The 4th Quarter: Latest In Sports Tech This Week, January 31st, 2025

AI Is Saving Athletes, Yao Ming’s Glory KickBoxing League Wants $10M, New Job Board

Jan 31, 2025

AI x 3D Muscle Maps Startup For Athlete Injuries:

In sports, time = money. Every second on the field a pro loses due to rehab or a season-ending surgery, max contracts and sponsorship deals could get devalued. Meanwhile, teams are burdened with serious monetary losses: the NFL lost over $500M due to injuries in one year alone.

Announced this Monday, the NBA - along with TEP, Cartan Capital, and Boston Global - invested $5M in Springbok Analytics, a software platform that is able to render 3D models of an individual's musculature. Used by major leagues including the NBA and NFL, Springbok provides meticulously detailed muscle health analyses that can help teams better understand athlete’s health and performance.

What’s so special about it? 🤷‍♂️

Typical MRIs can only provide 2D renders of your muscle, leaving out large chunks of your musculature’s story. Springbok’s technology transforms that 2D MRI into a 3D digital twin that provides crucial data for athletes: quantifying muscle size and identifying left-right muscle asymmetries, fat infiltration, obscure scar tissue, and more.

Identifying the issue is half the battle…

What really matters is knowing how to fix it. Springbok’s AI-powered technology doesn’t just diagnose but provides actionable solutions to help athletes recover and prevent future injuries:

Creates personalized recovery and injury prevention plans to support a long-lasting career
Identifies specific risk factors that could put teammates at risk for similar issues
Tailors workout routines to athlete’s unique strengths and weaknesses to maintain optimal performance on the field

According to a Springbok case study, their software identified a significant muscle imbalance between the right and left hamstrings of an NFL running back, even though the overall muscle strength of both legs only differed by 2.5%. Typically, this discrepancy goes unnoticed, but with Springbok’ insights, the athlete adjusted his training to target his right hamstring, preventing serious injuries like a hamstring tear.

Is This Only for Athletes?

While Springbok was specifically designed to prevent athlete injury and improve their recovery, its potential expands far beyond sports:

Everyday Health: By licensing to private practices, Springbok could enhance post-surgical rehab for muscle injuries and personalize training to prevent long-term issues for everyday people.

Third-Party Data: What’s more valuable than the service itself? The data it collects. Springbok can provide researchers and pharmaceutical firms with critical insights into muscle-related conditions and new treatment development. Data = $$$

Springbok could shape up to be a sports-tech success story - starting in athletics but ultimately revolutionizing injury treatment.

Sports-Tech Market Activity: Investors & Deals

New Funds

Sideline Group, an investment firm focused on modern culture, investing in brands, sports-adjacent operators, and media & entertainment assets, announces launch (Jan. 30th)
- Prior investments include NWSL’s Angel City FC, Athletic Brewing, Olipop, Bandit, and the Miami Heat
- Founded by former Tiger Global’s Gregory Mazlin; Blackstone’s Emmi Eisner joining as an investor [LinkedIn]

Venture Capital

Springbok Analytics, a muscle analytics company that converts MRI scans into 3D muscle models, raised $5M in oversubscribed Series A funding (Jan. 27th)
- Funding advancements in muscle health analysis across human performance, life sciences, and longevity sectors
- Investment led by Transition Equity Partners; other investors include Cartan Capital and Boston Global among others [Atheletch]
SportAI, a technique analysis platform that focuses on racquet sports, secures $805K through grant funding (Jan. 27th)
- Grants administered by Innovation Norway and Eurostars for tech development
- Preparing to expand into padel stats and analysis via collaboration with MATCHi
- Previous funding rounds included a $750K Pre-Seed and $1.8M Seed round led by Skyfall Ventures in 2024 [SBJ]
Output Sports, a sports software company that optimizes athletic performance through wearables, athlete data, and VBT testing, raised $4.8M in Pre-Series A funding (Jan. 30th)
- Funding U.S. expansion, its newly opened Boston office, and increase hiring
- Currently used by 800+ organizations, including EPL, NFL, and NBA teams
- Led by Uni.Fund; other investors include Apex Capital and Dopamine Sports among others; Existing backers Elkstone, Atlantic Bridge, and Enterprise Ireland also participated [SBJ]
Scout, a financial services platform targeting college & pro-athlete financial literacy, raises new funding (Jan. 30th)
- Tools include savings & investing, NIL compliance, taxes, and wealth creation
- Undisclosed financials; claims to have raised over $6M since launch in 2021
- Investors include College Sports Company’s Andy Katz and Adam Breneman and Cardinals manager Oli Marmol; previous backers include Hustle Fund, OneTeam Partners, and Techstars Sports [SBJ]

