#142 📈 Big Corps Betting Big on Sports Startups

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

From Red Bull to Sportradar, we've rounded up some of the most interesting corporate venture capital investments and innovation programs making waves in sports right now.

Corporate Venture Capital on the rise in Sports

Corporate venture capital in sports is starting to heat up. We've seen big companies move beyond just slapping their logos on jerseys to actually putting money into sports startups and building out their own innovation labs. Sure, it's been happening here and there for a while now, but we think this is just the beginning of something much bigger.

Here's the thing that makes this interesting: corporates and sports tech are actually a pretty natural fit. Unlike venture capital and private equity firms that are basically counting down the days to their exit from day one, big corporations can afford to play the long game without getting too antsy about that timeline.

Here’s a list of high‑profile corporates that have launched CVC arms or innovation labs, amplifying their influence in early‑stage sports technology.

Corporate investments and fund activity

• In April this year, Red Bull announced its €200 million dedicated investment arm Red Bull Ventures, focused on a variety of areas ranging from sport and human performance, Media & entertainment technology, Advanced manufacturing and supply chain innovation & sustainability.

• DSG Ventures, the $50 million fund from Dick’s Sporting Goods, backed youth sports platform Unrivaled Sports in its $120 million raise.

• Drive by DraftKings announced it will increase its exposure in real-money gaming ventures.

• The Corporate Ventures team at adidas has been quite active for a number of years, executing deals in the likes of Runtastic and OneFootball while more recently participating in UEFA’s Champions Innovate initiative connected to the Champions League 2025 final in Munich

• Sony Innovation Fund took part in SportsVisio’s $3.2 million raise, bringing AI-powered video capture and analytics deeper into the amateur sports market.

• Decathlon Pulse is a corporate venture initiative focused on sports tech innovation, emerging from within the Decathlon ecosystem.

• Sapphire Ventures was first established as the venture capital arm of SAP before spinning off into an independent entity where Sapphire Sport is one of its key verticals, closing their second fund of $181 million in 2023.

• Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech welcomed 10 companies to its 2025 cohort, offering access to partners such as NBC Sports, NASCAR, and the PGA Tour.

• Deloitte’s Sports Innovation Hub, alongside its expanded IOC partnership, continued to connect sports tech solutions with major global events.

• Sportradar’s Acceleradar and Futures Hub are their startup-facing innovation programs, designed to nurture early-stage sports-tech ventures.

What's really changed is how integrated this has become. Companies aren't just writing checks anymore - they're building testing grounds for the startups they back. For founders, that means funding now comes with a built-in activation pathway straight into leagues, events, and fan experiences that their investors actually control.

For the corporates themselves, CVC has evolved way beyond just deploying capital. It's become a product development engine and a way to extract more value from their sports rights. We've gone from passive sponsors slapping logos on things to active builders reshaping the entire sports tech landscape.

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Top News from the World of Sports Tech & Biz

⚽ The Premier League is planning to test Ref Cams in selected matches during its ­opening round of fixtures this weekend with a view to making the new technology a permanent feature of live TV games for the rest of the season.

🥊 The Professional Fighters League (PFL), one of the fastest-growing and most innovative sports leagues in the world, announced the launch of a next-generation global fan loyalty experience, PFL Rewards, powered by tech innovator Futureverse, a leader in AI, blockchain, and immersive fan experiences. 

⛵ SailGP launched a new mixed reality app today - 'SailGP RaceScape XR' - ahead of the Germany Sail Grand Prix. This app allows fans around the world to get closer to the action, designed for Apple Vision Pro.

🎟️ Fanatics launched Fanatics One, its first cross-business loyalty program that will offer rewards and experiences encompassing everything from fan apparel and trading cards to online betting and access to special events.

🏈 Schutt launched the F7 Pro helmet in spring 2025, combining advanced safety features with updated styling for NFL players.

🏀 Duke basketball unveiled a new robot to handle field work, named Sergei, and it’s being used on the fields and various other things around campus.

🚀 The University of Cincinnati Athletics launched a new mobile app, GoBearcats, to improve fan experience by integrating ticketing, content, loyalty programs, and in-venue engagement.

🏈 Livewire, a global gaming marketing company, announced a strategic multi-year partnership with the NFL to launch the ‘NFL Race to the End Zone’, a sports docuseries blending NFL fandom with creator-led gaming culture set to debut during the 2025 NFL season.

⚽ nVenue signed a global partnership with IMG Arena to deliver live and micro-betting for MLS matches.

🎥 DICK’S Sporting Goods launched its own film production company, with its first feature released on August 12.

🥋 Paramount+ secured exclusive US rights to UFC events in a $7.7 billion deal with TKO Group Holdings.

🏟️ Levi’s Stadium completed a $200 million upgrade including a glass-to-glass 4K IP-based control room ahead of the Super Bowl and FIFA Men’s World Cup.

🏉 Red Bull completed its takeover of Newcastle Falcons, adding the rugby club to its global sports portfolio.

🏎️ F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali indicated openness to adding more sprint races and highlighted synergies with MotoGP after Liberty’s acquisition of the series.

🏐 Pro Volleyball Federation and Major League Volleyball announced a merger forming Major League Volleyball, creating a unified professional women’s volleyball league in the United States.

Money Talks:

💰 Jump raised $23 million in Series A funding led by Seven Seven Six with participation from Courtside Ventures, Will Ventures, and Forerunner Ventures to build a Shopify-like fan experience platform for sports teams.

💰 Peer-to-peer sports prediction platform Novig, secured $18m in Series A funding to accelerate its expansion in a round led by Forerunner, with additional participation from Y Combinator, NFX, Perceptive Ventures, and Gaingels.

💰 TeamLinkt closed a $8.3 million Series A led by Growth Street Partners to scale its free sports-management platform across North America.

💰 Batbox secured $3 million from EMERGING to consolidate ownership of its core tech, expand its baseball simulator platform, and launch Batbox Suite later this year.

🤝 Nevco Sports, a trusted leader in electronic scoreboards, digital displays, and integrated game day technology for over 90 years, acquired Scorebird, a sports technology company known for its real-time scoring data solutions, for an undisclosed amount; to become the premier technology resource for sports facilities worldwide.

🏒 Hudl, the world’s leading provider of cloud-based video and data tools for sports, announced the acquisition of SportContract, a hockey-first software platform built to streamline video, data, and communication workflows for professional and youth teams.

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.