What’s after VAR? HYPE to launch US$75m fund to find the next big sports tech breakthrough
- Ex-Reebok boss Uli Becker and former Stuttgart president Bernd Wahler on the lookout for start-ups to deliver on-field and digital development
Inspired by Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology, investors led by former Reebok president Uli Becker are setting up a US$75 million fund in their search for the next big sporting tech breakthrough.
HYPE Sports Innovation – a platform for sporting stakeholders such as brands, clubs and academics – is launching the fund, which aims to unleash the “next unicorns of sports innovation” by providing start-up companies with the means to bring new experiences in terms of sports tech.
One of its successful projects is the development of BatFast – a high-performance, realistic cricket simulator that helps batsmen improve their skills.
“Sports tech is a fast-moving industry with thousands of companies worldwide and billions of dollars invested over the past five years,” Bernd Wahler, chairman of HYPE Sports Innovation, said in a media statement. “We are working to take this sector’s strongest start-ups to the next level and to invite industry experts on to their advisory boards.
“To reduce the risk for investors, we only work with elite start-ups, whom we know personally and are part of our deal flow. Once we get them on board, we connect them to corporations in our accelerator programme, giving them an outstanding global platform.”