This article details the 10 new sports equipment companies that integrate technologies to enhance athlete training, performance, and recovery. For instance, innovations like 3D printing create surfboards with variable geometry, enhancing control, durability, and performance by precisely manipulating weight, flex, and vibration. In cricket, advanced sensor stickers embedded in bats provide real-time batting analytics and help players refine their techniques through instantaneous insights into swing profiles. Such companies focus on precision, personalization, and performance optimization to advance the sports equipment sector and athlete performance.
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Key Takeaways
Drawing insights from the Big Data & AI-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform that provides data on over 4.7+ million emerging companies globally, we explore the evolving landscape of the sports equipment industry. This sector is marked by key trends and a substantial workforce, shaping its future. The last update of this report was 5 days ago. If you spot incomplete or incorrect info, please let us know. Here are some key insights at a glance:
- Latest Sports Equipment Trends: The latest sports equipment trends include wearables, connected gear, biomechanics and motion analysis, training simulators, and augmented coaching
- Sports Equipment Industry Statistics: The sector comprises 10.5K+ organizations worldwide. Out of these, 1K+ startups in sports equipment were founded in the last five years, with 2020 as the average founding year. On average, each of these companies employs about 17 people. Moreover, the average funding received by these 1K+ sports equipment companies per round in the same span is USD 20 million.
- 10 New Sports Equipment Companies to Watch:
- Additive Appliances – 3D Printed Tennis Dampener
- Play Safety Systems – Equipment Safety Management Platform
- AVIV – Antimicrobial Basketball Net
- EDELWORKS – Ski Touring Boot
- iotis – Playable Smart Football
- zUFO Ski Boots – Exoskeleton-based Ski Boots
- Hyperlab – Laser Training Companion
- Rezon – Brain Protecting Headband
- Wyve – Eco-Surfboards
- Spektacom Technologies – Smart Bat Stickers
Meet 10 out of 1K+ Emerging Sports Equipment Companies
In this section, we highlight 10 emerging sports equipment companies that use technologies such as additive manufacturing, equipment safety management, antimicrobial materials, smart sensors, and exoskeleton technologies. These companies feature products like ski touring boots, playable smart footballs, laser training companions, brain-protecting headbands, and more. Read through to learn more about how these companies elevate the sports equipment industry.
Note on Signal Strength
One of the unique metrics we feature for each company is Signal Strength, a proprietary data point generated by our Discovery Platform. It gauges the extent to which a company’s influence has permeated the global ecosystem of startups, scaleups, and emerging companies. This proprietary metric serves as a valuable guidepost for understanding a company’s standing in the broader market landscape.
1. Additive Appliances
- Founding Year: 2021
- Employee Range: 2-10
- Location: Italy
- Signal Strength: Medium Strong
- What they do: Additive Appliances develops AMbelievable, a 3D-printed tennis dampener that utilizes advanced metamaterials and additive manufacturing. This dampener leverages selective vibration interference technology to target specific harmful frequencies and enhance control and stability. Its topology and elastic response absorbs vibration without increasing mass. By finely controlling material architecture, the dampener adapts to racket and string setups and assists players with enhanced ball feel, control, and stability.
2. Play Safety Systems
- Founding Year: 2022
- Employee Range: 2-10
- Location: Croatia
- Signal Strength: Medium Strong
- What they do: Play Safety Systems builds an equipment safety management platform to improve safety and quality for recreational, playing, and sports equipment. Its PlaySafety Platform automates preventive maintenance, risk assessment, repairs, and issue tracking to meet mandatory legal safety standards. It also integrates digital equipment inventory management and tracking of physical assets and equipment across multiple locations. Moreover, the platform’s incident management and preventive maintenance automation tools reduce injuries and ensure a safe environment.
3. AVIV
- Founding Year: 2021
- Employee Range: 51-100
- Location: USA
- Signal Strength: Very Strong
- What they do: AVIV makes a moisture-wicking net made from a proprietary blend of three antimicrobial agents. These reduce slipperiness and improve ball handling. The antimicrobial features in the net remove bacteria and disinfect the ball upon scoring to promote player health and safety. The net signage closure system allows customization and secure signage changes without damaging the net. Moreover, AVIV’s durable nets come with reusable fabric to sustain longer for basketball players.
4. EDELWORKS
- Founding Year: 2021
- Employee Range: 1-10
- Location: Austria
- Signal Strength: Weak
- What they do: EDELWORKS uses its MagBoost technology to develop ski-touring MEVO binding systems. The technology utilizes N52 neodymium magnets to enhance performance and support. The binding system integrates magnets in the ski boot sole and climbing aid to create a repelling effect that supports climbing. This technology minimizes walking noise, offers active push-off support, and provides cushioning during steps. The binding’s design also prevents blistering by minimizing shoe slippage and evening out pressure distribution in slippery conditions.
5. iotis
- Founding Year: 2020
- Employee Range: 11-50
- Location: Germany
- Signal Strength: Very Strong
- What they do: iotis makes a smart football that serves as a gamified personal trainer to enhance footballers’ skills. The football integrates sensors, AI, internet of things (IoT), and algorithms to collect data such as rotation and speed, providing real-time audio-visual feedback. The accompanying app offers exercises in collaboration with professionals to improve first touch, shooting technique, ball mastery, and passing. The gamification elements in the app also allow players to participate in challenges, set records, and win rewards.
