#79 🏈 NFL on Netflix, STX Startup Spotlight India ++

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

Kicking off this edition with the announcement of our latest Startup Spotlight - for Indian SportsTech startups. Plus a word from the guys at Gemini Sports Analytics and plenty of big news, including how the NFL will show up in Netflix’s stocking this Christmas.

STX Startup Spotlight India! 🚀

Following up on the SportsTech Connect events we hosted in India earlier this year, we’re running our next Startup Spotlight series, and this time the focus is on India 🚀

We're shining our spotlight on Indian SportsTech Startups, giving them a chance to showcase their great work. If you're an Indian startup working on an innovative solution for sports, fitness, or gaming then you should check this out.

Here's how this goes:
1. Click on the link below to submit an application.
2. Shortlisted companies will be invited to virtually pitch to a jury in early June.
3. The winner will get media coverage and SportsTechX services worth over €10,000.

Including a feature in the first ever Indian Sports Tech Ecosystem Report 2024, out in June.

Straightforward. Applications close on 31st May 2024 so get them in!

Gemini Sports Analytics - First AI Cloud for Sports!

Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report- COMING SOON!

Top News from the World of Sports Tech

🏈 It’s official, the NFL will be on Netflix over Christmas for the next 3 years, including 2 games in 2024.

⚽ Italian football team Inter Milan has partnered with esports organisation Mkers, to launch the club’s first-ever Fortnite tournament which is a part of Inter Milan’s new Gaming League. 

🏆 The annual Sports Technology Awards, celebrating tech-led innovation in sport, announced their 2024 winners earlier this week, the list is right here. 

💰 Sharp Alpha has announced the closure of $25 million venture capital fund, Fund II, to invest in emerging sports, gaming and entertainment companies. 

🎦 WSC Sports, the global leader in AI-powered sports video content has set up a Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) group. 

🎮 Media City Qatar, a hub created to support the country’s media ecosystem, and esports company SNRG have teamed up to host an esports forum conference in Doha, Qatar.

⚾ MLB released some intriguing data that it collected using its Hawk-Eye tracking system. It uses 12 cameras around each team's ballpark, including five that run at 300 frames per second, to log data across the diamond with each pitch. The league has spent two years working on a bat-tracking model with the system and released its findings via Statcast.

Not Sports Tech but you should know:

🏑  The National Hockey League and Sphere jointly announced that the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held at Sphere in Las Vegas on Friday, June 28 and Saturday, June 29.

🏎️ Oscar-winning actor Will Smith to launch a new team, Westbrook Racing, in the UIM E1 World Championship, the first all-electric raceboat league. 

⚽ Indian football icon and captain of the national team, Sunil Chhetri, announced retirement on 6 June. He ranks fourth in the all-time list among international goal-scorers, right behind the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ali Daei, and Lionel Messi.

Money Talks:

💰 Nashville based digital media network, Youth Inc., co-founded by former NFL player Greg Olsen, raised $4.5 million in a seed round led by Will Ventures.

💰 Indian Sports Tech company, Stupa Sports Analytics, raised $3.3 million (Rs 28 crore) in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Centre Court Capital (more about this on the podcast coming soon) and PeerCapital.

💰 Cristiano Ronaldo has been making some big moves in sports tech. He made an undisclosed investment and became the global ambassador of the human performance company, WHOOP. Earlier this year he had launched his own fitness and wellbeing app, Erakulis.

💰 Event promotions company, Matchroom Sport, received an undisclosed investment from UK-based sports marketing agency, Pitch International.

🤝 Sport Alliance, Germany-based provider of innovative software solutions and services to gyms, acquired PerfectGym, the international software provider to fitness and leisure businesses, for an undisclosed amount.

🤝 DraftKings, acquired gambling software solutions provider, Sports IQ Analytics for an undisclosed amount.

🤝 Korean esports organisation, Gen.G, has acquired League of Legends data analysis and networking platform, YOUR.GG, for an undisclosed amount as well.

🤝 Hydrow, the at-home rowing machine maker, acquired a majority stake in Speede Fitness, the company behind the AI-enabled strength training machine.

🤝 BridgeAthletic, provider of strength and conditioning software, acquired Game Plan, for an undisclosed amount. The combination of BridgeAthletic and Game Plan offers the industry's first integrated athlete development solution. 

🤝 Following an initial investment in 2018, Sphere Entertainment, acquired the remaining shares of Berlin-based immersive 3D audio manufacturer, Holoplot, for an undisclosed amount. 

🤝 Sports Tech HQ Inc., an initiative launched by the Indiana Economic Development Corp., secured $4.5 million from the IEDC to fund its operations for the next two years. 

Latest from our channels

🎙 #203 Understanding the culture of Sports & Sports Tech in India

Kicking off our Indian Sports Tech series in lead up to the first ever Indian Sports Tech Ecosystem Report 2024! First on the line up for SportsTech ALLSTARS Podcast India is - Rohan Vyavaharkar, Director of Marketing & Communications at Omidyar Network India.

Rohan talks about his journey into sports, he gives his expert insights on the sports culture in India, various opportunities available in sports for Indians, and the future of sports tech in India. We have a really fun and insightful conversation on everything about the growth of sports in India- how we can increase the momentum for the same by mass participation, how to accommodate different sports other than cricket which can be done by increasing media coverage to assist on ground growth, backing up startups & solutions trying to help with the above and much more- perfect start to our Indian Sports Tech series to give you an all-round bird's eye view on the industry.

🔙 STX Article: How AI is Democratising High-Tech Solutions for Sports

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

💪🏽 SportsTech AllStars Recap: Innovation in Sports Organisations