#66 SportsTech CONNECT: India (Mumbai)

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

A Saturday newsletter this week on account of events on Thursday & Friday, including our own first ‘SportsTech Connect: India’ event in Mumbai. More on that below. Apart from that, an announcement about our upcoming work with Teamworks. Enjoy the rest of your weekend

Feature Story

How to select a Sports SAAS Vendor

We mentioned this briefly last week, we’re working with Teamworks on a report on ‘Innovation Challenges faced by Sports Organisations’. A survey of Innovation managers at leading sports teams, leagues & federations across the globe. To be published in the next couple of weeks.

One of the major challenges is selecting the right partner to work with.

Setting up long-term partnerships, spanning three years or more, require an informed choice from the outset. Gaining buy-in from your team and staff is a pivotal step, and the company you select must align seamlessly with the standards and specific requirements of your organization. It’s not a decision to be taken lightly.

Having been in the SAAS game for the last 17 years, here are some insights from Teamworks to aid you with that decision making process.

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Top News from the World of Sports Tech

 WWE signed a 2 year deal with X (formerly Twitter) to launch an exclusive weekly video series featuring matches less than five minutes in duration.

Two Indian esports veterans, Abhijeet ‘Ghatak’ Andhare and Sunny ‘Fea’ Lohia launched a new esports company in India, Trident Gaming to focus on grassroots development and projects that nurture new talent.

ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery to form a new Joint Venture (JV) to build an innovative new platform for a compelling streaming sports service– including content from all the major professional sports leagues and college sports.

Amazon Prime Video is set to exclusively stream NFL’s wildcard playoff round games next season, as they are considering selling alternative broadcast rights as a separate package.

Not Sports Tech but you should know:

Media giant Disney to invest $1.5 billion for an equity stake in Epic Games to create new games and an entertainment universe.

Super Bowl LVIII set an all time viewing record with 123 Million, becoming the most watched event since Apollo 11.

The Mercedes Formula One team became the first motorsport company to sign The Climate Pledge, which is a commitment to reach Net Zero carbon emissions by 2040. (among other climate initiatives taken this year)

Saudia Arabia decided to host the first women’s soccer championship in the country, the WAFF championship. On other news, they’re also to stage a men’s tennis exhibition featuring the GOATs Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

 Pavna Sports Venture announced the launch of South Asia’s first Women’s Handball League in India, investing more than 100 crores.

Money Talks:

Spain based preventive health startup, Wergym, raised $ 321 k (€ 300 k) in their last round with private investors aimed at changing the culture of preventive health.

Online strength coaching platform, Barbell Logic, raised an undisclosed amount from MTC Awards in a $2.2 million investment allocation.

Brent Montgomery teamed up with Reddit co- founder Alexis Ohanian to launch Collectibles Platform Mantel, which raised an undisclosed amount from Courtside Ventures (who were on our pod).

A maker of immersive virtual experiences, Infinite Reality, acquired LA based Ethereal Engine for $75 million at a valuation of $2.5 billion.

First Pick Labs, Inc. acquired Sideline Software, Inc., the pioneering company behind MyFantasyLeague.com, for an undisclosed amount.

A leading global platform combining SaaS solutions, embedded payments, and Commerce Accelerating Technologies, Xplor Technologies acquired Membr, a leading fitness-focused management software platform, for an undisclosed amount as well.

Ackerley Sports Group (ASG) announced a partnership agreement to invest an undisclosed amount in Springbooks, to grow South African rugby at all levels.

Latest from our channels: ‘SportsTech CONNECT: India’

While in India, we hosted our first ‘Sports Tech Connect: India’ on Thursday evening. An invite only networking event at a trendy speakeasy (Bonobo, Bandra) in Mumbai.

Mumbai Indians, Mumbai City FC, NBA India, Centre Court Capital, Omidyar India Network, Marwah Sports and a bunch of other teams, investors & startups found their way to the bar at some point.

The goal was simple: let’s bring ~30 key stakeholders with a vested interest in the growth of sports, sports technology and innovation in the Indian sports market and ecosystem. No slides, just chat.

We’ll do more events like this in the near future. Bangalore and Berlin are already lined up. If you’d like to come by, drop us an email on [email protected].

STX Weekly: Last week’s newsletter, in case you missed it.

Here’s a 60 mins snapshot of the most important findings from SportsTechX’s latest Global SportsTech VC Report 2023. Covering data & insights from another interesting year for SportsTech.

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