6. zUFO Ski Boots
- Founding Year: 2020
- Employee Range: 2-10
- Location: France
- Signal Strength: Strong
- What they do: zUFO Ski Boots offers ski boots that enhance performance by separating mechanical and insulating functions. The mechanical function leverages an exoskeleton with a suspension element. This provides measurable and consistent flex for superior front-to-back force transmission. The boot design ensures optimal responsiveness and stability for lateral force transmission, unaffected by the liner’s foam. Meanwhile, the adaptable textiles manage the insulating function to provide thermal insulation and waterproofing for varying conditions like seasons, weather, and altitude. This separation allows for better force control and comfort without compromising on either aspect. Additionally, the modular design significantly reduces plastic usage, enhancing eco-friendliness and enabling easy repairability.
7. Hyperlab
- Founding Year: 2021
- Employee Range: 11-50
- Location: India
- Signal Strength: Strong
- What they do: Hyperlab amplifies athletic performance with its Helios system, a green laser-equipped training equipment. This system integrates sensors, AI, and customizable drills to provide real-time feedback for training outcomes. In addition, it provides three training modes – Point-Based Mode, Buffer Mode, and Timeout Mode. Point-Based Mode redefines drill exercises by projecting virtual targets to simulate preset drills across various sports. This converts traditional exercises into goal-oriented sessions. Buffer Mode introduces randomized virtual targets to sharpen reflexes and agility, and demands swift reactions and sequences to challenge athletes. Timeout Mode progressively escalates difficulty based on response time to create a personalized and intense training environment that pushes athletes to continually surpass their limits. Each mode adapts to unique training needs and provides a dynamic and personalized experience.
8. Rezon
- Founding Year: 2021
- Employee Range: 11-50
- Location: UK
- Signal Strength: Medium Strong
- What they do: Rezon makes Halos, a headband that reduces brain injuries using its Rotection technology. This technology consists of nine independent protective layers that reduce the transmission of rotational forces to the brain. Thus, it addresses the more damaging rotational forces, mitigating the risk of concussions and sub-concussions by reducing brain cell and blood vessel damage. The ergonomic shaping of Halos targets areas most prone to injury while avoiding the creation of rotational force catch points. The smooth, skin-like exterior, along with anti-odor, anti-microbial, and hypoallergenic lining, enhances comfort and stability during play.
9. Wyve
- Founding Year: 2019
- Employee Range: 2-10
- Location: France
- Signal Strength: Very Strong
- What they do: Wyve creates 3D-printed surfboards with 4D core technology. The 4D Core features a variable geometry to enhance control during maneuvers. The company utilizes 3D printing to align the core’s thickness and density with the board’s shape and intended surfing style. A Gore-Tex valve system allows continuous air circulation and simplifies repair by draining water in case of infiltration. The dense honeycomb structure of the core further increases impact resistance and makes the board more durable. Wyve increases performance outcomes for surfers by helping them control mechanical parameters like weight, flex, and vibration.
10. Spektacom Technologies
- Founding Year: 2019
- Employee Range: 2-10
- Location: India
- Signal Strength: Very Strong
- What they do: Spektacom Technologies develops PowerBat, a sticker that enhances cricket performance. The PowerBat features a small, lightweight sensor that attaches to any cricket bat and provides real-time batting analytics. It utilizes bluetooth low energy to offer swing profiles and performance data to the Spektacom PowerBat App. The app offers detailed analysis for amateurs, professionals, broadcasters, and coaches, and enhances understanding and improvement of batting techniques. Also, it highlights the real-time shot behavior modeling and tracks performance.
Quickly Find Top Sports Equipment Startups
Utilizing a SaaS platform like the Discovery Platform for identifying new sports equipment companies provides significant benefits compared to traditional scouting methods:
- Streamlined Efficiency: The Discovery Platform offers advanced tools that streamline the scouting process. It replaces your hours of conventional desk research, saving time and resources in identifying sports equipment innovations.
- Access to Real-time Insights: Gain a competitive edge with up-to-date information on the latest trends in the sports equipment industry. The platform keeps you informed with near real-time updates on emerging sports equipment companies and news, enabling you to make swift and informed decisions.
- Tailored Exploration: Customize your search to focus on specific niches within the sports equipment sector, such as smart bat stickers, eco-surfboards, or brain-protecting headbands. The platform’s diverse filtering options allow you to target your scouting efforts precisely, ensuring that you find the most relevant and groundbreaking companies in the field.
Ready to Explore All Sports Equipment Companies?
We’ve explored the dynamic landscape of the smart sportswear industry, examining the latest trends and spotlighting exceptional companies driving innovation. To dive deeper, download our free SportsTech Report or schedule a demo of the Discovery Platform for a customized exploration of these groundbreaking developments. We’re keen to partner with subject matter experts to enrich our coverage. Think you can help? Let us know.
