An AI-Sports Partnership Race to The Finish Line:
OpenAI made its first big break into sports - and to everyone’s surprise, it did not involve the Big Four leagues of the U.S.
Instead, it was motorsports.
On February 28th, Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) - one of the most decorated racing teams in the Indy NXT and IndyCar Series - announced a “strategic research collaboration” with OpenAI. The partnership aims to elevate racing strategies across all CGR teams, enhance data mining capabilities, and maximize front-office performance. With the cherry on top, OpenAI will receive branding presence on all CGR race cars next season.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, noted that “racing has always been a proving ground for innovation” and “eager to see how advanced technology can support [CGR]’s expertise in pushing [racing] performance forward.”
But what really is the reason why Sam chose motorsports as his company’s first true sports partnership?
It’s All About Data.
Racing is arguably the most data-intensive sport. For example, each F1 car is equipped with ~300 sensors which generate 1.1M telemetry data points per second that are transmitted from the cars to the pit. It’s one of the few competitive sports that generates millions of unique data points while blending engineering, physics, and driving - three entirely different skill sets. This is the perfect racing track for OpenAI’s data-driven insights and advanced modeling to be truly disruptive:
Smarter race simulations: AI “digital racing twins” which analyze driver tendencies through pattern recognition and scenario analysis, providing personalized coaching and optimized racing strategy tailored to the driver’s racing style
Real-time strategies: Processes tire wear, fuel consumption, traffic, and weather conditions on the fly, pinpointing the perfect pit stop timing or when to conserve fuel vs. hit the nitro
Automating Knowledge-Based Tasks: CGR engineers will be able to automate tasks such as reporting and manual data analysis.
While it might seem like OpenAI is here to revolutionize IndyCar, surprisingly, they weren’t the first Gen AI company to enter motorsports.
CGR Was 1 Step Behind, But Now Is Taking 2 Steps Forward
CGR’s rival, Andretti Autosport, has been working with Zapata AI on generative AI tools: essentially helping engineers decide how hard the driver can push at any moment without jeopardizing the fuel window. To be competitive, CGR had to incorporate AI - fast.
But after a failed SPAC merger, Zapata AI ceased business operations in October 2024, leaving Andretti without its main AI partner.
Meanwhile, CGR just inked a partnership with the industry’s leading frontier model.
With various IndyCar teams already seeing a 12% increase in strategy accuracy and 98% efficiency in pit-stop timing from various AI-driven simulations, OpenAI’s cutting-edge LLMs could push these numbers even higher - cementing CGR’s spot on the podium for years to come.
Sports-Tech Market Activity: Investors & Deals
New Fund
Monarch Collective expands fund to $250M, following $100M raise for women’s sports investments (Mar. 13th)
Established league focus such as NWSL, WNBA, and Women’s Super League
Current holdings include Angel City FC, S.D. Wave, and Boston expansion club
Investors include Melinda French Gates, Netflix execs, Elizabeth Yee and Beth Brooke among others [Sportico]
Venture Capital
Pickle, a peer-to-peer clothing rental marketplace, raised $12M in Series A funding (Mar. 12th)
Striving to become the Airbnb for fashion; enabling renters to participate in trends and dress for marquee events such as weddings, vacations, and Halloween
Investment was led by FirstMark and Craft Ventures; other investors include Burst Capital and FJ Labs [Fortune]
Plunge, a cold plunge and contrast therapy company, opens community funding round after surpassing $200M in revenue (Mar. 11th)
Series A funding round planned for later this year
Investment tiers start at $500, offering discounts and exclusive experiences for higher contributions [Athletech]
Liminal Experiences, a UGC gaming startup that allows creators to build code-free 3D RPG-style adventures, secures $5.8M in Seed funding (Mar. 11th)
Alpha version slated for 2026 launch
Driving expansion of AI-powered tools for user-generated episodic stories
Investment backed by BITKRAFT Ventures, Riot Games, and OTK Media Group among others [FinSMEs]
Human Computer, an indie game studio that focuses on storytelling-driven titles at a deep human level, raised $5.7M in Seed funding (Mar. 13th)
Bringing total funding to date at $7.7M following the latest round
Supporting shared universe of high-production titles; launching first game in Q4 2025
Investment led by Makers Fund; other investor includes former Airbnb COO Belinda Johnson among others [VentureBeat]
Opus Major, a gaming studio that merges music with epic multiplayer gaming, secures $10M in funding (Mar. 12th)
Plans unveil of first-look playable version later this year
Expanding Paris-based team, seeking developers and creatives
Investment led by Griffin Gaming Partners; other investors include early investor Alven [VentureBeat]
Nunu.ai, a gaming company building the first multimodal agents to play and test games, raised $6M in Seed funding (Mar. 12th)
Plans to expand beyond gaming into real-world applications like robotics
AI agents tech has already been deployed by several gaming studios for QA
Investment co-led by A16z Speedrun and Tirta Ventures, bringing total funding to $8M [VentureBeat]
Reality Games, a gaming studio, developing story-based, interactive mobile games, raised $4.7M in Seed funding to expand location-based ‘Monopoly World’ (Mar. 10th)
‘Walk-to-earn’ feature, rewards exploration with in-game currency
Following success in Poland and the Philippines, funds to fuel global expansion
Investors include Republic angel investors, Unfold VC, and Acquinox [VentureBeat]
UNA Watch, a modular sports watch startup, developing sustainable, upgradable smartwatches, raised £300K in funding (Mar. 10th)
Set to launch GPS-enabled modular smartwatch via Kickstarter, with 7K + interested users and nearly 1K deposits placed
Investment led by SFC Capital [FinSMEs]
Good Job Games, a mobile gaming company that develops popular Match-3 titles, raised $23M in Seed funding (Mar. 11th)
Well regarded for its popular titles, Zen Match, Wonder Blast, and Match Villains
Building and developing a legacy entertainment company, scaling games globally
Investment led by Menlo Ventures and Arcadia [GamesBeat]
Out2Win, a NIL marketing platform that streamlines athletes-influencer partnership evaluations, raised $1.3M in Seed funding (Mar. 11th)
Platform scrapes social media, helping brands vet over 250K athlete influencers
‘Win Score’ ranks based on social impact rather than performance metrics alone
Investment backed exclusively by angel investors and sports/tech executives [SBJ]
M&A and Investments
Scopely, a mobile-first gaming developer, acquires AR-focused gaming developer, Niantic Games, for $3.5B (Mar. 12th)
Niantic to spin off into a geospatial entity, Niantic Spatial Inc.
