Agnelli-led Gamma Waves backs Sportway expansion
Sportway has raised about €20m in a funding round led by Andrea Agnelli’s Gamma Waves to accelerate acquisitions, international expansion and development of its AI-powered sports production platform.
Sportway Media Group has secured approximately SEK200m, or €20m, in growth capital as the automated sports production company targets further international expansion and acquisitions.The round was led by Gamma Waves, the sports investment platform founded by former Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli, former Juventus and Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini and entrepreneur Rocco Benetton.Sportway chief executive Daniel Franck said: “Sportway was built to change that. By combining artificial intelligence, automation and an integrated technology platform, we enable sports organisations to professionally produce, distribute and monetise content at a scale that was previously unimaginable.“This financing enables us to accelerate our international expansion, deepen our technology leadership and continue our mission of making every sporting moment visible.”Existing Sportway shareholders also participated in the financing, which values the Swedish company at SEK1bn after the investment.Sportway will use the capital for product development, international growth and strategic acquisitions as it builds an integrated platform covering automated production, streaming, analytics and AI-generated content.The investment follows Sportway’s April acquisition of Dutch automated broadcasting software company Studio Automated, completed alongside broadcast systems specialist Broadcast Solutions.Adding Studio Automated strengthens Sportway’s technology stack and supports its ambition to control more stages of the sports content process, from camera capture and production to distribution, analysis and monetisation.Sportway operates in more than 20 countries and works with over 70 leagues and federations. The company has installed more than 2,200 AI-powered camera systems and produces over 250,000 live events annually across more than 15 sports.Its long-term clients include the Swedish and Finnish ice hockey federations, while more recent agreements have added the Royal Dutch Hockey Association and the Norwegian Tennis and Padel Federation.The company’s model is aimed largely at competitions and events that cannot support conventional broadcast production costs. Automated systems allow rights holders to create coverage across lower divisions, youth competitions and smaller sports while developing subscription, advertising and data revenues.Gamma Waves chief investment officer Kyang Yung said: “We believe the future of sports media is automated, data-driven and personalised. Sportway has built one of the few platforms globally capable of delivering that vision at scale.“Combined with its deep federation relationships, recurring revenue base and proven commercial execution, we believe the company is exceptionally well positioned to become a global category leader in sports technology.”The transaction is an early investment for Gamma Waves, which was launched in April with a focus on sports intellectual property, media, data, performance technology and AI-powered content.Agnelli led Juventus between 2010 and 2022 and also held senior roles at UEFA and the European Club Association, giving the investor extensive relationships across leagues, clubs and governing bodies.Sportway and Gamma Waves will use those networks to pursue new federation partnerships and revenue opportunities across media, analytics, fan engagement and athlete development.