A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – SPORTS TECH
- WinView, a social sports betting platform, raised $12M in Series B funding round led by Discovery Communications, Ted Leonsis, and Graham Holdings. Link
- Playsight, an Israel-based sports activity analysis provider, raised $11M in Series C funding round led by Verizon Ventures. Link
- Tribe, a London-based natural sports nutrition brand, raised $2.2M in equity crowdfunding via Crowdcube platform. Link
- Boom Fantasy, a Daily Fantasy Sports platform, raised $2M in Seed funding round led by Founders Fund. Link
- RotoQL, a New York-based sports data and analytics company, raised $1.2M in Seed funding round led by Boston Seed Capital. Link
- Full Swing Golf, a golf simulator technology developer, raised an undisclosed amount in a private equity round led by North Castle Partners, and Topgolf. Link
- Bluestarsports, Dallas-based sports management software developer acquired New York-based sports film breakdown and statistics tools developer Krossover Intelligence. Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Eval Genius (2016, Power Springs) – SaaS solutions for youth sports recruitment and league management.
Enatics Sports (2016, Gothenburg) – Smart table tennis equipment manufacturer.
LEADER BOARD – SPORTS TECH
Online Sports Platforms
E-Commerce
Fanatics (1995, Jacksonville, $620M, Acq.) – Licensed sports merchandise retailer. Backed by Silver Lake Partners, Alibaba, Temasek Holdings, Bank of America and Insight Venture Partners. Acquired by Kynetic in 2011.
NetShoes (2000, Sao Paulo, $427M, IPO) – Online retailer of sporting goods, services in Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. Backed by Tiger Global Management and GIC.
Social Platforms
Sportlobster (2012, London, $16M) – Sports social network for news, blogs, scores, and predictions. Backed by Daman Investments, MBM Capital, and Wychwood Capital Partners.
Tok TV (2012, Palo Alto, $8M) – Voice-enabled social platform enabling users to talk to their friends while watching live events. Backed by Angel Labs, XG Ventures, and TEEC Angel Fund.
Online Sports Media
LeSports (2014, Beijing, $1.35B) – Online sports video streaming website. Backed by HNA Group, Dalian Wanda Group and celebrity investors Sun Honglei, Jia Nailiang and Liu Tao.
The Players’Tribune (2014, NYC, $58M) – Athlete-driven online sports media platform. Backed by NEA, Institutional Venture Partners, GV, Kobe Bryant, Legendary Entertainment.
Stock Simulation
Fantex (2012, SF, $110M) – Online platform to buy and sell investments tied to athlete income. Backed by Kita Capital.
Fantasy Sports
DraftKings (2012, Boston, $696M) – Offers daily leagues for fantasy sports. Acquired StarStreet and DraftStreet in 2014. Backed by 21st Century Fox, Atlas Venture, The Raine Group and Redpoint Ventures.
FanDuel (2009, NYC, $416M) – Fantasy sports gaming company. Acquired AlphaDraft, Numberfire, and Kotikan in 2015. Backed by KKR, Piton Capital, and Shamrock Capital Advisors.
Sports Betting
Winview Games (2008, Redwood City, $19M) – Social sports betting platform. Backed by Discovery Communications, Ted Leonsis, and Graham Holdings.
8Win (2010, Beijing, $10M) – Online Sports lottery and betting platform. Backed by Le Sports.
Ticketing
Gametime (2012, SF, $38M) – Last minute sports ticket sales app. Backed by Accel Partners.
Booking platforms
Quyundong (2014, Guangzhou, $13M) – A mobile platform to book sports arena and venue. Backed by Banyan Capital.
Sports Management Tech
Team and Event Management
Active Network (1999, Dallas, $355M, Acq.) – Cloud-based solution provider for outdoor events. Backed by ESPN, North Bridge Venture Partners, Performance Equity Management, Acquired by Vista Equity Partners in 2013 for $1.1B.
Bluestarsports (2015, Frisco, $100M) – Sports management software solution provider. Backed by Providence Equity Partners.
XOS Digital (1999, Lake Mary, $86M, Acq.) – Provides software for managing digital media assets for sports teams. Backed by Blue Chip Venture, Comcast Ventures, Dorchester Capital, Beechtree Capital, Liberty Media. Acquired by Catapult Sports in 2016.
Venue Management
Appetize (2011, Santa Monica, $20M) – Location-based food ordering app for sports venues. Backed by Shamrock Capital Advisors, Dodgers Accelerator, OakView Group.
Sports Analytics
Sportradar (2001, St. Gallen, $98M) – Sports data provider. Backed by Revolution, EQT Partners.
Hudl (2006, Lincoln, $77M) – Video analytics based training tool for athletes and coaches. Acquired Ubersense in 2014. Backed by Accel and Nelnet.
Krossover (2009, NYC, $29M) – Web-based video indexing and analytics platform. Backed by Active Angels, Jarcap, and Baltimore Angels.
Sports Marketing
Whistle Sports (2009, NYC, $80.5M) – Sports content provider and multi-channel entertainment network. Backed by Tegna, Sky, Emil Capital Partners, NBC Sports, Liberty Global.
Sportvision (1998, Chicago, $50M) – Develops sports entertainment media product. Backed by Motorola Solutions, Austin Ventures, Bay Partners, Escalate Capital, Lake Street Capital.
Sporting Products
Sports Equipment
Mission Athletacare (2008, NYC, $35M) – Develops products specific to athletes. Backed by Breakaway, Falconhead Capital.
Golfzon Simulator (2000, Seoul, $20M) – Indoor golf equipment that enables users to play golf indoors. Backed by STIC Investments.
Wearables
Whoop (2012, Boston, $24M) – Wearable activity tracker for athletes and trainers. Backed by Two Sigma Ventures.
Vicis (2014, Seattle, $32M) – Advanced protective wear helmet for footballers. Backed by Alliance of Angels, Washington Research Foundation, W Fund, Trilogy Equity Partners.
VR/AR Devices
NextVR (2009, Laguna Beach, $115.5M) – Live and on demand VR streaming for Sports and concerts. Backed by Time Warner, Toba Capital, Comcast Ventures, RSE Ventures.
Voke VR (2004, Santa Clara, $25M, Acq.) – Platform for on-demand streaming in VR. Backed by Intel Capital, A+E Networks, Nautilus Ventures.
Sports nutrition
Body Armour Nutrition (2011, Beverly Hills, $35M) – Manufactures and distributes premium sports nutrition drink. Backed by Dr. Pepper Snapple group.
Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.
For latest updates, visit Sports Tech feed.