🔊NBA Announces New Sports Tech Cohort

📰 TOP STORY
NBA Launchpad Announces Its Fourth Cohort

• Technology has been a major priority for the NBA for years, especially with the NBA Launchpad program. The Launchpad program is the league’s initiative to source, evaluate, and pilot emerging technologies that advance the NBA’s top basketball and business priorities. Since 2022, the NBA has incubated over 20 sports tech companies. Here's a rundown of the companies from each cohort since the program's inception:

2022 Cohort: Betterguards Technology, Breathwrk Inc, Nextiles, Rezzil, Uplift Labs
2023 Cohort: Action Audio & Visual, EDGE Sound Research, nVenue, SkillCorner, Springbok Analytics, Supersapiens, Tagboard
2024 Cohort: Dimension Studio, Plantiga, Reboot Motion, TextQL, Tonsser
2025 Cohort: Somnee, Virtual Repetitions (VReps), SIQ Basketball, OneCourt, Trashie

Each year, the league has new mandates on the types of startups they want to incubate. This year’s focus was on verticals such as:

1. Future of Officiating

2. Future of Youth Basketball

3. Future of Player Health & Wellbeing

4. The Business Future of Media

5. Future of Fan Connection

6. Future of NBA Impact

This program is crucial for several reasons. First, it gives the league a great perspective on new, creative experiences and technology they can implement for fans, players, and coaches. Next, the league gets to participate in the long-term monetary upside of these companies. Lastly, it encourages the overall innovation and progress of sports as business and ecosystem. These types of incubators are becoming more common these days but the NBA has set the bar high for other leagues that follow.

💰 MONEY MOVES 
Racquet Based Startups Raise New Rounds

• Epic Padel Raises $4.5M. Epic Padel, a Padel sports management and investment company, has raised $4.5M from investors, including Abu Dhabi’s Kareem Anabtawi. The company aims to advance the racquet sport in the US through this strategic investment. The funds will be used to develop new Padel clubs and invest in Padel-related startups to make the sport more accessible across the continent (more here).

• Fliip Raises $3.2M. FLiiP, a leading end-to-end fitness business management software, announced a $3.2M Seed round. The round was led by Cultivation Capital, with participation from Boreal Ventures in Montreal. The funding will fuel FLiiP's mission to empower gym owners and operators with unmatched simplicity and scalability, specifically designed for multi-location commercial gyms (more here).

• Pickleheads Raises $2.5M. Pickleheads, a platform for pickleball players to connect and organize games, has raised $2.5M in Seed funding. The company intends to use the funds to enhance the on-court experience for players through technology. The round was led by Overline, with participation from Ardent, Oregon Sports Angels, Profluence Capital, Service Provider Capital, Network Ventures, and over 65 new angel investors (more here).

• Electronic Arts Acquires TRACAB Technologies. Video game giant EA Sports has acquired optical tracking and analysis specialist TRACAB to enhance the accuracy of its EA Sports FC series and the content available on its recently launched digital platform. TRACAB’s technology tracks virtually every event on a soccer pitch, using skeletal tracking techniques to monitor 21 joints on every individual on the pitch. It measures 65 unique data points on all 22 players on the field, the referee, and ball tracking (more here).

• Hudl Acquires Balltime. Hudl, a global leader in providing cloud-based technology connecting video and data for the sports industry, has completed the acquisition of Balltime. Founded in 2022, Balltime has used AI to revolutionize and democratize video and analytics for volleyball teams on the court and beach. By joining forces with Hudl, volleyball teams will now have faster access to detailed data like serve speed and attack height (more here).

• Good Good Golf Invests In Los Angeles Golf Club. Good Good, a golf content and apparel company, announced an investment and ownership stake in Los Angeles Golf Club (LAGC), which includes team members Colin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala, Justin Rose, and Tommy Fleetwood. Other investors in LAGC include basketball star Giannis Antetokoumpo, tennis icon Serena Williams, and former US Women’s Open winner Michelle Wie West (more here).

