The 4th Quarter: Latest In Sports Tech This Week, May 24th

Cricket Craze Comes To USA, Professional Team Ownership Change-Up, New Job Board

Sid Balaga & Suraj Peramanu

May 24, 2024

Picture Creds: The Cricket Monthly

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I. America Embraces The Cricket Craze

II. Weekly Startup Spotlight: Ludimos & CricFlex

III. Sports-Tech Market Activity: IPOs, VC, M&A, Deals, Strategic Ventures, New Funds

IV. Weekly Job Board: Sports, Media, Entertainment, Technology

America Embraces The Cricket Craze:

13 years ago on April 2nd, 2011, both of us woke up at 6AM to watch the ICC Cricket World Cup Finals between India and Sri Lanka. Although we only knew a few rules of the sport, we took pride in seeing our heritage win it all - the energy was second to none. Even though the Big 4 Sports (Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey) have most of our American fandoms in a stranglehold, there were 120M people across the world that tuned in that day. Fast forward now, Americans, due to growing immigration from cricket-obsessed countries, are now one of the largest consumers of Cricket in the world: 63M engage with cricket annually, 3rd behind India and China. Who would have thought!

The craze in the U.S. has led to the recent launch of the Major League Cricket (MLC), America’s first professional cricket league that totaled six franchises. Spearheaded by behemoth investors, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who have invested ~$120M, MLC has been a success: the league’s debut in 2023 surpassed expectations, hitting over $8M in revenue. The 2024 MLC season will debut on July 5th, where defending champions MI New York will face the Seattle Orcas.

Lastly, the largest U.S. cricket development of all: the debut of the newly built Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on July 1st. The venue will host a warm-up match between India & Bangladesh for the ICC T20 World Cup. The new stadium can seat up to 34,000 people… but maybe it should have fit a little bit more. Standard ticket prices went for $175; now they are reselling at $2000!

Weekly Startup Spotlight

For the 2.5 BILLION cricket fans across the world, here are some cricket-tech companies that take your game to the next level. Investors - this might be a hot area to keep your eyes on:

Ludimos - For a lot of you, this might be the first time you’re actually hearing the economics behind the gigantic sport of cricket. In other countries, cricket is the main sport of choice and with that comes serious players training everyday; and opportunities for startups to innovate. Ludimos is one of the first AI cricket coaching platforms that allows users to plan trainings, measure biomechanical techniques via video, and provide play-by-play insights & personalized data-driven dashboards. This Netherlands based team has been able to partner with world-class cricket teams, clubs, and schools while also expanding to 15 countries, analyzing 58K+ videos, and tracking 275K+ actions.
- Founders: Madan Rajagopal, Bart van Remortele
- Funding: Raised an undisclosed Seed Round led by Dutch Sport Tech Fund, but previously raised €420K+ ($454K USD) in a Pre-Seed round and Grants

CricFlex - It’s hard to categorize this company as a startup because they’ve been operating for 9+ years now; however, the innovative product is in its pre-order stage so we thought it’d make a great fit in this week’s cricket themed Startup Spotlight. Almost identical to a baseball player pitching towards a batter, in cricket, there are bowlers that deliver a ball to the batsman. Bowling is incredibly technical, and improper form has plagued the sport - especially at the grassroots level. Originally born in Pakistan but now based in Palo Alto, this team of two has created ‘the world’s first patented wearable technology for cricketers.’ This arm sleeve is embedded with sensors and automatically detects illegal bowling action, tracks key metrics like arm force, action time, amount of spit, and more. These insights are directly displayed on a smart phone for real-time monitoring and advanced visuals.
- Founders: Abdullah Ahmed, Muhammad Asawal
- Funding: Raised an undisclosed amount from investors but are affiliated to the SXSW Accelerator and have received a $7K investment from the NUST School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Pakistan, 2017)

