Iker Casillas’ startup accelerator SportBoost, linked to the sports industry, and Wayra, Teléfonica’s initiative to boost innovation, have selected 7 startups from the 120 startups subscribed from 17 different countries in the first call that took place in May 2022.
The main objective of this initiative is to boost and support the most innovative international sports-tech startups. In order to make this happen, SportBoost and Wayra will evaluate a possible investment in the startups, after a good experience in the recent co-investment in INDYA.
SportBoost’s founder partner, Iker Casillas said: “We are very happy we received 120 startups applications as well as the startups/solutions quality. We’ve decided to support 7 startups to offer better support and benefits, with the valuable collaboration from Wayra”
The 7 chosen ones, apart from receiving an investment analysis and active support from SportBoost in their future events, will have at their disposal an extensive network of mentors including Business Angels and professional athletes. Also, SportBoost will support the startups enabling them access to the sports ecosystem and boosting their positioning.
Wayra will put at their disposal office space in its facilities at Gran Via (Madrid), in order to support the startups in their development through the different Telefónica business units. Also, the 7 finalists will be able to participate in online or in-person events focusing on boosting the networking within the startups to provide access to the investment ecosystem from Telefónica’s Open Innovation initiative.
Chema Alonso, Chief Digital Officer at Telefónica and Open Innovation Board President said: “Telefónica has extensive experience in sports-tech startups investment, this is why SportBoost collaboration is an exciting job. From the 120 projects submitted, it has been extremely hard to choose only 7, because there is a lot of potential and we perceive a great passion for technology as a catalyst for change in the sports world. Hackers are not only in the cybersecurity industry but also in sports.”
The startups subscribed to the first call work in 18 different areas such as events management and organization, fan engagement, performance, wearables, IA & data analytics, wellness, Web3, Blockchain, and sustainability.
The 7 chosen sports-tech startups in this first call are:
- Urban Roosters: An online platform that revolves around hip-hop culture where all the people are welcome and they are focusing on the creation of huge-scale sports events.
- Pendular: A tech startup that automatizes content generation for mass media and broadcasters.
- Kaiko: Online platform focused on esports data from players and coaches so they can achieve great potential, bringing to the table all the tools needed for the job.
- Horizm: A German digital assets platform for worldwide sport and entertainment industries that aims to revolutionize the way sports clubs operate in this new digital era.
- Gopick: An app that manages the full food and beverage offerings in an event, football stadium, festival, and any other large gathering.
- CeleBreak: An online football player’s community where everyone is welcome no matter where they are, the time, or the level of skills. This startup is capable of connecting people with passion for sports.
- SportBuff: Based in London, this startup aims to improve the spectator’s experience through adaptable graphics according to the original transmission and design to old transmissions to give additional information and interaction such as surveys, competitions, and posts.