 🤝 PARTNERSHIPS
PSG Is Bringing VR To Fans

• PSG & beIN SPORTS Announce VR Partnership. Paris Saint-Germain announced the launch of an exclusive immersive room on Xtadium, the leading platform for immersive sports experiences, in partnership with beIN SPORTS, the official broadcaster of Ligue 1. The initiative brings PSG matches to life in virtual reality, offering fans a revolutionary way to experience live soccer, amplified further by beIN SPORTS in North America (more here).

• MLB & Sportradar Announce Expanded Partnership. MLB and Sportradar announced a long-term extension and expansion of their decade-long partnership, aimed at unlocking the full potential of MLB’s data and audiovisual (AV) content while growing America’s pastime worldwide. Through the agreement, MLB has acquired an equity stake in Sportradar as well (more here).

• Sports Tech HQ & Marvella Announce Parnership. Marvella, the country’s first-ever sports and leadership complex designed specifically for female athletes, announced a partnership with Sports Tech HQ, a nonprofit fueling Indiana’s transformation into a global hub for sports technology. STHQ will serve as Marvella’s Innovation Partner, bringing next-generation technology solutions to support Marvella’s mission of empowering women through sports, wellness, nutrition, fitness, leadership, and character development (more here).

• Perfect Game & Armcare Announce Partnership. Perfect Game, the world's largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, announced a partnership with ArmCare.com, a leader in arm health technology. Through this partnership, ArmCare.com will provide advanced arm strength assessments at every Perfect Game showcase, setting a new standard in player health and recruitment analytics (more here).

• MotoGP & FanCode Announce Streaming Partnership. FanCode, India’s premier digital destination for sports, has acquired the exclusive digital streaming rights for MotoGP. This three-year partnership cements FanCode’s position as the go-to platform for motorsport enthusiasts, adding to its existing success with Formula 1 streaming. With this partnership, FanCode will stream every MotoGP Tissot Sprint and Grand Prix race live, offering fans access to all of the action (more here).

🔊 ATHLETES & OTHER NEWS
Portland Thorns Owner Is Building An $150M Women’s Performance Center

• RAJ Sports Announces Dual Sport Women’s Performance Center. RAJ Sports, the sports investment platform for the Bhathal Family, owners and operators of Portland Thorns FC and the new Portland WNBA franchise announced plans for a first-of-its-kind dual sports women’s performance center, serving both a women’s professional soccer (NWSL) and a women’s professional basketball (WNBA) team (more here).

• Monumental Sports Network Launches Integrated Sports Betting & Gamification. Monumental Sports Network announced that its streaming app Monumental+ (M+), powered by ViewLift, will feature integrated real-time sports betting odds and gamification options during live game streams for the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards through the new “Monumental Game Center” feature (more here).

• Cosm Considers International Expansion. Cosm is considering a broad long-term expansion plan as it builds venues across the US and potentially abroad, said CEO Jeb Terry in an interview with CNBC Sport. Cosm has raised $300M and may be in the market for more funding soon (more here).

• America's Sports-Betting Boom Is Supercharging These 6 Gambling Stocks. Sports betting has exploded in popularity in recent years. This Super Bowl Sunday, Americans are expected to wager a collective $1.39B in legal betting markets, according to the American Gaming Association. As consumers open their wallets to place wagers, Wall Street is pouring money into the companies behind the sports betting craze (more here).

• Tennis Ball Machine Market To Generate $40M+ In Sales By 2035. The Global Tennis Ball Machines Market, valued at $27.4M in 2024, is projected to experience strong growth in the coming years. Expanding at a CAGR of 3.4% from 2025 to 2035, the market is expected to reach $40.3M by 2035. Increasing adoption of automated training equipment and rising interest in tennis as a recreational and professional sport are key factors driving market expansion (more here).