly exploring a venture into the world of boxing that could bring a Jake Paul fight card to the streaming service. Apparently they are also looking into the possibility of streaming Premier Boxing Champions.
🚀 The Minnesota Twins Accelerator by Techstars announced their third cohort of 10 SportsTech startups
⚽ Nordic startup Playfinity launched its new Gaming Soccerball offering a fusion of physical and digital play.
💻 ESPN will launch their full DTC streaming service no later than 2025 as confirmed by Bob Iger.
🏎️ Williams F1 Team’s Esports division has announced the first official season of its student competition, the Student Racing League. 30 schools and colleges from the UK will compete against each other, ending with a final at the Williams F1 HQ in Oxfordshire.
🚀 SCCG Management has renewed its partnership with Rolling Insights, to announce the Breakaway Accelerator, a new program designed to support emerging SportsTech startups.
Funding News:
💰 Saudi Arabia’s ambitious NEOM has made a $50 million investment into Animoca Brands, a major player in Web3 based games and solutions for sports.
💰 Saudi Arabia’s PIF is apparently interested in buying tennis’ Madrid Open and Miami Open. And they’ve expressed interest in buying a multibillion-dollar stake in the Indian Premier League. #SplashThatCash
💰 Legends has acquired ASM Global in a $2.4B deal to create a premium live events company dedicated to providing outstanding experiences for fans around the world.
Latest from our Channels
🎙️#186 Betahaus: A global community of freelancers, startups, entrepreneurs and creatives.
In this episode, we are joined by Olivia Czetwertynski, CSO of Betahaus, the pioneers behind community-driven co-working spaces and incubators. We also with chat a series of startups presenting their solutions, 1 from Berlin and 3 others from Korea, part of the Korean Health and Sports Tech program at Betahaus. Watch the full video here.
⚡ STX Weekly: Saudi Arabia unveils new Esports World Cup, AO StartUps opens new global intake.
Podcast Throwback
🎙️#155 Elysian Park – A global investment platform that focuses on the intersection of sports with health, culture, commerce, and technology to build the future of sports.
Interviewing Max Feldstein, Vice President of Elysian Park
Elysian Park, owned by the LA Dodgers, is a global investment platform focusing on the intersection of sports with health, culture, commerce, and technology. Watch the full video here.
All our podcasts are now available as Vodcasts on our YouTube channel. We will be publishing new episodes and back catalogue from the year simultaneously so there’s plenty to watch.
Events we will see you at
13th November
#ImpacTO2023: 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗩𝗔𝗭𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗙𝗨𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗢
Delve into the latest trends and captivating discussions at the ImpacTO2023 Conference, a three-day event dedicated to exploring the Sports Ecosystem, in Turin.
SportsTechX Co-Founder Rohn discusses the SportsTech Ecosystem Overview & Trends at the event on the 13th of November.
15th November
WeSportUP 2023 DEMO DAY
Demo Day in Rome will present the innovative startups part of WeSportUp’s second cycle.
SportsTechX Co-Founder Rohn will present the SportsTech Ecosystem Overview & Trends at the event on the 15th of November.