Australian Open, Rod Laver Arena
Topic

Tennis Australia’s VC fund aces first close with nearly $50 million from blue chip investors

- January 13, 2025 2 MIN READ

A who’s who of Australian investors have backed a new sports VC fund by Tennis Australia’s AO Ventures, committing around $49 million to its first close. They include Mark Nelson from Caledonia, Tanarra’s John Wylie, Melbourne-based businessman Mark Healey, Ashok Jacob from Ellerston Capital and Robyn and Victoria Denholm’s family office, Wollemi Capital Group. International… Read more »

Ted Lasso
Leadership

What successful sports coaches can teach startup founders about bringing the best out of high-performance teams

- January 3, 2025 4 MIN READ

The study of leadership in high-performance coaching aims to deepen the understanding of how and why coaches lead the way they do, rather than just what they do. There has been increasing academic and applied interest in this area, particularly due to the significant impact coaches have on athlete and team performance, as well as… Read more »

Woman, basketball match.
Business

She shoots, she scores! Robyn and Victoria Denholm now own a whole basketball league

- November 21, 2024 2 MIN READ

Tesla chair and Blackbird partner Robyn Denholm, has one-upped Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes, part owner of US NBA team the Utah Jazz, by buying an entire basketball league, the WNBL. The deal between the Wollemi Capital Group Syndicate (WCGS) and Larry Kestelman’s National Basketball League (NBL) consortium to acquire a majority stake in the Women’s National… Read more »

Zonely, Alicia Nagle
Women in Tech

Here are the 100 most powerful women in sports innovation

- July 9, 2024 2 MIN READ

More than 30 startup founders and execs, including Zonely’s Alicia Nagle and Stephanie Bofinger from FemPro Armour, have been recognised among the 100 most powerful women in Australian sports innovation.  The second edition of the ‘Women in Sports Innovation’ report, which recognises the outstanding contributions of emerging and established leaders in sports innovation, was released… Read more »

virtual sailing
Life hacks

Researchers have found sailing is good for your mental health – and developed a way to do it without getting wet

- June 28, 2024 2 MIN READ

Virtual sailing could assist with mental health treatment according to researchers at Swinburne University of Technology, who’ve launched a world-first digital project to manage Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).​ The Swinburne researchers will use the cutting-edge technology of industry partner Virtual Sailing, which involves a sailing simulator (a boat with highly realistic movement on sailing navigation) and… Read more »

Women's soccer, Australia, Matildas
Business strategy

The lessons the Matildas bring to building community – and what business can learn from sport

- August 16, 2023 4 MIN READ

With over seven million Australians hooked onto the world cup viewing, many who have never really been interested in sports have recently found themselves screaming at the TV, cheering in pubs and hugging complete strangers. Have you found yourself in this new legion of sports fans, and wondering how you got here? It is likely… Read more »

sprint race finish
Other tech

Australian sportstech is now a $4.25 billion industry

- May 24, 2023 3 MIN READ

Local sportstech is now worth as much as the fintech startup sector, with more than 750 companies involved, according to new analysis from the Australian Sports Technologies  Network (ASTN). Releasing its second annual Sports Innovation Report for 2023, ASTN put the value of sportstech at $4.25 billion as the sector begins to ramp up for the… Read more »

Australian Open, Rod Laver Arena
Accelerator

Applications for Tennis Australia’s latest accelerator program for sports and entertainment startups have just opened

- May 16, 2023 < 1 MIN READ

Applications for the second round of Tennis Australia’s AO StartUps accelerator program are now open. Seven tech startup were part of the inaugural cohort, developing and testing out their ideas in real time during the Australian Open (AO) in January, including Cape Bionics, Equidi, Calyx, MATCHi, Amperfii, Recut and YBVR. The program helps startups develop their technology at the AO and across… Read more »

Annie Flamsteed
Funding

Athlete mental health startup championed by Grand Slam winning tennis coach Darren Cahill bags $2.5 million seed round

- January 10, 2022 2 MIN READ

A female-founded wellness management platform for youth athletes has closed a $2.5 million seed round as it looks to help athletes with their mental health. Brisbane-based iNSPIRETEK was founded by former competitive gymnast Annie Flamsteed to provide athletes with mental health support and the tools they need when they need them most. The round was led by… Read more »

Topic

Sports app Lumin pivots into wellbeing for companies with people working from home

- April 17, 2020 2 MIN READ

Software that supports the world’s best athletes is undergoing a makeover to support staff working from home. First created to help elite athletes manage their training, the software is now finding its way into home offices as its South Australian creator launches a new platform for corporations dealing with COVID-19 distancing. Lumin Wellbeing is a… Read more »