Tech Transforming the Game of Soccer
Soccer has been viewed as a serious cash cow for American institutional investors because of its notoriously engaged fanbase. Following the economic distress that many international clubs experienced due to COVID, declining revenue across the board provided a unique opportunity for private equity firms to step in:
ClearLake Capital acquiring Chelsea for $5.3B
RedBird taking over AC Milan for $1.3B
Friedkin Group in talks to acquire Everton in a deal that could be worth ~$695M
Red Bull acquires Leeds United
Deal valuations of the best European soccer leagues spiked from $70M to $5.2B from 2018 to 2022 which stems from growing viewership in the U.S., and most importantly, tech investments that enhance the sport. Growing valuations are being priced in due to new ownership focusing on improving broadcast & distribution, and on-field performance technology. For example, Chelsea partnered with Infinite Athlete to utilize their AI & MatchView X technology which provides fans with an enhanced viewing experience, incorporating unique graphical overlays in livestreams and generating instant highlights that can be shared on social media. In addition, AC Milan invests extensively in their research center MilanLabs, applying their own IP to monitor and enhance player performance & health. As their players continue to compete at a high-level for longer periods of time, the club’s viewership will only grow.
MLS is also becoming a tech-focused league. With the launch of MLS Innovation Labs at the beginning of this year, the league is investing in startups that are pushing the technological barriers of the sport. A few products that they have showcased include:
A-Champs - cognitive & technical training system for athletes
CAMB.AI - AI dubbing platform that translates sports media content into any language instantaneously
STAIDIUM U.S. - AI-powered & 5G-enabled camera with An OTT platform, providing fans with live broadcast and advanced player & game stats
Weekly Startup Spotlight
With heavy investment into cutting-edge tech, soccer is becoming an innovation leader amongst leagues; here are two of our favorite from MLS Innovation Lab’s Cohort:
Fitogether - As everyday passes, more and more startups are trying to build solutions for on-field data insights for athletes. Despite it being a hot problem to solve with many attempts failing, this company has found true product-market fit and has been ranked #1 in FIFA Quality Test Since 2019. This team out of South Korea has become a FIFA Preferred Provider for ‘Live Player Tracking’ since 2022. With two main solutions, Player Tracking & Live-Streaming + Real-Time Monitoring, Fitogether has produced fitness wearables and smart camera systems that tracks data to the centimeter. Raw player data points such as positioning, acceleration, and biometrics allow coaches to do in-depth play-style & tactical analysis.
Founders: Jinsung Yoon, Ki-Hyun Kim, Sueyoung Oh
Funding: Raised $10.1M in a Series B from Widwin Investment, STIC Ventures, Magellan Technology Investment, IPS Ventures, and Hashed.
Reeplayer - In a digital world, athlete scouting has relied heavily on highlight reels, game footage, and other video montages. Reeplayer is on a mission to revolutionize youth soccer through ‘democratizing’ access to capturing video footage. For $1,188/year + one-time fee of $99, youth teams & leagues receive a 12K recording & real-time processing AI camera and an iOS mobile app access to dissect video assets. Incorporating this technology into rec and youth leagues might just make games look like professional broadcasts/highlights.