M&A and Investments

LeBron James acquires team stake in Team AlUla of E1, an electric powerboat championship (Jan. 24th)
- Portfolio includes stakes in Fenway Sports Group, PGA Tour, and Liverpool FC
- Joining E1 team owners: Tom Brady, Rafael Nadal, Will Smith, and Virat Kohli among other entertainment figures
- The second season kicked off this past weekend on January 24th in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia [SportsPro]
NWSL’s 16th franchise officially awarded to Denver for record $110M expansion fee (Jan. 30th)
- Set to debut in 2026, it outbid ‘Cleveland Soccer Group’ and MLS ‘Cincinnati FC’
- $110M expansion fee marks the highest ever paid in U.S. women’s sports history
- Ownership group includes IMA Financial CEO Robert Cohen, Ariel Investments’ Project Level, and FirstTracks Sports Ventures among others [Sportico]
The Big Ten conference retains Evercore as it reportedly ‘courts’ private equity bids (Jan. 30th)
- The conference generated $880M in revenue for FY23 and has a $7B media rights deal with Fox, CBS, and NBC that kicked off in July 2023
- Signaling shift in stance after past skepticism expressed by commissioner Tony Petitti on private capital in college sports [Sportico]
GoSaga, a consumer brands platform focused on fitness, wellness, and lifestyle, acquires women-focused fitness platform ‘Tone It Up’ (Jan. 27th)
- Brand set to continue operating independently under GoSaga; Co-founder Karena Dawn continues to lead brand, joined by brand manager Samantha Salas
- Adding Tone It Up to brand lineup, including Lymbr, VIO Med Spa, and FitLab [Athletech]
No Days Off, a premium water brand, secures strategic investment to expand U.S. distribution (Jan. 24th)
- Named ‘official premium water’ of the Miami Heat and Kaseya Center
- Backed by 9.58 Ventures, an athlete and tech-focused venture capital firm [Athletech]
Pocket Worlds, creator of the virtual world ‘Highrise app’, acquires UGC gaming company Infinite Canvas (Jan. 27th)
- Infinite Canvas' immersive experiences reportedly peaked over 19M monthly active users across platforms like Roblox and Discord
- Pocket Worlds, boasts over 50M users and 10K creators; receiving backing from Y Combinator [VentureBeat]
Glory, former NBA star Yao Ming’s kickboxing organization, seeks $10M investment for global reach (Jan. 25th)
- Seeking a $10M equity stake at a $100M valuation
- Planning to launch ‘Glory Underground’, a year-long tournament format and partnerships with popular internet streamers [Sportico]

Strategic Ventures

Baller League, the six-a-side influencer/former-pro soccer league, secures investment from Premier League stars ahead of UK debut (Jan. 29th)
- Funding expansion from Germany to the UK and US in 2025
- Stars include Diogo Jota, Mason Mount, and Diogo Dalot, joining Apex Capital and EQT’s $25M Series A, last December
- UK series set to kickoff on March 3rd up until May 19th, with YouTuber ‘KSI’ as president [SportsPro]
Kings League partners with Italian Serie A to expand its international footprint (Jan. 30th)
- Deal to bring co-branded events, exclusive content, and fan engagement initiatives to the Italian football market
- Following successful collaborations with Italian football legends including Totti, Buffon, and Del Piero; as well as Italian club Juventus FC earlier this month [Footboom]
FIBA partners with AI-powered media management platform ScorePlay to modernize basketball digital ecosystem (Jan. 30th)
- Multi-year partnership aims to automate indexation, distribution, and content management for FIBA’s stakeholders
- ScorePlay currently serves close to 200 organizations, including UEFA, MLS, and teams from the NBA and Premier League [FIBA]
Alphabeats, a neurofeedback-based mental performance app, forms advisory council alongside athletes and mental health specialists (Jan. 24th)
- ‘Alphabeats Performance Collective’ includes tennis pro Austin Krajicek, who has used the app since 2024 to aid recovery and mental focus
- Council to meet quarterly to provide feedback, test new features, and act as ambassadors for the app in sports and beyond [SBJ]
Hilton partners with mental health app Calm to integrate content into ‘Connected Room Experience’ (Jan. 23rd)
- Integrating guided meditations, sleep stories, and soundscapes
- Launching March 2025, enhancing guest wellness across 2.4K Hilton properties
- Following Hilton’s addition of complimentary Peloton on-demand fitness classes, further expanding its wellness offerings [Athletech]
49ers partner with data infrastructure company NetApp to enhance stadium tech and fan experience (Jan. 28th)
- Named ‘Official Intelligent Data Infrastructure Partner’
- Aims to modernize Levi’s Stadium with AI-powered data solutions, improving fan experience, ingress/egress, wait times, and mobile app functionality [NetApp]

Midwest Games, an indie-focused gaming publisher serving underrepresented developers, unveils ‘Shadow Publishing’, a full-service model for PC and console titles (Jan. 27th)
- Offering delivers customized and comprehensive support services on a contract basis, allowing developers to maintain ownership of their IP and future earnings
- Aiming to bridge the gap for underserved indie studios amid a tightening publishing market [VentureBeat]