The Lions aren’t the only tourists from this part of the world hoping for success in Australia this month. Eleven of Ireland’s leading sports tech firms have just returned from an Enterprise Ireland trade mission to the country where they had an opportunity to demonstrate their innovative products and services to some of Australia’s top sporting bodies, pitch to investors and engage with potential partners in the Australian business community.
Ireland has emerged as a prominent hub for sports technology, with home-grown companies and talent delivering cutting-edge innovations that are having an impact on the global sports landscape, according to Keith Brock, a senior client adviser with Enterprise Ireland’s ICT enterprise solutions division. Those innovations include athlete performance optimisation, sports nutrition, match analytics, fan engagement solutions and stadium and event management platforms.
“When most people think about sports tech, they tend to think about wearables,” Brock notes. “But that’s a small quite niche area of the market. The overall sports tech market is worth $35 billion globally and is projected to increase to €68 billion by 2030. It’s a huge, huge market and Ireland now has some of the world’s best sports tech companies working with some of the world’s most prestigious sports leagues and organisations including the IRFU, Rugby Australia, New Zealand Rugby, the NFL and NBA in the US and English Premier League clubs.”
Indeed, Enterprise Ireland-supported sports tech company Tixserve and Rugby Australia have just signed a multiyear digital ticket fulfilment agreement. The Tixserve platform is already up and running handling tickets sold for the Lions tour by Ticketek and Ticketmaster and via Lions Rugby Travel for fans on this side of the globe.
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Irish companies have earned a reputation for excellence and innovation across a wide spectrum of technologies including artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IOT) and big-data analytics, Brock adds.
Enterprise Ireland is a significant investor in the sector, he points out. “Enterprise Ireland has been the top European venture capital investor in sports tech by deal count since 2024 with 19 deals, exceeding the two firms tied for second at six deals each. On a per-capita basis, Ireland ranked first in Europe for sports tech deal count and has maintained a top four ranking every year over the past decade.”
The sector continues to perform well in terms of investment. “Irish sports tech start-ups raised €6.84 million in venture capital funding up to June 12th, 2025, across five deals,” he adds. “In 2024, deal activity totalled €25.62 million across 25 deals. Ireland’s sports tech venture deal flow grew each year between 2022 and 2024 in contrast to the downward trends seen in many other industries and geographies in the same period.”
The key objective of the Australia visit was to help the companies expand into one of the world’s fastest-growing sports tech markets. “The US tends to be the holy grail for companies in the sector,” Brock explains. “But from Enterprise Ireland’s perspective, we would like to see our client companies look further afield and diversify into new markets. Australia is sports mad and the sports tech market there is booming. It is worth AUS$4.6 billion [€2.55 billion] annually at the moment, rising to AUS$9 or AUS$10 billion in 2030. There’s never been a better time to look at the Australian market. It was a no-brainer for us to organise the visit for this amazing group of companies.”
Those companies represented a cross-section of some of Ireland’s more established sports tech companies such as Kitman Labs and Orreco and some new exciting emerging companies such as Hexis and Output Sports that Brock believes will come to dominate their space globally in a few years. In the case of Output Sports, the company’s technology is already being used by the Irish rugby team and New Zealand Rugby.
Brock pays tribute to the work of the Enterprise Ireland Sydney office. “Their support in organising the trip and the itinerary has been instrumental in its success,” he says. “A key feature of Enterprise Ireland’s offer to companies is the incredible support our overseas offices provide in assisting Irish companies to land and expand in new markets. This is where Enterprise Ireland really stands out a world class government agency.”
The IRFU and Rugby Australia also supported the visit as did the Irish consulate. “The consulate’s involvement further elevated the trip, opening doors to strategic business networking, media exposure, and high-impact meetings,” he says. “With Brisbane set to host the Olympics in 2032, this visit represents a timely opportunity to open new doors in a globally significant market.”
The strong sense of community within the sector will contribute to its continued success in markets like Australia, Brock believes. “The sports tech sector in Ireland operates like a family. The level of goodwill and support they provide to each other is tremendous. I’ve never seen it anywhere else. They really want to help each other succeed.”