Founders: Orhan Basak Ajredinovski, Amanda Sanchez, Kuba Waligórski, Hakob Kirakosyan
Funding: Previously raised $1.6M with an undisclosed Seed Round in 2024 led by Native Frame (Streamline Digital Holding's live streaming platform), and Keiretsu Forum Turkey (Global private equity investment network)
Sports-Tech Market Activity: Investors & Deals
Venture Capital
Function Health, a health-tech startup that specializes in longevity solutions for health-conscious consumers, raised $53M in Series A funding (June 25th)
Scaling the platform’s tech and increasing biomarker lab testing
Investment was led by Andreessen Horowitz; other investors include Wisdom.vc, Draft Ventures, K5, and others [Athletetch]
TMRW Sports, a sports-tech company that applies progressive technology solutions within sports, media, and entertainment sectors, received an undisclosed amount in Series A funding (June 24th)
Reportedly valued at $500M before prior to staging it’s first event
Expanding growth of TGL (golf) alongside partnerships with major global sports leagues
Investment was co-led by Dynasty Equity, Connect Ventures [Sportico]
The Picklr, an indoor pickleball franchise that offers unlimited play, tournaments, and free clinics at premium pickleball facilities, raised $9M in Series B funding (June 21st)
Expected to open 38 new locations in 2024; 72 locations in 2025
Investment was led by Pickleball Inc. [FinSMEs]
John Wall Street, a newsletter platform that focuses on covering sports business, media, and finance sectors, raised $1M in funding (June 27th)
Expanding Sports and Media Huddle series, live events, broadening published content, and catered research towards sports teams, leagues, and sponsors
Investment was led by Bolt Ventures, family office of David Blitzer, Roger Ehrenberg and SportsGrid [FinSMEs]
GolfN, a Web3 golf platform that gamifies the golfing experience by rewarding users for completing on-course activities, raised $1.3M in Pre-Seed funding (June 26th)
Developing open beta mobile app that features digital golf club development, tracking side games, and organizing leagues
Investors include CitizenX, Fourth Revolution Capital, Joe McCann, and others [FinSMEs]
M&A and Investments
Red Bull reportedly considers bid for Las Vegas-based expansion NBA franchise (June 24th)
NBA looking to add two expansion franchises to the league
Likely to face bid competition from Fenway Sports Group & others [Insider Sport]
Julia Koch's bid for 15% stake in $6B-valued BSE Global approved by the NBA (June 24th)
Stake acquisition to cost Koch $688M for the parent company of the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, Barclays Center [Sportico]
PE firms Battery Ventures & Silver Lake seeking to sell club management SaaS company Clubessential for $3B (June 25th)
Applies software solutions to health/fitness clubs, spas, private clubs, public golf courses, and others [Athletech]
Create Music Group, a music & entertainment SaaS platform that provides major-label services to independent artists and labels, raised a $165M investment (June 25th)
Augmenting data-driven music services to expanding global base
Investment was led by PE firm Flexpoint Ford; The Raine Group as financial advisor [FinSMEs]
Sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Capital acquires newly-formed Brazilian SailGP team ahead of competition’s fifth season (June 24th)
Photo Creds: Nike’s Collab with Hyperice fitness wearables.
Strategic Ventures
Bayes Esports joins the Esports World Cup as the official data supplier of the inaugural competition (June 19th)
Utilizing gathered data to drive engagement & data integrity in Esports with partnerships including Call of Duty, League of Legends, EA Sports, Adidas, among other [Esports Insider, Esports Insider]
Sports FAST (Free-Ad Supported TV) company C15 Studio launches four new channels backed by VC funding (June 19th)
Initial partners include Formula1, ONE Championship, Triton Poker Series, and Professional Squash Association with Distribution partners such as: Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Freevee, and Pluto TV
Backed by investors Sharp Alpha Advisors, KB Partners, and Raptor Group [Advanced Television, Sportico]
Genesis to join TMRW Sport's TGL as league's first founding partner (June 27th)
Current title sponsor of the Genesis Invitational (PGA Tour) and the The Genesis Scottish Open
TIger Woods, Rory McIlroy’s venture set to begin January 7, 2025 after being postponed due to arena damage from power outage [SportCal]
Nix Biosensors, a hydration monitoring company introduces Nix Pro, an app for sports teams, military, and laborers for real-time tracking (June 25th)
Development from individual athlete-focused app, NIX Solo launched back in 2022
Adapted by notable sports organizations for early testing including Bay FC, Miami Heat, LSU Football, US Speedskating, and Podium Racing [Endurance Sports Wire]
Accelerators
SportBoost and LaLiga launch second edition of startup innovation program 'Meet LaLiga EA Sports' (June)
Focus on fan engagement and training solutions for grassroots football for young talent with five finalists startups competing for €10,000 winning prize [LaLiga]