SportsTech Startups at Slush 2024: Redefining Innovation in Sports

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Slush 2024 once again proved to be a hotspot for groundbreaking startups.

Slush 2024, held on November 20-21 in Helsinki, showcased a vibrant array of SportsTech startups among its 13,000 participants, including 5,500 startup founders and 3,300 investors.

Slush 2024

From redefining fan engagement to leveraging AI for athlete performance, these startups showcased their ability to innovate and shape the future of sports. This year’s lineup highlighted diverse solutions catering to athletes, fans, teams, and sports organisations.

This article introduces the most notable sports tech startups that participated in Slush 2024 and concludes with an analysis of emerging trends driving the sports technology ecosystem.

Spotlight on SportsTech Startups at Slush 2024

Fan Engagement and Community Platforms

  • Challengermode (Stockholm, Sweden): A competitive engagement platform connecting game studios, publishers, esports organisers, and brands to enhance competitive experiences for gamers.
  • Scorestars (Tallinn, Estonia): Playable sports app connecting Gen Z through gamification. Focused on basketball fan engagement.
  • Blocksport (Zug, Switzerland): Combines digital and Web3 tools to empower sports organisations with fan engagement apps, gamification, and NFT-based memberships.
  • Filmily (Totnes, United Kingdom): A fan engagement platform using AI to generate personalised content for sports and music events, working with big names like Chelsea FC and NFL.
  • Squashly (Tallinn, Estonia): A platform revolutionising squash by connecting players, facilitating match scheduling, and building a vibrant community of enthusiasts while incorporating modern tools like performance tracking and cost-sharing.
  • Riddle Technologies (Saarbrücken, Germany): Provides a SaaS tool for creating interactive content such as quizzes and surveys, enhancing audience engagement and offering valuable analytics for deeper customer insights.
  • Splink (Lisbon, Portugal): Connects sports fans with their favourite clubs through immersive experiences and official physical collectibles, enhancing fan engagement and loyalty.
  • Stubbur (Reykjavik, Iceland): An all-in-one sports events platform for fans and event-goers, offering an events backend tailored for lightweight operations, ideal for smaller and medium-sized clubs.

Wearable Technology and Athlete Performance

  • HackMotion (Riga, Latvia): Offers wearable motion capture tools for sports like golf and baseball, enabling precise movement analysis and feedback.
  • PlayerData (Edinburgh, United Kingdom): Democratising wearable technology for team sports, providing over 10,000 athletes with actionable performance insights.
  • Shape Industries (Saarbrücken, Germany): Innovates with Shapes, a product enhancing biomechanics and performance by transforming shoes into training tools.

AI and Computer Vision in Sports

  • ReSpo.Vision (Warsaw, Poland): Revolutionises sports with a single-camera 3D tracking system, offering immersive fan experiences and actionable data for organisations.
  • SportAI (Oslo, Norway): Uses AI and computer vision for real-time technique analysis, improving athlete performance in sports like tennis and golf.
  • Zone 14 (Vienna, Austria): Provides AI-driven performance statistics for football games, bringing Champions League-level analysis to broader audiences.
  • Deep Scouting (Marseille, France): Uses AI to extract football performance data from videos, offering actionable insights for clubs and players.
  • Tennis ComStat (Warsaw, Poland): AI-based platform offering advanced video analysis and statistics for tennis players and coaches.

Digital Experiences and Gamification

  • Apiir (Trondheim, Norway): Transforms cycling with a bike-fitting app that optimises performance and prevents injuries.
  • Naardic (Oslo, Norway): Norway’s largest online fitness studio with live, interactive classes led by inspiring trainers.
  • fcQuiz (Oslo, Norway): A gamified tool for football clubs and media to engage fans and generate revenue.

Specialised Sports Technology

  • HorseDay (Reykjavik, Iceland): An AI-powered equestrian tracking tool for monitoring and improving horse performance and welfare.
  • SoleCooler (Perpignan, France): Patented insoles using thermodynamics to protect feet and hands in extreme conditions.

Virtual and Immersive Experiences

  • XelerateVR (Stralsund, Germany): Developed a groundbreaking solution to enhance VR locomotion, improving gaming and training experiences while combating motion sickness.

Trends Shaping the SportsTech Industry

  1. AI and Data-Driven Insights
    AI continues to dominate SportsTech, enabling precise performance analysis, injury prevention, and advanced fan engagement. Startups like ReSpo.Vision and Deep Scouting exemplify how AI can bridge the gap between data and actionable insights for athletes and organisations.
  2. Fan-Centric Experiences
    Platforms such as Scorestars and Filmily highlight the growing emphasis on fan engagement. Gamification, digital collectables, and personalised content reshape how fans interact with their favourite teams and players.
  3. Accessibility and Inclusivity
    Wearable tech pioneers like PlayerData and HackMotion are making advanced sports analytics accessible to amateur athletes, democratising high-performance tools.
  4. Sustainability and Wellness
    Startups like SoleCooler and Shape Industries are integrating wellness and sustainability into sports tech, addressing the need for holistic solutions that cater to athletes’ physical and environmental concerns.
  5. Rise of Niche Markets
    With solutions like Apiir for cyclists and HorseDay for equestrians, startups are addressing specific sports and niche audiences, demonstrating the potential for specialised technologies.
  6. Virtual Reality and Immersive Training
    XelerateVR’s innovations underscore the potential of VR to transform not just gaming but also professional sports training and rehabilitation.

Slush 2024 showcased the incredible diversity and innovation within SportsTech. Startups are transforming how we play, train, and spectate and addressing critical needs such as sustainability, accessibility, and mental well-being. As AI, wearable tech, and gamification drive the industry forward, the future of sports technology is more interconnected and inclusive than ever.

These trailblazing startups are paving the way for a smarter, more engaging, and athlete-friendly world of sports.