Introducing SBJ’s 10 Most Innovative Sports Tech Companies

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but innovation not only solves for the needs we have now, but also anticipates the ones we will have tomorrow.

Sports Business Journal’s third annual list of the 10 Most Innovative Sports Tech Companies honors young startups and more mature firms with a proven track record — and all of them show the same desire to improve and, at times, reinvent the way the business of sports operates.

The list was determined based on the companies creating a tech deployment that changed how people view technology and/or shifts how the industry operates because of it; finding a novel way to tangibly enhance the fan experience; or breaking new ground in enhancing athlete performance via technology. 

This year’s cohort includes athlete performance tech that can track new performance metrics while closing the gap between men’s and women’s sports for resources, while another shows promise in solving for a specific injury plaguing a single position in a single sport. Others immerse the fan in shared or mixed reality, provide personalization among the masses or forge new canvases for responsive, digital activations. Another subset streamlines processes for the benefit of fans in-venue or home. One company works across all three sectors: performance, experience and operations.

They are being honored not only for what they have done but what they are on the verge of doing, all while maintaining a spirit of forward-looking progress. Here are the selections for this year:

AiFi

ASB GlassFloor

Camb.ai

Cosm

FlexPro Grip

Hawk-Eye

Immersiv.io

Misapplied Sciences

Plantiga

Wicket

The companies will be recognized in SBJ’s Feb. 24 issue and during the Sports Business Awards: Tech ceremony, kicking off SBJ Tech Week, March 4-6, in New York City.