Tennis Australia plays VC to boost tournament experience


Brandon How
Reporter

The Australian Open isn’t just a Grand Slam tennis event, it’s now also an integrated startup accelerator and venture capital fund targeting technology investments that can enhance the tournament experience for fans and players alike.

This week Tennis Australia announced an initial raise of US$30 million ($AU48 million) for its first venture capital fund, AO Ventures, which already has enough interest to reach final close soon after tournament’s champions lift their trophies next Sunday.

The fund is expected to make early-stage investments in as many as 20 companies, with several potential beneficiaries already competing for investors’ eyes at the Australian Open, piloting their products at the event via the AO Startups accelerator program.

Image: Australian Open

Both the AO Ventures fund and AO Startups are managed by Wildcard Ventures, and launched by Tennis Australia in 2021 initially to support SportsTech startups. The Wildcard Ventures program and fund targets startups across the sports, entertainment, media and health industries, that could go beyond tennis or sport.

Speaking to InnovationAus.com, Wildcard Ventures general partner and Tennis Australia head of innovation Machar Reid said the AO Startups accelerator was first run in 2022, to “nurture innovation through our events”, now with the broader focus on solutions that can enhance the “player experience or fan experience”.

With the establishment of AO Ventures, not only can Tennis Australia “sign up as a client to the very best emerging technologies that we’re able to identify” through the accelerator, but now they have “the capital to allow them to take their business to that next level”.

This year a record 12 startups are participating in the accelerator program, of which five are based in Australia. The rest come from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Israel, and the United States.

“We’re acutely aware of areas in which we may be able to get better. But equally there are other [startups] globally that are maybe even addressing problems that we’re not even aware of,” Mr Reid told InnovationAus.com.

“That presents an opportunity for us to engage those groups to deliver a better product to both our fans and players.”

Some of the solutions being tested this year expect to drive efficiencies “in our event including digital ticketing, automated screening checks, production project management and AI powered personalised menus for anyone with dietary needs,” Mr Reid said in a statement.

Through the AO Startups program, some of the Australian Open competitors have access to “micro-load wearable resistance garments, active mobility therapy devices and personalised electrolyte insights to aid hydration and recovery”.

Mr Reid also said artificial intelligence technologies are being used to support player performance by “streamlining biomechanical analysis assessments” as well as to “grow their social media presence”.

Among the AO Ventures backers are Robyn Denholm’s family office Wollemi Capital Group and prolific venture capitalist Brad Feld – founder of US venture fund Foundry and co-founder of the Techstars accelerator – who is also on the advisory committee for Wildcard Ventures.

Other AO Ventures backers include Caledonia Investments Group chair Mark Nelson, Tanarra Capital chief executive John Wylie, Melbourne businessman Mark Healey, Ellerston Capital executive chair Ashok Jacob, and the Gnanalingam family, which owns English football club Queens Park Rangers.

AO Ventures’ first investments are expected to be announced before the end of this quarter.

The 12 companies participating in the 2024 cohort of AO Startups are:

  • Oho (Australia): Automated accreditation screening and verification capability.
  • INTIX (Australia): Digital sports ticketing solution.
  • Foodini (Australia): Mobile app that provides personalised menus for people with allergies, dietary requirements, or different preferences.
  • Lumi (Australia): Visual project management software tailored for TV, entertainment and sports productions.
  • Back Sync (Australia): Active therapy and mobility products for spinal health.
  • Volta (UK): Interactive screens that audiences can interact with via their phones.
  • live (UK): Real-time data capture, processing, storage, and display system.
  • Electrokare (US): Software for producing personalized electrolyte insights using existing wearble devices.
  • Grandstand (US): AI-powered studio to help athletes engage with fans by automatically tracking games and results, relevant media, and generating prompts and highlights to simplify an athlete’s social media use.
  • LILA (Malaysia): Developers of the Exogen wearable resistance suit which combines compression wear and an AI-driven microloading system for adjusting its weight.
  • Scala Sports (Netherlands): Mobile app developer for racquet sports associations to help run leagues and schedule friendly matches.
  • New Stream (Israel): AI biomechanical analysis solution with motion capture product.

Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.

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