Niantic’s active monthly users (AMU) estimated over 30M, raking over $1B, 2024 [Scopely]
Hudl, a sports video analysis platform, acquires play-diagramming and scouting platform FastModel to expand scouting and recruitment software (Mar. 11th)
Completing its 15th acquisition, following Balltime and StatsBomb
FastModel, focused on basketball and hockey solutions, is currently beta testing football, soccer, and volleyball tools with test partners
Deal to integrate FastModel’s data-driven scouting and recruiting capabilities (FastIntelligence) into Hudl’s platform [SBJ]
Global Running League, the organization behind RunGP reportedly plans takeover of World Athletics’ commercial operations (Mar. 6th)
Seeking World Athletics’ sponsorship & media rights, following a F1-style model
RunGP plans a team-based elite and influencer-driven racing series [Runnerstribe]
Unrivaled, women’s 3x3 basketball names Stephen Curry as the league’s latest investor (Mar. 11th)
Joining investors Alex Morgan, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Coco Gauff, and Michael Phelps
Unrivaled playoffs underway, with the championship game set for Monday on TNT [SBJ]
Eminem joins Detroit’s top sports owners in the city's WNBA expansion bid (Mar. 12th)
Expansion fees for new WNBA teams expected to exceed nine figures
Detroit bidding groups includes Lions, Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons’ owners
WNBA’s average franchise valuation sits at $96M, with the Las Vegas Aces leading at $140M, according to Sportico [Sportico]
Final four bidders in Boston Celtics' $6B sale race (Mar. 13th)
Steve Pagliuca, Friedkin Group, Stan Middleman, and William Chisholm
Sale expected to exceed $6B, potentially matching record for a North American sports team
Deal expected to close the first half of 2025, with Wyc Grousbeck remaining as governor until 2028 [SportsPro]
Strategic Ventures
FanDuel launches GenAI sports betting chat, AceAI, offering insights to analyze and place bets, supporting NBA and NFL wagers (Mar. 12th)
Aims to simplify bet construction, research assistance, and provide tailored stats
Available to 1% of FanDuel's customers, planning to expand across more sports [SportsPro]
NWSL welcomes Alex Cooper’s Unwell Hydration as the league’s ‘Official Hydration Partner’ (Mar. 7th)
Forming Unwell FC, a new fan hype group, to engage soccer fans nationwide
Kicking off at NWSL Challenge Cup in Orlando, featuring fan events and co-branded merchandise [NWSL]
CONCACAF, North-Central America and Caribbean’s soccer confederation, debuts mascot ‘Volar’ in Roblox partnership with Marvel, Gamefam (Mar. 10th)
Launches Its first-ever Roblox activation and mascot in Super League Soccer
Marvel crafted Volar’s backstory, representing 41 nations with flag-like feathers
Targeting key Gen Alpha/Z engagement among Roblox’s 200M+ monthly active users [SBJ]
Following past events hosted in the UK, Bahamas, and Canada
BIG3 league to debut in Australia with a showcase event in Nov. 2025 [Insider Sport]
ALT Sports Data, a sports betting data company focused on alternative sports, joins bet365 in global emerging sports betting partnership (Mar. 12th)
Leveraging ALT’s real-time analytics and sports data to engage new audiences
Aims to tap into 1B+ alt. sports fans worldwide; seeking to bring niche sports into mainstream betting [ALTSportsData]
PIF-backed Sela expands global ambitions with London-based international division (Mar. 12th)
Stewart Hosford, ex-Origin Sports Group co-founder, to lead the expansion
Following TKO partnership to launch new boxing promotion, debuting in 2026
Sela’s other partners include Newcastle United, Formula E, and Italian Super Cup among others [Sportcal]
Job Board & Opportunities: Week of March 14th
Here are some cool roles we found and personally curated this week - enjoy!