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- Tennis Australia will offer support and platform for growth
- Australian Open and Infosys have also launched new technology
Tennis Australia (TA) has admitted seven early-stage sports technology firms into its ‘AO Startups’ incubator, offering the companies resources and exposure to develop and commercialise their wares.
The initiative is part of a wider innovation programme at TA, which organises tennis’ first Grand Slam tournament of the year – the Australian Open. AO Startups follows on from the launch of the Wildcard Ventures fund and a multi-year partnership with the Techstars accelerator.
The 2023 cohort includes data specialist Amperfii, cleantech startup Calyx, compression garment manufacturer Cape Bionics, gender equality-focused business analytics firm Equidi, racquet sports management software developer Matchi, generative artificial intelligence (AI) text-to-video creator Recut, and virtual reality (VR) provider YBVR.
All seven will be able to use the Australian Open and TA as a showcase for their wares. For example, Recut’s technology has been used during the tournament to create personalised videos for fans and Calyx will be detailing the environmental impact of food at the event. Others, such as Matchi and Equidi, will be used across Australia’s tennis ecosystem.
TA has also been working with its long-term technology partner Infosys on a range of projects at this year’s Australian Open.
The two have created ‘Engage’, a digital platform that will support TA in reducing its carbon emissions by half by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2040, as well as an AI-generated video platform for players and coaches. The platform will also be used to support TA’s digital and social media channels.
Fans will have access to an overhauled match centre on the official Australian Open website and mobile application, featuring data-driven insights and real-time predictions. It is hoped that enhanced data visualisation will make these features more valuable to visitors and deepen engagement as the tournament concludes with the men’s and women’s finals this weekend.
“Working with Infosys over the past five years has enabled us to set new benchmarks in fan engagement using digital technologies,” said Craig Tiley, TA chief executive and Australian Open tournament director.
“This partnership has enabled us to deliver new innovative digital experiences year after year for everyone associated with the tournament.
“We are also going deeper and wider in our journey this year with truly meaningful use of technology for climate action. We remain committed to making the Australian Open a global standard for a digitally-enabled sport that is inspiring, engaging, inclusive and sustainable.”
