Sports technology start ups prepare to attract investors

August 27, 2020

10 sports technology companies based in Melbourne and around the world are preparing to pitch to investors in the hope of attracting local and global attention.

The project - a joint initiative between Tennis Australia; US seed accelerator Techstars; LaunchVic, a body formed by the Victorian Government to encourage the local startup ecosystem; and Victoria University - is focused on early-stage sports technology companies that aim to disrupt and drive innovation in high performance sport, grassroots participation, as well as event and media technology.

For the past three months, the 10 start ups have been meeting Techstars mentors, including Victoria University’s Gus Balbontin (VU Innovations), Professor Sam Robertson (Institute for Health and Sport) and Hannah Gee (VU Innovations), to work on their products and refine their pitches for 27th August Demo Day.

Balbontin notes “we are excited to see this amazing cohort of startups come through our first program. The quality of people, ideas and level of collaboration has been sensational under difficult circumstances. We are looking forward to continuing our involvement and support and to search for the next cohort of amazing sport tech startups.”

Professor Robertson adds “it has been incredible to see the energy and resilience shown by all ten companies in what has been very much a unique program. The diverse areas covered by this year’s cohort is really reflective of some of the key challenges currently faced by sports globally, and we look forward to them all impacting sport for the better, both now and into the future.”

This is the first year the pitches will be presented virtually due to COVID-19. The recorded pitches will be available online for three weeks beginning on the 27th. Each three to five minute presentation is hoping to attract the attention of investors on the lookout for the next ground-breaking SportsTech.

In its inaugural year, the program has brought together a truly diverse group of companies from around the world including Australia, Spain, Germany, Austria, India, USA, Canada - all working on innovations aimed at disrupting and driving innovation in high performance sport, grassroots participation, as well as event and media technology. The startups include:

Swing Vision: Former Tesla Autopilot engineer and current founder, Swupnil Sahai has created a computer vision based tennis app that brings pro-quality analysis and coaching to amateur players via AI.

Arete: Over their career, one in three elite athletes suffer from anxiety or depression, and 50% of these cases start before the age of 14. Arete is a digital coach made for youth athletes to improve mental wellbeing and resilience

Elanation: Founder Aimee Atkins and her team have created the largest e-learning sports app for children. Formerly a performer with The Wiggles, Atkins created a platform where children learn, share and compete in fun physical activity skills each day to help combat sedentary lifestyles. With the overall goal of getting kids moving, for every consumer who signs up for their program, access is automatically given to another underprivileged child to use it.

To watch the Techstars SportsTech Melbourne Accelerator companies make their pitch, go to https://demoday.techstars.com/sportstech-melbourne-2020-t3

Image courtesy of Swing Vision

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