#153 💸 Sports Tech Dealflow Hits $1.89B in October

Powering Innovation & Investment Insights in Sports. Every Week.

Bang - that’s how you start Q4.

In Sports Tech, every quarter counts but it’s always nice to finish strong. October’s dealflow proves just that. With nearly $15B in total activity so far, 2025 is shaping up to be the biggest funding year for the sector ever.

💸 MONTHLY INVESTMENT ROUNDUP

October continued 2025’s up-and-down rhythm, kicking off Q4 on a high. The month saw a total of $1.89B in dealflow. Equity investments accounted for $1.8B across 13 rounds, half of which came from Oura’s $900M Series E. M&A contributed $91M across five deals, all of it driven by Catapult’s acquisition of Impect.

Already the second-biggest funding year ever in SportsTech after 2021’s breakout highs, 2025 has showcased the deployment of the dry powder we’ve long said investors have been stockpiling. And with a glut of new funds announced this year, the sector’s arsenal looks well stocked for the immediate future.

Here’s a quick summary:

• Geography:
  Funding activity was heavily Europe-driven, accounting for 88.4% of total funding, followed by North America (8.3%) and Asia (3.0%).
  M&A activity was more evenly spread, led by North America (40%), with Asia, Europe, and Oceania each contributing 20% of deals by count.

• Sectors:
  Funding was dominated by the ‘Activity & Performance’ segment (53.2%), followed by ‘Fans & Content’ (39.1%) and ‘Management & Organisation’ (7.7%).
  On the M&A side, ‘Activity & Performance’ again led at 40%, with ‘Fans & Content’, ‘Management & Organisation’, and ‘Non-STX Framework’ sectors each contributing 20% of deals.

• Top Deals:

  Oura raised $900M in a Series E round led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, ICONIQ, Whale Rock, and Atreides, making it not only the largest deal of the month but one of the biggest globally this year.

  Impect was acquired by Catapult for $91M, the largest disclosed M&A transaction of the month.

PS: You’re seeing this report with early access to our all-new Intelligence Hub, best viewed on desktop or laptop. Share your feedback or an idea at [email protected]

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

💸 Dream11 has expanded into 11 international markets, its first major global push following recent regulatory changes in India that restricted online gaming operations. The company aims to build a broader global fantasy sports footprint.

📺 ESPN announced a new “Monsters Funday Football” broadcast, turning Monday Night Football into a ‘Monsters, Inc.’-themed animated Altcast, set to air Dec. 8 during Eagles vs. Chargers.

🎧 Major League Soccer debuted Embodied Sound technology in partnership with EDGE Sound Research during the LAFC vs. Austin FC playoff match, delivering immersive in-broadcast audio designed to enhance fan engagement.

📡 Amazon Prime Video unveiled a new global sports production system at the NBA Tip-Off, featuring mobile units and a distributed broadcast model for multi-market live sports coverage.

🎬 Under Armour launched Lab96 Studios, its new in-house content arm dedicated to producing cinematic, athlete-driven storytelling in episodic and documentary formats.

📈 NBC recorded its most-watched NBA season opener since 2011, drawing 5.61 million viewers, while United Media secured new international rights to NBA broadcasts.

🏀 The NBA is reviewing prop betting and injury reporting policies, and considering AI-based wager tracking, after a federal indictment revealed bettors allegedly exploited insider information about players and teams.

⚽ Wolverhampton Wanderers received a £400 million takeover bid from former Premier League club owner John Textor, whose interest follows growing fan pressure for current owners Fosun Group to sell the club.

🏟️ A McKinsey report highlighted the growing influence of Latino fans in driving U.S. sports economy growth, calling them the most underleveraged audience segment for long-term expansion.

💰 PodPlay Technologies, a spin-off from PingPod, raised $8 million in Series A funding led by Frontier Growth to enhance its SaaS platform for sports venue operations, focusing on self-service and automated experiences for participatory sports spaces.

💰 MAGIC AI, the UK-based AI fitness platform, added Jesse Lingard as an investor, ambassador, and on-screen trainer, bringing its total funding to $8.8 million (£6.7 million).

💰 Kotcha, a France-based AI running app co-founded with marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge, raised $4 million (€3.5 million) led by Racine (Serena + makesense) with participation from TrueGlobal and Motier Ventures.

💸 FOX Sports invested an undisclosed amount in Shadow Lion, the creative agency co-founded by Tom Brady, to accelerate development of talent-led originals, digital content, and live event IP, including the Fanatics Flag Football Classic and University of Michigan docuseries.

🤝 DraftKings acquired Railbird, a Kentucky-based prediction market platform, to advance its ambitions in the future of predictive gaming and expand its product offerings across sports and entertainment.

🤝 OneTeam Partners acquired The Brandr Group for an undisclosed amount, expanding its college athlete group licensing program to cover 30,000 athletes and adding new licensees like Panini America, Homage, and Upper Deck alongside Fanatics and EA Sports.

🤝 Daxko acquired Exercise.com, expanding its boutique fitness and wellness software offering, for an undisclosed amount.

💸 Otro Capital began exploring a sale of its 24% stake in Alpine F1, as investor interest in Formula One valuations continues to surge amid strong global demand for franchise ownership opportunities.

💡STX STARTUP SPOTLIGHT: Khiladi PRO

NEW SERIES: Over the next few weeks, we’re shining the spotlight on some of the most innovative startups shaping the future of sports. Each week, we’ll feature one company and share a short conversation with a key member of their leadership team.

In partnership with Sports Tech Nation - Get 15% Off Your Tickets!
Use code SPORTSTECHX_STN at checkout to claim your discount.

What problem do you solve and how do you solve it?

Leveraging India's vast youth population (500 million under 18) and AI Advancements, we're tackling low sports participation and the youth health crisis. KPRO SATs (Sports Ability Tests) overcome the limitations of subjective coaching assessments by offering the first AI-powered, standardized sports and fitness evaluations via mobile video. Accessible across India and expanding globally, these tests are creating the "Pearson Education" for physical education and powering the world's first sports and fitness Olympiad – a generational opportunity to revolutionize youth well-being and sports participation.

 Key achievements you want to highlight?

The Sports & Fitness Olympiad, powered by KPRO SATs, has engaged thousands of students nationwide. This initiative generated an unparalleled video dataset, fuelling our innovation engine to create over 56 Visual AI models. This enables accurate, low-cost assessments at "Bharat Scale" for schools, academies, and sports associations. Our Khiladi Ability Index (KAI) provides a unified, objective grading scale for movement, motor, physical, and sports abilities. KAI establishes a foundation of fairness in sports, offering every aspiring child a structured and supportive journey towards their athletic dreams.

What can we expect from you in the next 12-18 months?

KPRO SATs integrate with a world-class sports and PE curriculum, delivered through interactive Voice and Visual AI experiences on any smartphone. This creates a powerful youth health improvement loop: students understand their standing, engage in targeted development, and track measurable progress. Our expanding suite of over 56 proprietary models fuels the KPRO SPORT app, extending beyond assessments to include line-calling, auto-scoring, and social engagement centered on our KAI - Khiladi Ability Index. The live and growing KPRO SPORT app creates and enables "digital dopamine" for physical activity.

🎙️ SPORTS TECH ALLSTARS PODCAST

💬 JOIN THE CONVERSATION