The Qatar SportsTech Accelerator has launched with 10 startups in its inaugural cohort, ranging from companies focused on youth and recreational sports to fan engagement.
The companies were selected from more than 400 total applications. The pool was initially narrowed down to 21 startups before closing at 10 this week after an intense three-day selection process. All 21 were offered access and one-on-one sessions to 40 mentors from sports and innovation organizations, including representatives from the Qatar Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Qatar Tennis Federation, Qatar Football Association, and IBM.
Now that the cohort’s first 10 have been selected, the three-month accelerator program is slated to kick off on Feb. 10. Each startup will receive access to the Qatar SportsTech’s industry network and undergo training and mentoring.
Olympia
Olympia is focused on revolutionizing recreational sports, which have often lagged behind pro sports. Olympia’s technology helps recreational athletes engage with other athletes and their sports. Its decentralized artificial intelligence platform enables athletes to schedule matches against one another. It has also developed a rating system to help players find others to engage in friendly competition.
Horse Analytics
Horse Analytics has created two applications that empower horse owners to improve the health, fitness, and well-being of their animals. PacerApp uses smartphone movement sensors to analyze and improve training. The VitalCam app tracks horse vital signs in clinics, and can contact owners in case of emergency.
Vensy
Vensy’s AI-driven platform aims to help brands build connections with highly engaged fans. The platform enables marketers to search through more than 4,000 sports influencers to find those who might represent their brands.
Performance by P.U.R.E
This platform uses an assortment of data gathering devices, including a smart ball, to track the progress of youth soccer players. Performance by P.U.R.E also engages with professional football players, who can contribute their knowledge, skills, and experience to help youth athletes improve.
Moduu
Moduu aims to use biometric data and active muscle stimulation to increase the effectiveness of rehab and fitness. Its smart sportswear is designed to be worn in everyday life, where is can both measure body data and aid smooth activation of muscles.
TieSports
TieSports has developed a set of software tools for the racket sports industry. The three tools—Tie Club, Tie Player, and Tie Coach—gives clubs the ability to increase their visibility, enhance membership engagement, and manage operations.
MinglVision
MinglVision has developed an interactive and personalized streaming solution for sports and music. Its live and on-demand platform gives viewers direct control over the camera angles they would like to see during an event. Users can also receive real-time notifications and engage in social interaction.
SAK
SAK aims to combines 3D scanning and artificial intelligence to bring mass customization to sports equipment. Many of the 265 million soccer players in the world use low protection shin guards, which risk severe injuries that could jeopardize the careers of athletes and result in high financial losses for clubs. SAK has developed personalized shinguards made using 3D scans of players’ legs, and incorporating military grade materials.
FindaPlayer
This is a sports network that helps users organize, find and play sports in their local area. Through the FindaPlayer platform, users can rate other players, plan their own schedules, build local sports networks, pick teams, and connect with other users.
Creative Bot
Creative Bot has created a dedicated platform for building, managing, and distributing sports-related chatbots on messaging apps. It can help sports teams deploy chatbots on social and messaging apps in order to easily reach fans and collect engagement data on a mass scale.