13 Sports Startups That Are Shaking Up the Industry, According to VCs and Top Investors

Sports start-ups, from new professional leagues to media and gaming companies, are changing the face of an industry that remains an attractive area for investment.

Sports tech, in particular, is driving dealmaking. 2023 was a record year for sports tech, with more than $37 billion in M&A and financing activity, according to a report by investment bank Drake Star. That included 790 private financing deals, up from 752 the previous year, driven mostly by early-stage companies.

Companies seeking funding face more competition than they did a few years ago, and the environment for startups is now more challenging.

However, in recent months, companies including Breanna Stewart and Naphees Collier’s 3-on-3 basketball league Unrivaled, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TMRW Sports and sports betting content company SoBet have announced new funding.

For the fourth year in a row, Business Insider has highlighted promising sports startups worth watching.

We asked leading venture capital firms and other investors in sports to nominate companies they have and haven’t invested in. They recommended a wide range of early-stage companies in the world of sports. Startups ranged from upstarts leveraging the growth of running clubs to companies creating responsible gaming tools for sports betting to an upcoming women’s basketball league. Some of them aren’t traditional sports companies but have developed technology that could transform the industry.

To keep the list fresh, we didn’t include startups we’ve featured in previous years. Investors still nominated companies like Australian social betting company Dabble, sports news app Outlier, betting exchange Sportrade and fantasy sports betting platform Underdog.

Here are 13 promising sports startups to watch in the coming year, according to investors who know the industry best (listed in alphabetical order).