#183 💸 $1.5 Billion in May Deal Flow

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If you were around the sports tech ecosystem pre-Covid, the ASICS TENKAN-TEN program in Barcelona will ring a bell, one of the earliest sports tech focused accelerators. It went quiet after Covid, but ASICS is back with a new competition. More details below.

May's monthly roundup came in strong at $1.5 billion in total dealflow, $1.2 billion of which was Genius Sports' acquisition of digital sports and gambling media network Legend. Any bets on next month's number?

💡 SPORTS TECH MONTHLY DEALFLOW

$1.5 BILLION IN TOTAL INVESTMENT THIS MAY

May 2026 split into two very different stories. Venture funding cooled to $336.6M across 15 deals, down from April's $819.4M, with a single round doing most of the heavy lifting: Pickleball.com's $225M raise accounted for roughly two-thirds of the month's total. The bigger story sat in the M&A column, where Genius Sports completed its $1.2 billion acquisition of sports and gaming media network Legend. Together, that pushed total dealflow past $1.5 billion for the month.

Here's a quick summary:

• Geography: Funding was overwhelmingly USA-led, powered by Pickleball.com's mega-round, with India the next-largest market on the back of Nazara Technologies. The remaining capital spread across the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Germany. On the M&A side, disclosed value was 100% US-based, anchored by the Genius Sports acquisition of Legend in Eugene; by deal count, the five transactions also touched Norway and the Netherlands.

• Sectors: 'For Fans' dominated funding again, capturing $279.4M (83.0%) and continuing its run as the most-funded sector of the year. 'For Athletes' followed at $49.3M (14.6%) and 'For Executives' at $8.0M (2.4%). M&A by deal count was led by 'For Athletes' and 'For Executives' (two deals each, 40% apiece), with 'For Fans' making up the remaining one (20%).

• Top Deals: Pickleball.com raised $225M to anchor the month, followed by Nazara Technologies at $54.4M and Muybridge at $16M. On the M&A side, Genius Sports acquired Legend for $1.2 billion, the only disclosed transaction of the month; the racket-sports tie-up between SportAI and Padelytics was among the deals left undisclosed.

See a more detailed breakdown on the Intelligence Hub below.

📰 THE LATEST

Top News From The World Of Sports Tech & Biz

💸 ASICS Ventures launched Kenzen, a startup pitch competition focused on customer experience startups across movement, retail, digital communities, and wellness and offering an $80k prize plus potential ASICS pilot. In partnership with the University of Michigan and LEAD VC, the inaugural edition will be held in Ann Arbor on October 22, 2026. Applications close July 30, 2026.

⚽ The DFL introduced Captain, a dialogue-based AI feature in the Bundesliga app that gave fans access to live statistics, historical match data, tactical analysis, trivia, and video highlights through individual requests.

More from the upcoming FIFA World Cup:

• 🎮 FIFA and Netflix Games announced FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition, a new football gaming experience launching exclusively on Netflix Games on 11 June, featuring all 48 participating teams, all 16 tournament stadiums, more than 1,200 players, phone-as-controller gameplay, at no additional cost for Netflix subscribers.

• ⚽ The FAA established temporary flight restrictions over FIFA World Cup 2026 stadiums, fan events, and base camps across the United States, banning unauthorized drone operations within match-day restricted airspace and warning operators of fines up to $100k, drone confiscation, and federal criminal charges.

• 📺 FOX Sports developed BRISK, its Broadcast Remote IP Studio Kit, to support remote FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage across North America through portable server racks that connected remote cameras and sets to its Los Angeles studio via IP workflows.

⛳ The Athletic added PGA TOUR highlights to its golf coverage from every round, beginning with the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, as PGA TOUR footage became the latest addition to The New York Times Company’s sports coverage.

🏎️ Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team deployed an all-electric Mercedes-Benz Trucks eActros 600 to cover all nine European races of the 2026 Formula One season, transporting key operational infrastructure over approximately 15,000 km as part of its wider sustainable logistics program.

🏎️ NASCAR Impact and DraftKings hosted the inaugural Veteran Tech Accelerator during the 2026 Coca-Cola 600 weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, welcoming seven veterans transitioning to civilian life for behind-the-scenes exposure to motorsports technology, broadcast production, live event operations, mentorship, and career pathways.

📺 CBS Sports secured English-language US rights to the Barclays Women’s Super League through the 2029-30 season, with Paramount+ set to stream 183 matches each season from September 2026, CBS Sports Network airing one weekly match, and select games airing on CBS Sports Golazo Network.

📺 Zee Entertainment struck a last-minute $40 million FIFA World Cup 2026 broadcast deal for India, avoiding a blackout less than two weeks before kick-off and securing live games for its Unite8 Sports linear channels and Zee5 streaming platform.

