#128 🎯 Sports-Led Social Play Attracting Capital is The New Playground

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

Our next Ecosystem Report will be out next week so this newsletter features a main trend we talk about: the rising investment in Competitive Socialisation. Plus all the news, including EA Sports is becoming a sports streaming destination, starting with the MLS.

As always, have a great weekend.

Tech-Enabled Competitive Socialisation: A $1.2B Bet on Sports Entertainment

In lead up to the Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report, we’re deep diving into a rising trend i.e. Tech-enabled competitive socialisation 

A fusion of sport, technology, and social entertainment, this is emerging as a defining trend within the sports tech sector. Investors have poured $1.2 billion into this category since 2020, with momentum accelerating significantly in 2024.

📈 Surge in Investment Over the Last 5 Years

• $800 million has been invested since 2020, accounting for nearly 70% of all-time funding in this category.

• 2024 alone attracted $442.1 million, marking a sharp inflection point in both the volume and frequency of deals.

• The number of funding rounds spiked to 7 in 2024, compared to just 1 round each in 2022 and 2023, and 3 in 2021.

• Earlier years (e.g., 2020) had negligible activity (no rounds recorded), showing the category is maturing rapidly.

⛳️ Golf Venues at the Heart of the Movement

• Golf-focused concepts dominate the space, drawing 55% of total funding.

• Of the top 10 funded companies, 5 operate in golf or golf-inspired formats:

  • Topgolf ($301.4 million, Dallas)

  • Puttshack ($237.0 million, Chicago)

  • Five Iron Golf ($50.0 million, NYC)

  • Puttery ($10.0 million, Dallas)

  • Platform Golf ($5.0 million, Binghamton)

These formats blend physical gameplay with immersive digital layers, attracting new demographics and increasing dwell time at venues.

🌍 USA & UK Lead Global Dealflow

The sector is geographically concentrated, with an 81:19 funding split between the USA and UK.

💸 Top Funded Companies in the Sector

While Golf dominates, it isn’t isn’t the only sport seeing this trend. Cosm (not competitive but certainly tech-enabled socialisation), F1 Arcade (motorsports), Poolhouse (cue sports), Home Run Dugout and Batbox (baseball) feature prominently.

🎯 Expanding Landscape of Competitive Social Venues

A host of emerging and niche players are broadening the appeal of tech-enabled sports entertainment:

• BatFast, Snöbahn, Flying Axes - Focusing on cricket, skiing simulation, and axe throwing respectively.

• Dryvebox, HD Golf, Full Swing Golf - Bringing mobile or simulated golf experiences to new audiences.

• SIXES Social Cricket, Chicken N Pickle, TOCA Social - Diversifying into cricket, pickleball, and football with social overlays.

These brands reflect the growing consumer appetite for active, competitive play merged with hospitality and tech-driven engagement.

It's transitioning from a niche concept to a mainstream entertainment format, with significant investor backing.

Coming soon: Sports Tech Bootcamp 2.0

Applications are still open for our certificate course in Sports Innovation and Technology!

• A comprehensive overview of the Global Sports Tech landscape, key developments, investments, current and future trends in Sports Innovation, real world use cases, studies and live examples

• Across 20+ hours of content + Live guest sessions every week & recorded content + SportsTechDB access + access to our personal global network

Fill in the application form below and tell us why you're interested in this program.

Top News from the World of Sports Tech & Biz

⚽ Four MLS games will be live streamed in EA SPORTS FC™ Mobile as a simulcast of MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

📱 IBM and Scuderia Ferrari HP debuted a reimagined F1 mobile app designed to bring fans closer to drivers, cars and races.

💍 Oura Ring synced with Dexcom’s Stelo CGM, marking the first integration since Dexcom’s $75 million investment in the health-tracking ring maker.

📹 SportAI integrated its analytics engine into AI-powered video platform Save My Play to enhance performance breakdowns.

🎓 Arizona State University launched SPORTx, a new initiative to accelerate sports-related entrepreneurship and empower student-athletes. 

📲 Greenlite Ventures launched an AI-powered NBA daily fantasy sports platform, featuring real-time player insights through its proprietary engine, No Limit Intelligence.

🇬🇧 Team GB’s fan engagement app, developed by Yellow Panther, won a Sports Technology Award for its innovation ahead of Paris 2024.

📽️ GoVision upgraded LED video displays at Sutter Health Park to prepare the venue for the Oakland Athletics’ interim relocation.

🏀 Ballogy partnered with recruiting network PrepStar to enhance opportunities for student-athletes through tech-powered evaluation and exposure.

⛳ PIF was named title sponsor of a new global series on the Ladies European Tour, backing five women’s golf events across three continents.

📺 DAZN exited its Ligue 1 broadcasting deal at the end of the season due to irreconcilable differences with France’s LFP.

🏏 The BBC signed a new four-year media rights deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board to cover matches through 2028.

🎮 Cygames announced a sponsorship deal with the Kentucky Derby, tying in its horse-themed video game for event activations.

📉 Nike facing a class-action lawsuit in Australia over its decision to shut down its NFT platform, .Swoosh.

📤 Dan Reed, former NBA exec and Head of Sports at Meta, left the company after building its sports division and leading Reality Labs.

🏁 Formula 1 extended its Mexico City Grand Prix deal through 2028 and signed a 10-year extension with Miami Grand Prix to keep the race on the calendar through 2041.

🏎️ Neuro Gum named F1 driver Yuki Tsunoda as global brand ambassador in a new international marketing partnership.

Money Talks:

💰 Unrivaled Sports, a youth athletics company co-founded by David Blitzer and Josh Harris, raised $120 million in a round led by DICK’s Sporting Goods.

💰 MyVenue, an Australian POS tech company for event venues, received a majority investment of an undisclosed amount from Greater Sum Ventures to scale its global presence.

🤝 Eventshop, a Nashville-based fan experience company, acquired AR firm Interactive Images to enhance its augmented reality content and capabilities, for an undisclosed amount.

🤝 Billionaires Thomas Tull and Mark Walter acquired a 5% stake in Mubadala Capital, marking only the second time external investors held a stake in the Abu Dhabi firm.

⚽ David Beckham, Gary Neville, and the Class of ’92 sold a controlling stake in Salford City FC to a Singapore-based group led by billionaire Peter Lim.

💸 Rory McIlroy partnered with private equity giant TPG to launch TPG Sports, an investment platform aimed at reshaping the sports industry through Symphony Ventures.

Recap from our content archive:

🔙 STX Article: New Leagues and Emerging Formats

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

💪🏽 SportsTech AllStars Recap: Indian Sports Business and Tech Report series.