#118 📢 OUT NOW: Indian Sports Business and Tech Report 2025

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

We close out February with our first report of the year—the Indian Sports Business & Tech Report. A deep dive into an often-overlooked hub of sports innovation.

Last week’s Saturday newsletter seemed to go down really well (at least given the open rate) so we’ve decided to give Saturday another go. Let us know if you have a clear preference.

Indian Sports Business and Tech Report 2025: OUT NOW!

It’s finally here: our first ever Indian Sports Business & Tech Report.

The report delivers an in-depth look into India's fast-changing sports business and innovation landscape. It presents:

• Sports Business Ecosystem Overview: Growing importance of sports in India and insights into 4 Key Pillars of Indian Sports Business.

• Sports Tech Investment Analysis: A quick overview of global SportsTech investment numbers, a breakdown of the Indian Sports Tech investment numbers and the 4 Key Pillars of Indian Sports Tech. 

• Emerging Market Opportunities: Our take on how tech-enabled innovations can leverage the emerging opportunities in the Indian sports landscape. Plus we shine our spotlight on 10 companies to watch out for and key actors in the Indian Sports Innovation ecosystem - leading investors and initiatives. 

All insights are supported by comprehensive data from our research team and expert opinions from innovators across both Indian and international sports innovation ecosystems.

Key findings from the report:

• India Ranks 2nd in Global Sports Tech Investment by Country since 2020.

• 7000+ Total number of active Global SportsTech Startups, with 350+ from India, ranking 3rd in the world for number of startups.

• 37 global unicorns in Sports Tech out of which 4 are from India.

• Mumbai tops Sports Tech investment value in India with total deals over $1.8 billion.

• Bangalore tops the total number of funded startups in India with 33 companies.

For all the details on this and much more, you need to…

Top News from the World of Sports Tech & Biz

⚽ At Web Summit Qatar Paris Saint-Germain launched PSG Labs: a global initiative designed to accelerate cutting-edge technology in sports, fan experience, and performance.

🏆 Comcast NBCUniversal Sports Tech announced the 10 companies that made it to the fifth class of accelerator program.

🏈 Beginning next season, the NFL is expected to replace the chains - used to indicate the line to gain on a series of downs - with the Hawk-Eye virtual measurement system.

🇮🇳 Fanatics, a global leader in digital sports innovation, announced a major expansion in Hyderabad, India, reinforcing its commitment to tech advancement. Fanatics is doubling its technical workforce, increasing from 250 to over 500 employees within the next two years.

🏀 NBA star Tristan Thompson launched a basketball analytics AI tool, TracyAI, which brings locker room insights to fans.

🏀 AiFi, a spatial intelligence platform empowering businesses to deploy autonomous solutions, announced a collaboration with Verizon and the Atlanta Hawks to power the newly added Hawks Express Cashierless Checkout store at State Farm Arena.

🏀 Sacramento Kings in collaboration with Ticketmaster and OneCourt announced an innovative way for Blind and Low Vision fans to experience live basketball action at Golden 1 Center. 

🎾 The ATP announced a new content partnership with Overtime that will see Overtime deliver behind-the-scenes tennis content to its significant millennial and Gen Z/Alpha audience. 

⚾ ESPN and Major League Baseball will break up after nearly 40 years together after the current season, a sign of how even the most durable content relationships have come under scrutiny in the streaming era.

⚾ The Japanese arm of Amazon Prime Video secured several baseball rights (MLB, Tokyo Series, Samurai Japan) ahead of the upcoming 2025 Major League Baseball campaign.

⚾ The Minnesota Twins are hustling to regroup after learning that a leading contender in their search for a new owner, the billionaire Justin Ishbia, abandoned his bid for the team to instead acquire the Chicago White Sox.

🤼‍♂️ TKO Group Holdings announced that the UFC, WWE and PBR (Professional Bull Riders), will take over the T-Mobile Center for a series of major events from April 24-28.

🏏 RedBird Capital Partners is seeking to sell its minority stake in IPL team Rajasthan Royals, aiming to double its initial $37.5 million investment made four years ago. The IPLs soaring valuation and global demand for cricket team ownership have fueled interest. 

⚽ More than three-quarters (76%) of women’s football fans believe they do not see enough media coverage of the sport.

⚽ Los Angeles Football Club retained their status as the most valuable Major League Soccer team for a third consecutive year, according to the annual 2025 list published by business magazine Forbes.

Money Talks:

💸 Harry Kane has become a limited partner and investor in Tiger Woods’ TGL Team, Jupiter Links GC.

💰 Philly-based trading card platform CollX raised a $10 million Series A, led by Brand Foundry Venture and 114 Ventures .

💰 CDP Venture Capital signed an investment agreement in a capital increase for up to a total of €5 million in NOB 4.0, the owner of cycling platform Imatra, as part of a larger round of capital increase investment for a total of €8 million, also involving other private investors.

💰 Swedish SponsWatch, a provider of AI-powered sponsorship analytics, secured €1 million Seed funding in a round led by node.vc, with participation from Venrex (early investors in Just Eat, Revolut, and Midnite).

🤝 Fastbreak AI, the premier AI-powered sports operations engine, acquired Barcelogic, a leading European sports schedule optimization provider, for an undisclosed amount. 

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.