- The evolution of tech and media is creating opportunities for innovation in sports.
- Sports betting has also added new facets to the industry in the US.
The sports industry has exploded in recent years as technology and consumer habits change.
The expansion of legal sports betting in the US ushered in one of the biggest transformations. It's opened up a new market not only for sportsbooks like DraftKings, but for the ancillary businesses that support betting — be it platform providers, data companies, media partners, geolocation and compliance suppliers, or others.
Venture capital poured $334.5 million into the early-stage sports betting and gambling space last year, despite the current macroeconomic struggles, according to PitchBook. That's down from the previous year but more than the year before. And more opportunities for growth are expected in the next decade ahead as sports gambling expands into more states such as California.
In college sports, student-athletes are finally allowed to profit from their name, image, and likeness, after a 2021 rule change. Student-athletes have since become one of the most engaging influencer groups, earning anywhere from a few hundred dollars to six figures from brand deals. This has opened the opportunity for startups to build marketplaces or creator tools to help student-athlete creators.
Technology has also changed the way leagues and teams operate and how fans consume sports. Uplift Labs has partnered with leagues like the NBA for its technology that analyzes player movement through smartphone cameras.
Stadium Live, which has raised $13 million in funding since 2020, created a fan-engagement app for Gen-Z audiences, who founder Kevin Kim said are paying less attention to TV screens during live sports. Kim said investors even chased him down on platforms like Twitter and Discord, gaining interest in Stadium Live's unique position in sports media.
"Every time an investor or potential people would look at [Stadium Live], they were like, 'Oh, this has a unique vibe that we have not seen before in any other apps,'" Kim told Insider.
Whether it's in sports tech, betting, or consumer products, the sports space has become a world of opportunity for startups to take a stab at creating the next big company.
Insider talked with a handful of sports startup founders who've pitched their startups to investors about their process. They broke down the pitch decks they used to secure millions of dollars in funding.
Read the pitch decks that helped 10 sports-focused startups raise millions of dollars:
- Kero Sports, a startup that powers free-to-play games in sports apps: $1 million seed round (6 key pages)
- BeyondPlay, a mobile gaming and online-gambling app: $1.7 million (90-second video)
- Curastory, a video-making startup for sports creators: $2 million seed round (27 pages)
- Compliable, a tech company helping with the sports-gambling licensing process: $3.6 million seed round (4 pages)
- Brag House, an esports social platform for college gamers: $5 million Series A round (24 pages)
- Uplift, a sports tech startup using biomechanics to improve performance and physical health: $5.5 million seed round (14 pages)
- Champions Round, a social-gaming startup catering to Gen-Z audiences who want shorter, faster play: $7 million Series A (13 pages)
- Stix, a golf startup aiming to make quality equipment more affordable: $10 million Series A (14 pages)
- Mojo, a sports-betting app where bettors can invest in the careers of athletes (11 pages)
- Overtime, a social media outlet target ting the Gen-Z market that has launched a basketball league (33 pages)
This post has been updated with new information.