#114 💸 Sports Tech Investment in Jan crosses $3.9 billion!

In partnership with

News, features & insights from the world of Sports Tech & Biz. Every Week.

January has absolutely flown by and in Sports Tech terms it has really gotten off to a flyer, as outlined in our Monthly Investment Summary.

A blockbuster start to the year, lets hope this rocket ship has plenty of fuel 🚀

Sports Tech Monthly Investment Roundup

The data is a snapshot from our SportsTechDB. with only highlights included in this newsletter edition. Head there for more in-depth data.

What a start to 2025 in Sports Tech.

Investment in January 2025 has already surpassed the total investment volume of 2024, a mega beginning to the year. The month saw $3.9 billion in investments, mainly from two major deals: Infinite Reality and DAZN. There’s some real momentum in the investment ecosystem.

And as we’ve mentioned in previous editions, the Sports Tech ecosystem has really gotten off to a fast start with

• Multiple fund announcements: Scrum Ventures & AO Ventures

• Cohort announcements: AO Startups

• Cohort applications open: Apex & Barça Innovation Hub 

• New innovation programs: FIFA 

January really has flown by. Here’s a quick Investment summary of the month:

• Geography: North America saw the biggest deal ($3b) which constitutes most of the funding but there was also significant activity in Europe.

• Sectors: Essentially all of the funding was in the ‘Fans & Content’ sector. The most funded sector in 2024 and seems like this year is on the same track. Though M&A activity was in the other two sectors.

• Top Deals: $3 billion in funding for Infinite Reality and $827 million in funding for Dazn.

Learn AI in 5 minutes a day

This is the easiest way for a busy person wanting to learn AI in as little time as possible:

1. Sign up for The Rundown AI newsletter

2. They send you 5-minute email updates on the latest AI news and how to use it

3. You learn how to become 2x more productive by leveraging AI

Sign up to start learning.

SportsTechX 2025: Want to be featured?

Plenty of opportunities for collaboration. If interested, get in touch: either as a reply to this email or directly to [email protected].

Top News from the World of Sports Tech & Biz

🏈 Sony, an official technology partner of the NFL, will have more technology than ever capturing every angle in this year's Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on February 9th.

⚽ Juventus are the first Italian team to be invited to take part in the Infinity League, the innovative indoor tournament created by DAZN that combines sport, technology and entertainment. The event will be held on 22 March 2025 in Munich and will be broadcast live on DAZN, free to air in over 200 countries.

⚾ Major League Baseball is preparing the automated ball-strike system, or ABS (aka Robo- Umps), for its biggest test yet this spring training that will involve Pro players to see how this tech-driven umpiring holds up under pressure. 

🎮 NIP Group announced the establishment of a dedicated game publishing division, marking a significant expansion of NIP Group's digital entertainment ecosystem. 

🏒 The NHL has created a new youth-focused program called NHL Hockeyverse Matchup of the Week, a 30-minute animated program to use EDGE data to recap regular-season games. 

🏀 The Chicago Bulls recorded a few short videos of Derrick Rose and enlisted Proto Hologram to make a life-size projection that would play on loop in the arena atrium.

🏀 Adam Silver confirmed that the NBA is looking for a way to expand its footprint in Europe, maybe with a new league.

🎦 Premiership Rugby is planning to make an investment in digital content to capitalise on audience growth. Centralised sponsorships and overseas games could also be considered to broaden Premiership Rugby's appeal to fans and partners.

⚽ Major League Soccer returned to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

💪🏽 LeBron James joined E1 as the latest team owner, following fellow sporting greats including Tom Brady and Rafael Nadal at the all-electric powerboat championship.

📢 Drake Star released their Global Gaming Report Q4 2024. Read here. 

✅ LaSource released the third edition of, 40 Sports & Entertainment Startups to Follow in 2025, a curated selection of the most promising and impactful startups driving innovation in the sports industry.

Money Talks:

💸 DAZN founder Sir Leonard Blavatnik invested an additional $827 million into the sports streaming service, with the total amount put in by him now reaching $6.7 billion.

💸 Major League Pickleball announced that the AZ Drive sold a controlling stake in the team at a valuation of over $10 million to a group highlighted by Charles Darling and Tim Fyke of Proton Sports. 

💰 Sports investment firm Apex invested in the six-a-side Ballers League, alongside a roster of its football stars- Diogo Dalot, Diogo Jota, Mason Mount, José Fonte, André Silva, and Ferdi Kadıoğlu- as part of a €23 million ($2.4 m) Series A funding round led by EQT Ventures. 

💰 Springbok Analytics raised $5 million in Series A funding round to advance its leadership in Muscle Health Analysis, led by Transition Equity Partners with participation from the NBA, Cartan Capital and others.

💰 Coopah, an AI-powered run coaching app, raised $1.5 million in a seed funding round, led by Redrice Ventures and Active Partners.

💰 Indian gaming startup MetaShot raised Rs 11 crore ($1.3 million) from Sauce VC with participation from Sharrp Ventures and Panthera Peak Capital.

💰 SportAI, an AI-powered racquet sports technique analysis platform, raised $805K in funding through grants administered by Innovation Norway and Eurostars. The grants follow pre-seed ($750K) and seed ($1.8M) raises in 2024.

🤝 Autograph, co-founded by Tom Brady, and Future announced their merger to combine human performance coaching, iconic athletes, and AI. 

Recap from our content archive

🔙 STX Article: Innovative Fan Engagement- The Future of Sports in the Metaverse, Web3, and Beyond

✅ STX Monthly: Last month’s sports tech dealflow, in case you missed it.

💪🏽 SportsTech AllStars Recap: Global Sports Tech VC Report series.