🏏⚙️ India’s Sports-Tech Surge: Part 2 – Pipes Before Platforms
The second edition of our research report focuses on Infrastructure & Grassroots Innovation opportunities
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We are getting noticed and spoken about across the Indian press as a digital “thought leader”. A few examples below:
“Telcos like Airtel have long been dismissed as “dumb pipes”—infrastructure providers with little say in the content or discovery layer. But what if they start bundling AI tools, curating search behavior, and eventually inserting commerce or media offerings directly into those platforms?
“That’s the distribution war no one’s watching,” said Mehta. “This isn’t just a tech partnership. It’s a shot across the bow. If Jio or Vodafone Idea jump in, it could split the discovery landscape. Telcos have the billing relationships. They have the scale. Google doesn't own them.” Storyboard18’s article on the recent Airtel - Perplexity deal.
“Viniit Mehta, founder of Pressplay Capital, sees this trend playing out not just in agency work, but also in tech-enabled creativity.
“UAE is fast becoming a natural extension of India in many ways,” he says. “I’ve been part of boardroom discussions at startups and scale-ups across ad tech, advertising, video creation, marketing tech, etc., that are increasingly viewing the UAE as an obvious choice outside of India.” Full article here.
Today’s program:
Pipes Before Platforms: How Infrastructure and Grassroots Innovation Will Power India’s Sports Tech Boom
Smart Infrastructure: Building Stadiums for the Streaming Era
Grassroots Access: Booking Grounds Gets a Digital UX Upgrade
Tech-Enabled Academies: Scaling Talent Through Digitization
Government Support: A Quiet Force Accelerating Infrastructure Digitization
Domestic-First vs Global Ambition: The Startup Balancing Act
The Outlook: Betting on the “Picks and Shovels” of Sports Modernization
Conclusion: India’s Next Big Leap in the Attention Economy Is on the Field
And….Action!
🏟️ Pipes Before Platforms: How Infrastructure and Grassroots Innovation Will Power India’s Sports Tech Boom
Executive Summary
India’s transformation into a sports-tech powerhouse will not be driven by elite analytics or flashy fan apps alone. Instead, it will hinge on foundational investments: smarter infrastructure, easier access to play, tech-enabled coaching, and data-driven grassroots talent development. The second edition of our report explores how early-stage startups and government programs are laying the “pipes and plumbing” of India’s future sports economy—and why investors need to look beyond the headlines.
1. Smart Infrastructure: Building Stadiums for the Streaming Era
India’s newest venues, like the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat are integrating IoT, crowd management tools, and 5G connectivity to offer smart-fan experiences.
Innovations include: real-time heatmaps for seating, AI traffic control, smart ticketing, and AR overlays for spectators.
Public-private collaborations, often backed by SAI or Khelo India, are accelerating tech adoption in sports infrastructure.
2. Grassroots Access: Booking Grounds Gets a Digital UX Upgrade
Apps like Playo and Hudle are solving the access problem; simplifying how users discover, book, and play at local venues.
This “OpenTable for sports” model is unlocking community sports, creating new fan funnels and encouraging participation at scale.
Some platforms go beyond bookings - organizing pickup games, leagues, and social events to deepen amateur engagement.
3. Tech-Enabled Academies: Scaling Talent Through Digitization
Startups like Machaxi are leasing and digitizing coaching centers, turning local academies into tech-enabled hubs.
Tools include: player data tracking, e-learning for coaches, injury prevention apps, and biomechanics feedback tools.
The National Cricket Academy now digitally monitors player workloads, pointing to a broader trend of “data continuity” from junior to pro.
4. Government Support: A Quiet Force Accelerating Infrastructure Digitization
The Khelo India program has upgraded hundreds of district centers with smart devices and analytics.
The KIRTI program is using AI to drive objective athlete assessments nationwide.
New high-performance centers, sports science labs, and digital monitoring systems are emerging across the country.
Government buy-in is creating public infrastructure that private startups can now layer solutions onto.
5. Domestic-First vs Global Ambition: The Startup Balancing Act
Some startups, like Machaxi, KhiladiX, and ScoutEdge focus on India-first scale via coaching, scouting, or grassroots content.
Others, like Stupa Analytics (racket sports) and SportVot (low-cost streaming) prove Indian solutions can scale globally.
India’s market demands (multi-lingual UX, price sensitivity, dense user behavior) make it a perfect launchpad for global-ready tech.
6. The Outlook: Betting on the “Picks and Shovels” of Sports Modernization
India’s sports-tech sector has raised ~$139M since 2014—mostly in fantasy. But now the game is shifting.
Analysts forecast a $3.5B market by 2027, with double-digit annual growth.
We believe the real upside lies not in consumer-fronted hype, but in the tools enabling India’s sports transformation:
SaaS platforms for coaching and performance
IoT devices for biomechanics and injury prevention
Booking platforms for grassroots engagement
Streaming tech for underserved sports and local leagues
7. Conclusion: India’s Next Big Leap in the Attention Economy Is on the Field
Whether it’s a kabaddi match in Manipur or an AI-guided cricket session in Surat, tech is turning every corner of India into a sports opportunity zone. For investors, this means getting in early on the overlooked infrastructure—before the rest of the world sees it as obvious. As Pressplay Capital continues to scout “from India, for the world” plays in AI, streaming, analytics, and sports-tech, we remain bullish on this sector’s decade-long runway.
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