This week, 10 companies were accepted into the fourth class of the Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator powered by Boomtown.
The immersive six-month program, slated to kick off in March, selected the lucky few startups among more than 1,500 applicants across over 50 nations.
Notably, four are Canadian, rendering Canada the most represented country this year.
The 10 companies, with headquarters ranging from Brazil to Switzerland, will have a chance to engage with top sports and tech brands from around the world, including the Premier League, NBC Sports, Sky Sports, U.S. Ski & Snowboard, USA Swimming, USA Cycling, and more, according to a statement released by Comcast.
“When it comes to constructing and curating our SportsTech portfolio, every facet of our decision-making process aims to unlock startups that can become ‘scale-ups’ ready to impact the world of sports,” says Jenna Kurath, Vice President, Startup Partnerships and Head of Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech.
One of this year’s SportsTech startups is based in Alberta.
That company is Calgary’s StellarAlgo, who capitalizes on the astonishing fact that 90% of fans will never set foot in a venue.
After raising a sizeable Series A in 2021, the customer cloud platform targeting the sports industry, the startup drew serious interest from the National Basketball Association last year. In addition to the NBA becoming a “meaningful equity holder,” StellarAlgo announced a multi-year, league-wide strategic partnership providing all 30 teams with access to their platform.
Entrepreneurs at StellarAlgo and the other selected firms will work with SportsTech advisors on customized programming targeting go-to-market strategy and enterprise-ready scale, as well as participate in “a series of unique excursions and working retreats structured around partner events that will bring founders behind-the-scenes to give them a better understanding of the organizations’ operational needs.”
“The SportsTech program focuses not only on tackling complex business challenges for a vast cross-section of some of the world’s most recognized sports brands, but it additionally prepares founders to build sustainable businesses,” Kurath said.
Program mentors include industry leaders from Comcast NBCUniversal as well as strategic advisors from the Boomtown network and the partner consortium.
The 2024 program will begin on March 4 in Florida with a roadshow of events at Universal Studios Florida and NASCAR’s Daytona International Speedway.
The capstone of the program will take place at Rally Innovation in Indianapolis in August, where this year’s founders will showcase their tech innovations and spotlight traction to garner opportunities across the sports industry.
Other participants this year include Vancouver’s Plantiga, aiming to redefine athlete health and performance monitoring with in-shoe sensors powered by AI, and Fobi, who offers data intelligence solutions that help make digital transformation easier for businesses.
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