Germany is known for its booming tech industry, and sport has always been an important part of German culture and society. In fact, the country’s sporting industry is projected to achieve an annual growth rate of 11.84% between 2024 and 2029, representing significant growth.
Indeed, the development of the intersection of sport and tech by means of the ever-growing sports tech industry was inevitable, and since some of the country’s first exciting sports tech startups began emerging around 2008, sports tech is only becoming more popular.
With horse riding and football the country’s most popular sports, German startups are innovating and developing technology to help monitor, analyse and improve sporting performance and management, as well as making viewer experiences better than ever before.
Top German Sports Tech Startup
Ranging from advanced IoT devices and sensors for both humans and animals to high-tech video analytical software and AI-powered platforms, these are 10 of the top sports tech startups in Germany.
1. Freeletics
Freeletics is a health and fitness app that was initially designed and launched by three students based in Munich, Joshua Cornelius, Andrej Matijczak and Mehmet Yilmaz.
The concept behind the startup is a “no-excuses” approach to sport, with Freeletics providing users with a combination of AI-generated software along with human expertise to create the best and easiest workout plans.
The workouts are personalised to each individual’s preferences and requirements, providing recommendations for exercises that can be done without the assistance of expensive and inaccessible equipment. The app not only creates the plans, but it also provides guidance on executing the exercises, along with evolving sessions and constant motivation.
As of 2020, Freeletics has been through four rounds of funding.
2. Komoot
Founded in Potsdam in 2010, Komoot is an outdoor sports navigation app that specialises in tracking hiking and cycling trails. It was launched by a team of eight founders, including Jonas Spengler, Markus Hallermann, Tobias Hallermann, Christoph Lingg, Daniel Gard and Jan Heuer, all of whom are still part of the company today.
The app provides users with detailed maps of specific areas that include information on trail type, elevation, difficulty levels and more. According to Tracxn, Komoot completed its most recent funding round in 2013 and as of 2023, it’s generating an average of $7 million per annum.
3. PlaySports
PlaySports was founded in 2017 in Dusseldorf, Germany by Fabian Becker and Christian Gisy. The startup has created a sports scheduling and management platform for players, venues, coaches and more. It enables users to find events (or matches), book venues, source players and more.
Boasting a fairly small staff, PlaySports has been through one round of funding and is venture-capital backed.
Formerly known as Courtastic, the idea behind PlaySports is to make both team and individual sports more accessible to amateurs and recreational athletes
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4. Coachinho
Founded in 2019, Coachinho is an AI personal trainer specialising in football coaching. Its software is able to extract data from video footage and provide athletes with feedback on their performance.
The company was founded and developed by Dennis Eck and Max Knorreck, and this startup is still in the early stages of funding.
The software is able to provide players and coaches with real-time, in-game feedback and personalised training plans developed according to past performance and necessary areas of improvement.
5. Punktum.net
Punktum.net is a German startup aiming to find all the best ways to use advanced technology to improve sports, both in terms of performance and enjoyment. By means of AI technology, Punktum.net is finding new ways to use wearable sensor technology to help improve athletes’ performance and rehabilitation. Indeed, the software uses predictive modelling and medical data and advice to help prevent injuries.
Founded and based in Berlin, Germany, Punktum.net has been immensely successful, not only producing effective and popular products and software, but also achieving partnerships with global brands including Garmin.
6. One Football
One Football is a German startup that was launched in 2008, designed for players and fans to keep track of professional football leagues, players, news and more.
As of 2022, One Football was valued at an incredible $1 billion, and they’re based in Berlin, Germany. Lucas Von Cranach is the current CEO and founder of the company which has quickly become one of the best and most successful football digital media platforms in the world.
Cranach’s platform collates football-related information and statistics to provide readers with relevant information from gathered data.
7. Horse Analytics
Horse Analytics was founded in 2016 in Hamburg and is an early-stage sports tech startup with seed funding. The purpose behind the startup is to look after horses by means of advanced technology and sensors.
By means of technology that is designed to monitor physical wellbeing and detect and physical health problems, Horse Analytics aims to give equestrians peace of mind about their beloved animals while simultaneously analysing collected data to improve athletic performance too.
Trainers are able to make use of wearble IoT sensor devices for horses that can monitor vitals and detect things like colic via their product, PacerApp.
8. Tracktics
Tracktics has produced wearables linked to cloud-based analytical software specifically designed to be able to track footballers’ athletic performance.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, Tracktics’ combination of advanced IoT devices and corresponding software allows football players and coaches to not only capture performance data but analyse it thoroughly too. A few metrics it tracks include distance covered, acceleration, overall speed and more.
Tracktics is a venture-capital-backed startup and has completed at least eight rounds of funding so far.
9. Kinexon Sports & Media
Founded by Alexander Hüttenbrink and Oliver Trinchera, Kinexon Sports & Media is a German sports tech startup that uses high-tech IoT wearables to gather localisation data in real time, analyse it and produce suggested actions for improvement.
Kinexon’s focus is on mastering the complexities of the analytical side of sports tech, moving beyond mere advancements in data tracking. The software allows for live tracking of athlete performance, strategic planning, report creation and more.
Since its launch in 2012, Kinexon has been through eight funding rounds, having received $130 million in the latest one in 2022.
10. DAS-VR
Developing Athletic Software (DAS) is a German tech startup that uses innovative technology help athletes and teams enhance their performance and ability to improve.
DAS was founded in Berlin in 2022 and tits primary product, Apollo, is an interactive training tool that allows players and coaches to run simulations of games and plays in order to strategies. Essentially, it allows for the visualisation of various scenarios and it encourages and inspires creativity in coming up with solutions and tactical plays.
By means of complex software and VR technology, DAS is a relatively new startup providing athletes and coaches with a modern training solution.
