AO StartUps, Tennis Australia’s incubator program which supports technology businesses in sport, has chosen seven ideas for its mid-year intake.
Dr Machar Reid, Tennis Australia’s chief innovation officer, received hundreds of applications from companies around the world before having to choose just seven.
“We were very impressed by the diversity and quality of the startups and founders who applied to be part of the AO StartUps pathway,” he said.
“This is the second time we have opened the AO in this way to the global startup community mid-year and we are really excited by the level of interest it has generated. Our new cohort will drive innovation across multiple sports and entertainment verticals, including player performance, event operations, and in-stadium and broadcast fan experience.
A single startup, PAM, which builds connected environments through intelligent navigation and digital wayfinding technology, is Australian, with two UK companies, as well as companies from the US, Canada, Germany and France.
The startups involved will have the chance to prove their business models in real-time and gain direct access to exclusive insights and exposure at one of the world’s biggest sporting and entertainment events, the Australian Open in Melbourne in January. There is also the possibility of funding from Tennis Australia’s venture capital fund, Wildcard Ventures.
The inaugural program kicked off in January during this year’s Australian Open and included Cape Bionics, Equidi, Calyx, MATCHi, Amperfii, Recut and YBVR – each of which spearheaded new initiatives in various aspects Sport.
The AO StartUps mid-year cohort is:
PAM (Australia): an integrated cloud-based CX platform, to help customers find a parking space, the right store, the right seat or promotion, the bathroom or their favorite food at events.
Crow (UNITED KINGDOM): an AI-powered incident management platform that provides real-time situational awareness to all stakeholders involved in event and venue management.
Circular (France): developer of the world’s only wearable device (smart ring) powered by an AI conversational assistant that provides accessible recommendations to make sense of user wellness data.
Straff (Germany): science-backed functional fitness equipment, including the world’s first smart resistance band.
Stringer (WE): a new mobile app that connects tennis players with trusted local racket stringers on-demand.
DVOX (Canada): provides a reliable and simple way to stream live audio content directly to event attendees’ smartphones without the need for additional apps or hardware.
Trickshot (UNITED KINGDOM): a platform that enables content creators and rights holders to generate immersive digital experiences for fans using 3D player and ball tracking data.