🏀 The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder Western Conference Finals averaged 10.8 million viewers per game on NBC and Peacock as the most-watched Conference Finals in 24 years, while Game 7 averaged 15.9 million viewers and peaked at 17.7 million.

🏀 NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that NBA Europe remained on track to launch in the 2027-28 season with FIBA, with final franchise bids due in June and team announcements expected later this year as London and Manchester stayed in contention for potential franchises.

⚽ Forbes reported that the world’s 30 most valuable soccer clubs were worth a combined $87 billion in 2026, with Real Madrid retaining the top spot and the ranking featuring 11 Premier League clubs.

💸 TMRW Sports and Alex Morgan’s Trybe Ventures added world No. 1 tennis player Aryna Sabalenka, two-time Olympic hockey gold medalist Hilary Knight, and five WNBA players to WTGL’s investor group, strengthening the new women’s team golf league being developed in partnership with the LPGA before its fall launch.

💰 Agilitas, an India-based vertically integrated sportswear platform, raised $26.5 million (Rs 225 crore) from Nexus Venture Partners and Rainmatter by Zerodha to strengthen manufacturing, brand building, retail, and technology as its pushing toward global scale.

💰 Noa, an online wellness startup raised $5.7 million (€5 million) in a round led by Founders Future with participation from Kima Ventures, Drysdale, Eden, Intuition, and mobile-sector business angels to launch its first fitness and Pilates app designed first for women and build a premium online wellness brand.

💰 Nardo, an Australian sports technology platform for grassroots and semi-professional clubs, secured $1 million in pre-seed funding as former Socceroo Tim Cahill joined as an investor and strategic partner to accelerate commercial expansion across the United States, United Kingdom, and the Middle East.

💰 Vivilo, an Italian AI-powered event content startup formerly known as Jubatus, raised $715,000 (€628,000) in pre-seed funding from Italian investors to support growth, platform development, team expansion, and the creation and distribution of personalized photo and video content for event participants.

💰 TIVA Performance, a French performance cosmetics company, secured $600,000 (€525,000) in a pre-seed round led by APEX to establish tactical topicals across pro sports, fitness racing, and gym settings through products including grip-enhancing gel and friction-mitigating balm.

💰 US tech company Teamworks will expand its Belfast engineering team over the next three years, advancing the company’s research and development in AI, data and platform capabilities. Invest Northern Ireland offered Teamworks $0.5 million (£398,077) in financial support for a three-year Belfast R&D project.

💰 CardsHQ and Sports Card Investor merged after receiving an undisclosed strategic growth investment led by Shamrock Capital alongside EnOne Ventures to merge into a single CardsHQ platform and fund new stores, and deeper integration of content, commerce, live breaking, and community for trading card collectors.

🤝 RTL Group completed its $78 million (€68 million) acquisition of Sky Deutschland from Comcast, bringing together two major German-speaking European media and broadcasting operations.

🤝 Brand Velocity Group acquired RCX Sports from Raine Partners for an undisclosed amount to scale the North American youth sports platform that manages official league-backed programs including NFL Flag, MLS GO, Jr. NBA and Jr. WNBA Leagues, MLB Pitch, Hit & Run, and NHL Street.

💸 Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić invested in an ownership group led by former Dallas Mavericks executive Donnie Nelson that purchased Italian Lega Basket Serie A club Vanoli Cremona for an undisclosed amount, with the team eyeing an NBA Europe future.

💸 The Sacramento Pitch secured $1.8 billion in public-private funding for a shovel-ready 50-acre stadium site as business, civic, tribal, and community leaders launched a campaign to bring an MLB expansion franchise to Greater Sacramento.

💸Members of the Glazer family are reportedly studying a part or full divestment of their Manchester United stake after more than 20 years of ownership, as the club continued to operate under a split ownership structure involving the family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS.

💸 885 Capital acquired full control of CD Leganés in a deal valuing the Spanish second division club at around $116.5 million (€100 million), after buying out Blue Crow Sports Group’s stake and increasing its ownership to 99.1%.

💸 A pair of South Florida-linked families bought roughly 15% of the Miami Marlins at a $1.55 billion valuation, giving owner Bruce Sherman new capital as the MLB franchise addressed its debt position.

💸 Nationwide Mutual Insurance agreed to buy a 37% stake in the Columbus Crew at a $900 million valuation, after partnering with the Haslam family to secure the 18th NWSL franchise in Columbus.

💸 Melinda French Gates joined the Seattle Kraken as a minority investor, pending NHL approval, becoming part of an ownership group led by majority owner and managing partner Samantha Holloway alongside investors David Wright, Andy Jassy, and Jerry Bruckheimer.

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