Sports-Tech Market Activity: Investors & Deals

Venture Capital

RootNote, a SaaS company that leverages data to provide fan engagement insights for creators and athletes, raised $1.5M in pre-seed funding (May 21st)
- Investment was led by Elevate Ventures [FinSMEs]
Kabata, an AI-powered smart dumbbell that personalizes workouts, corrects form, and tracks progression, raised $5M in seed funding (May 21st)
- Preparing to launch its official mobile app & ship its first units this Fall for $799
- Investment was led by Menlo Ventures; other investors include NFL star Bradley Chubb [Athletech]
Sinn Studio, an XR studio that specializes in developing single and multiplayer combat gaming, raises $2.5M in seed funding (May 22nd)
- Developing its first VR real-time PvP combat game through its ‘Combat Engine’ and ‘Large Intent Model’ tech
- Investment was led by Hartmann Capital; other investors include Boost VC, Alumni Ventures, Metavision and more [FinSMEs]
Videra Health, an AI-powered platform that administers health assessments for providers and healthcare organizations, raised $5.6M in seed funding (May 21st)
- Expanding availability and reach of AI solution within its mental health services
- Investment was led by Peterson Ventures; other investors include Mercato Partners, Epic Ventures, and Philo Ventures [FinSMEs]

M&A and Investments

Oaktree Capital Management takes over Serie A champion Inter Milan due to Chinese owner, Suning, defaulting on €395 million loan on the football club (May 22nd)
- New management aims to maintain operational and financial stability while ensuring continued success of the club [Proactive Investors]
Populous, an architecture firm that specializes in venues & stadiums, has invested in event planning software company OnePlan to boost their live event offerings (May 21st)
- Integrating OnePlan’s VenueTwin software to provide clients a digital visualization of events in its stadiums, venues, and arenas [Sport Industry]
Atlanta Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank sells minority stake to four new limited partners (May 21st)
- Rosalind Brewer - former Sam’s Club CEO and Starbucks COO
- Dominique Dawes - Olympic Gymnast Champion 1996
- Will Packer - Atlanta-based film producer
- Rashaun Williams - Chairman & Founder of Value Investment Group [SI]
Global boutique health franchise Xponential Fitness sells its subsidiary brand Row House, leading manufacturer of rowing machines, to Extraordinary Brands (May 21st)
- Amidst regulatory & leadership challenges, Xponential is restructuring its portfolio of brands to focus on its core functions [Athletech]

Photo: Kabata raises $5M in seed funding for a smart dumbbell

Strategic Ventures

NFL attributes investment bank PJT Partners as exclusive liaison to facilitate future M&A between private equity firms and teams (May 15th)
- Reshaping the investment landscape of the NFL as private equity firms will now have a piece of the pie
- PJT will draw on its significant experience in sports transactions such as OneTeam, XFL, and the Tennessee Titans [Sportico]
NBA reportedly finished talks to sign media contracts with Disney, Amazon, and NBC (May 23rd)
- Effectively ending its long-standing partnership with Warner Bros.
- Prospective deals are expected to be worth upwards of $2.8B, $2.6B, and $1.8-$2 billion annually, respectively [Insider Sport]
Apollo, a complete athlete management system, joins Infinite Athlete’s Partner Network (May 22nd)
- Empowering sports organizations through advanced data insights on athlete performance, including injury prevention and performance optimization [LinkedIn]
MLB partners with Diamond Kinetics, a baseball/softball mobile-based app focused on player swinging motion, to expand Play Ball Weekend reach (May 21st)
- Launching a first-ever virtual Play Ball experience including virtual games, interactive lessons, and challenges for thousands of kids to win MLB prizes [Diamond Kinetics]
EA Sports FC Futures partners with UNICEF on youth Namibia Futures program (May 23rd)
- Aims to benefit 46,000 children through the sport of football with additional resources to address poverty, lack of social mobility, and education challenges, particularly for girls [Insider Sport]
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund becomes the WTA’s first naming partner (May 22nd)
- Partnership includes a multi-year deal to sponsor the WTA women's rankings [Insider Sport]

New Funds

RedBird Capital and Weatherford Capital launch college focused private equity firm Collegiate Athletic Solutions (May 22nd)
- Partnering with 5-10 athletic departments across the country, reportedly offering within $50 million to $200 million in exchange for additional revenue share [Sportico]