SportIQ, a sports technology company developing connected basketballs and AI powered shooting coaching tools, has raised a total of $6.2 million in Series A funding to accelerate product expansion and platform development. The round was completed in two closings, with the most recent adding $3.2 million from KB Partners, Koppenberg Management, Match Ventures, and a group of high net worth individuals and family offices. The funding supports SportIQ’s ambition to embed intelligence directly into sports equipment and reshape how athletes train using real time data.
Bringing intelligence inside the ball
Founded to bridge the gap between traditional training and data driven performance analysis, SportIQ develops smart sports balls that integrate sensors, analytics, and AI without changing how the game is played. Its core technology is an invisible sensor embedded inside the ball’s valve, allowing athletes to train naturally while performance data is captured in the background.
This patented system is already in market through the Spalding TF DNA basketball, marking a significant milestone for consumer adoption. By working directly with established sports brands, SportIQ has focused on making smart equipment feel identical to traditional gear, removing barriers that often limit the adoption of connected sports technology.
How the technology works
The embedded sensor tracks key elements of shooting performance, including shooting position, power, arc, release angle, and overall technique. This information is transmitted to a companion mobile application, where AI powered analytics transform raw data into actionable feedback.
Players receive personalised insights and training recommendations designed to help improve consistency and shooting mechanics. The app operates on a subscription model and supports athletes across a wide range of skill levels, from young players developing fundamentals to professionals refining elite performance.
By combining hardware and software into a single ecosystem, SportIQ positions itself as both a product company and a performance platform.
Expanding data driven coaching
Unlike video based coaching tools that rely on external cameras or manual tagging, SportIQ’s system captures data directly from the ball itself. This allows for more precise measurement of technique while remaining unobtrusive. According to the company, this opens up new applications not only for consumers but also for professional teams and leagues seeking scalable performance data.
Harri Hohteri, Founder and Chief Product Officer of SportIQ, said the company’s goal is to make intelligence a native part of sports equipment rather than an add on. He explained that by embedding the sensor inside the valve, athletes are unaware of the technology during play, which enables entirely new use cases for both training and competition.
Growth beyond basketball
While basketball remains SportIQ’s primary focus, the company plans to expand its platform into additional basketball products and other sports where its sensor technology can be adapted. The modular nature of the in valve sensor system allows it to be integrated into different types of balls without altering gameplay characteristics.
Future applications may include professional leagues, elite training environments, and broader consumer fitness markets. The company also sees opportunities to extend its analytics platform to support team level insights, long term performance tracking, and new coaching models.
Using funding to scale the platform
The newly raised capital will be used to support market expansion, continued platform development, and the creation of new use cases beyond basketball. SportIQ plans to deepen partnerships with major sports brands while expanding its engineering and data science capabilities.
As athletes increasingly seek measurable feedback and personalised coaching, SportIQ is positioning itself at the intersection of hardware, AI, and performance analytics, aiming to make smart sports equipment a standard part of how the next generation trains and competes.