Hello! Welcome back to the SBJ Tech Funding Round(up), where we break down the previous quarter’s investments in sports tech.
Today, we’re looking at Q2. Let’s hop into the trends we noticed:
Two significant sums of investment
It’s hard not to immediately lock onto the two largest numbers on the graph above, associated with Cosm and Professional Sports Authenticator.
Sony Pictures Entertainment’s $100 million injection into Cosm is the latest significant cash boost for the shared reality venue operator, which was recognized by SBJ as one of our 10 Most Innovative Sports Tech Companies in 2025.
Cosm continues to grow its location footprint. If you aren’t keeping score at home, Cosm has venues in L.A., Dallas and Atlanta, which are rolling thanks to the company’s various sports deals across leagues and broadcasters. Its Detroit location is slated to open later this year, with Cleveland following suit sometime in 2027.
This is the latest nine-figure investment for Cosm, which also raised a $250 million round in 2024. SPE will use this connection with Cosm, which came with the placement of SPE Chairman/CEO Ravi Ahuja on Cosm’s board, as a new avenue for its IP.
I can’t help but wonder if films and other types of content (SPE has a relationship with Netflix, which is only increasing its live sports focus) will soon hit the curved Cosm LED walls. Dorothy and Toto went to The Sphere, so anything is possible.
And in the collectibles world, Collectors, the huge umbrella organization within sports memorabilia and trading cards, shifted $200 million into Professional Sports Authenticators. That will go toward expanding physical capacity for PSA, the dominant card grader/authenticator in the hobby, as it deals with massive consumer demand. That said, some of that money will go into more technological enhancement for the grading process.
The bolstering of athlete support
As far as I’m concerned, biomechanic analysis and athlete tracking are pockets of this industry that are always running hot. I feel like I write a blurb about it every quarter.
GameRun is a movement and performance analysis platform that builds incredibly detailed player reports with AI. Its capabilities have already caught the attention of USA Baseball, which uses the company’s tech for regional talent evaluation.
PlayerData, which started as a producer of GPS wearables, has grown out its offering portfolio and will continue to do so with its latest $12 million raise. Its tech is being worn by every official in the FIFA Men’s World Cup, and PlayerData has also helped Puma and Mitre develop a soccer ball with GPS tracking capabilities.
Hexis, a personalized nutrition app, is boosting its development and scale. The company works with half of Premier League clubs and has a significant customer base in professional cycling (it worked with 40% of the riders who participated in last year’s Tour de France).
The content machine keeps whirring
AI-powered or enhanced content continues to be an easier pitch to investors as well.
Sportway is another player in the growing youth sports streaming sector. And its lead investor for this $22.7 million round, Gamma Waves Partners, is likely going to be an investor to watch in Europe going forward.
The firm emerged this year — co-founded by former Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli, entrepreneur Rocco Benetton and retired Italian soccer star Giorgio Chiellini — and has positioned its focus on tech platforms with the opportunity to scale. They are so new that they don’t have a portfolio page on their website yet.
PressBox, which pulled in $2 million, is helping to bolster the efforts toward one-to-one fan personalization for rights holders, media partners and other sports content-producing organizations.
Other rounds covered by SBJ in Q2:
