Tech startup Lumin Sports to raise capital for global expansion

An Adelaide-based sports tech startup that already has several international cycling teams on its books is about to sprint into its next stage of growth through a $750,000 capital raising round.

Riding the slipstream of Australia's global leadership in sports science and data, Lumin Sports Technology has garnered interest in its platforms from corners of the NFL and professional organisations in Europe.

Lumin's data visualisation web platform Arc simplifies large and complex data sets so team managers can make faster and better informed decisions, while its Phila app incorporates subjective wellness and self-reported medical data.

The company also has a suite of data collection applications including a smart-scale integration for athlete weigh-ins and hydration.

Founded in 2018 by CEO and former triathlete Ben Tripodi (pictured) and backed by former AFL stars Matthew Pavlich and James Begley, now Lumin seeks additional funds so it can hire extra staff and take its turnkey solution to sporting organisations across the globe.

Customers include pro cycling squads NTT Pro Cycling (formerly Team Dimension Data), Team Katusha (Switzerland), Team Hagens Berman Axeon (USA) and Team Tibco Silicon Valley Bank (USA), as well as Olympic programs including Cycling Australia.

The group also has clients such as the Adelaide Crows' general manager of high performance Matt Hass, and Boston University's NCAA Track and Field Squad.

"We've found repeatedly in our research of the market that Australia is looked to for its leadership in sports science, data and analytics," says Tripodi.

"We've had a strong run of early success and signed a number of significant sporting organisations which has allowed us to rapidly develop our platforms in a real-world environment.

"We've been in product development and testing mode for the past 18 months and we've proven our product in professional sports. This next wave of capital will allow us to grow our sales rapidly and increase our subscriptions in Europe and the United States."

The current raising builds on $300,000 worth of funding secured last year from the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, as well as investors.

Markets and Markets estimates the global sports technology market is worth AUD$45.3 billion, while Lumin is targeting a total addressable market of AUD$946 million with a bottom-up approach.

However, with a capital injection, the company can begin developing and testing a new suite of products focused on the 'prosumer' space, which has a Total Addressable Market of about AUD$32 billion.

"Sports organisations abroad are creating more data every day, but its only recently that technologies such as ours have become available to make sense of it all," says Tripodi.

"What our technology does is help visualise that data quickly, easily and effectively to allow coaching staffs to make the right decisions in real-time when it comes to training, recovery and management."

Business News Australia