Game On: 5 startups scoring big in sportstech

Posted by Admin August 9, 2024 Tech

Tech has always been a critical component of sports—especially professional sports—encompassing everything from wearable tech to coaching, fan engagement, stadium management, streaming services, and decision-making.

Here are five sportstech startups that are changing the game

Noisefeed (Italy)

Noisefeed is a Social Context Monitoring web platform designed for team scouts, clubs, agents, coaches, analysts, media, and agencies which uses data to help with selecting players. offering clubs, coaches, analysts, media and agencies valuable information regarding player injuries and clubs and social media insights thanks to reliable information and real-time updates.

Specifically, the platform combines two products —Noisefeed Injuries and Noisefeed Media Monitoring.

Noisefeed injury tracking includes data such as Body area, side, type of injury, games missed, and video footage of the injured player in action.

Media monitoring tracks players’ social media activities, providing real-time updates and aiding in crisis management and due diligence before transfer decisions.

The company currently collaborates with football clubs such as Leicester, Everton FC, SL Benfica, AC Milan, AS Roma, and Leeds United, as well as national football associations like the Federação Portuguesa de Futebol and the Deutscher Fußball-Bund, among others. Their solutions and pricing models cater to many clients, from top-division teams to lower leagues and even individual professional athletes.

Coachwhisperer (Germany)

Image: Coachwhisperer.

Coachwhisperer has developed a live communication and instant feedback solution for coach-to-player communication on the field.

The coach can communicate with the players via a sound vest with a small speaker built into the shoulder area. Through a corresponding iPad app, the coach can choose which players he wants to communicate with—he can select an individual, a group, or the entire team.

Players enter the field and locate the Cobox, a connected container holding Audas (wearable devices). Each player selects their profile on the Cobox interface and is assigned a unique Auda. This Auda acts as a relay station, connecting to the IoT system.

The player places the Auda in a designated pouch on the back of their vest and connects it to the vest’s built-in auxiliary cable. Once connected, the Auda and the vest’s speaker establish a communication link, indicating player availability to the coach’s iPad app. To facilitate this process, a router is currently used to provide Wi-Fi coverage across the field.

The system also includes a sound library that can simulate stadium conditions such as cheering and booing, helping players practice under realistic conditions.

Currently, Coachwhisperer is developing an AI tool for live translation so the coach can speak and train with new players who might have language difficulties.

Football World Cup Winner and Ex-PSG Player Julian Draxler is an investor.

The product currently targets football, basketball, wheelchair basketball, handball, and hockey. An in-helmet solution for American football is in development, as well as an AI for live translation so players can hear coach communication in their mother language.

OnTracx (Belgium)

screenshot-2024-08-09-at-115336-37 — Image: OnTracx.

Excessive mechanical stress on muscles and bones is a primary cause of overuse injuries among runners. OnTracx prevents these injuries or optimise rehabilitation by focusing on gradual load progression.

The platform combines sensor analytics—a small wearable device attached to one ankle—with biomechanical algorithms to quantify the mechanical load exerted on a runner’s muscles and bones.

This data empowers runners to understand how factors such as running surface, footwear, and technique influence the load they experience.

CityLegends (The Netherlands)

CityLegends is a community app designed for enthusiasts of street culture and action sports, such as skateboarding, BMX, freerunning, parkour, and scootering.

The app allows users to share their creativity, connect with others who share similar interests, and participate in various activities and competitions.

The app also helps users discover and share skate parks and spots for activities like BMX, parkour, and skateboarding. Users can create their own spots by uploading videos of their tricks and gaining votes from the community.

CityLegends offers contests and tournaments where users can upload clips and compete for cash prizes. These competitions can be one-on-one battles or larger contests, with rankings and prizes based on community votes.

CORE (Switzerland)

Effective heat management and climate-adaptive training are crucial for athlete health and peak performance.

Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel’s recent gold medal win at the Paris Olympics, securing his second Olympic title, highlights the importance of this factor. A key component of his preparation was heat training using the CORE sensor.

CORE provides precise, real-time core temperature data in diverse conditions, making it an invaluable tool for athletes seeking to optimise performance in various environments.

Turfcoach (Germany)

turfcoach unveils the effects of turf conditions on sports, offering a full view from above and below the surface . Using AI, turfcoach provides data-driven insights in a digital twin and recommendations that lead to safer pitches, resource savings and more games for everyone in a sports club.

turfcoach’s AI-driven software efficiently models weather, maintenance, surface, and performance data for optimal turf management in sports organisations.

High-quality insights allow for sustainable turf maintenance, reduced risk of injuries and excellence in pitch quality.

Lead image: CORE wearable sensor. Photo: uncredited.