Welcome to this special year-end edition reviewing Ireland's SportsTech ecosystem throughout 2025. Sony's acquisition of STATSports marked the sector's biggest exit, while Ireland solidified its position as Europe's #1 SportsTech hub per capita. Despite global VC headwinds, Irish companies raised over €25M across innovations in AI analytics, concussion detection, and fan accessibility. From Premier League clubs to NBA teams, Irish technology is now powering elite sport worldwide. Our regular monthly editions will resume at the end of January 2026.
🏆 Main Story of the 2025
Newry-based STATSports was acquired by Sony Corporation in October 2025 in a multimillion-dollar deal that positions an Irish company at the heart of global sports data analytics. Founded in 2008 by Alan Clarke and Sean O'Connor, STATSports has grown from a small Northern Irish startup to a global leader serving 800+ elite organizations including Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Juventus, the England national team, the All Blacks, and NFL franchises.
Sony's acquisition integrates STATSports' wearable technology with its existing optical tracking solutions (Hawk-Eye, KinaTrax, Beyond Sports), creating what Sony describes as "the ultimate sports data and analytics engine." The deal keeps the 100+ person operation in Newry while supporting R&D expansion. Investors including Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, and Katie McCabe stand to benefit from the exit. Read more
💰 Funding & Investments
Output Sports raises €4.6M (January 2025) - UCD spinout secured pre-Series A led by Apex Capital, Uni.Fund, and Dopamine Sports. Technology used by 800+ sports organizations globally, played role in Olympic gold medals including Daniel Wiffen's historic swim. Opening US office in Boston, targeting 100M recorded exercise repetitions in 2025. Read more
Orreco secures $4M (February 2025) - Galway biomarker/AI performance company backed by Mark Cuban, Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech, and The Syndicate.com. Acquiring DDSA for computer vision capabilities, creating 55 jobs. Works with NBA (Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks), serves as analytics partner to US National Basketball Players Association. Read more
Sports Impact Technologies raises €650K (August 2025) - Dublin concussion detection startup founded 2022 by Eóin Tuohy (former European Space Agency engineer). Behind-the-ear wearable uses real-time head impact monitoring. Beta testing launched September 2025 across rugby, American football, soccer, hockey, GAA. Full commercial launch Q1 2026. Read more
TrojanTrack raising €1.3M seed round (November 2025) - Kildare equine AI startup won UCD's "One to Watch" award. Smartphone-based biomechanical analysis for horses, 200+ horses on platform including Breen Equestrian and John Whitaker Performance Horses. Already raised €500K in pre-seed. Q1 2026 commercial launch planned for Ireland/UK. Read more
ClubZap targeting €1.5M (August 2025) - Dublin grassroots sports club management platform raising funds for UK expansion. Named Business Post "Start-up of the Month." Integrates with FAI Net system, achieves 84% higher engagement than traditional social media. Read more
Imvizar planning €5M round (2026) - Dublin AR spatial storytelling company raised €2M to date (€1.5M in 2024), backed by Delta Partners VC, former Meta Ireland head Gareth Lambe. Working with Salesforce (replacing PowerPoint onboarding), Grant Thornton. 150+ experiences in 12 countries. Launched no-code AR tool "Lureo". Read more
Hexis raised £1.6M pre-seed (2024) - Dublin sports nutrition AI platform using "Carb Coding" algorithms. 98% export revenue, clients span English Premier League, UCI World Tour, NRL Australia. Led by PhDs in human performance, includes British Cycling Lead Nutritionist Sam Impey. Read more
🚀 New Launches and Partnerships
Field of Vision x Guinness x IRFU - Debuted at Ireland vs England Six Nations match, 15 visually impaired fans used devices. Expanded to Ireland vs France fixture with Voice of Vision Impairment Ireland providing feedback. Plans to make devices standard at Irish sporting events. Read more
Field of Vision x Marvel Stadium - 40 devices deployed for entire 2025 AFL season at Melbourne venue. Technology adapted from soccer to oval-pitch Australian Rules Football, demonstrating cross-sport scalability. Read more
Enterprise Ireland delegation to Australia (July 2025) - Brought leading Irish SportsTech startups to showcase innovations during British & Irish Lions Tour. Featured Field of Vision, MoveAhead (1M+ Australian kids reached, 5,000+ active screen hours). Read more
Orreco x Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech (2025 Cohort) - Selected from 1,600+ applicants for six-month R&D program. Successful Philadelphia Flyers NHL pilot deploying again for 2026 season. First sports company securing Sportradar NBA live data stream access. Partnership includes NBC Sports, Sky Sports, Premier League. Read more
TRYKA x Life Style Sports - Multi-year title sponsorship with Ireland's largest sports retailer (40 stores). Supports inaugural RDS event October 2025 and 12-month race calendar. Includes co-branded apparel line, partnership with 200+ affiliate gyms nationwide. Read more
🎓 Education, Workforce & Talent Development
Technology Ireland Digital Skillnet Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Analytics, Technology & Innovation launched its second cohort and MSc - First-of-its-kind 12-month program, strategic collaboration between Technology Ireland Digital Skillnet, SportsTech Ireland, TU Dublin. Professionals from Flutter Entertainment, Stats Perform, Irish Football Association, Feenix Group, Workday and IDA Ireland enrolled. Read more
Output Sports: 10+ new roles - Hiring across sales, marketing, product development, data science, customer support for US expansion following €4.6M raise. Boston office operational January 2025
Orreco: 55 new jobs globally (30 in Galway) - Scaling AI sports tech following $4M raise and DDSA acquisition. Roles span computer vision, data science, sports science, product development. Creating real-time athlete monitoring center at Galway headquarters
Sports Impact Technologies: Team expansion underway - Dónal Tuohy (8 years at Evervault, Zendesk) joined as CTO. Growing data science and product engineering teams ahead of Q1 2026 commercial launch
TrojanTrack: Scaling for Q1 2026 launch - Team expanded with technical lead Aniket Sawale, chief product officer Allen Corcoran, biomechanical engineer Ellen Curran. Preparing for €1.3M seed round
STATSports: 100+ employees retained post-Sony acquisition - October 2025 acquisition keeps Newry operation intact with R&D expansion support. Sony integration creates opportunities in data analytics, product development, sports science roles
📊 Industry Recognition an Reports
Ireland ranks #1 in Europe for SportsTech VC investment per capita (September 2025 PitchBook report) - 7th overall for deal count, but 1st when adjusted for population. Maintained top-four position nearly every year over past decade. Read more
Robust ecosystem with FDI companies from DraftKings, Fitbit, Strava, Stats Perform, Peloton all based in Ireland alongside homegrown innovators.
89 active/pending Irish SportsTech patents - Covering wearable devices, AR, diagnostics, exercise equipment across Enterprise Ireland portfolio.
Global SportsTech market: $26.77B (2024) → projected $139.41B by 2032 - 20.5% annual growth driven by biometric tracking, VR/AR, AI integration. Read more
Irish companies working with elite global sports - NFL (Kitman Labs, Orreco, Output Sports), NBA/NHL (Orreco, Kitman Labs), 50%+ of English Premier League (Output Sports), Olympics (Output Sports, Orreco), F1 (Hexis, Orreco), PGA Tour (Orreco)
That's all for 2025. As 2026 begins, Ireland's SportsTech momentum continues—we'll be back at the end of January with our regular updates. Till next time.,