Projects /
Sport
Startups tested in front of a Grand Slam crowd
How Tennis Australia’s AO StartUps programme gives young companies a live pilot at the Australian Open, with 70% of them going on to secure commercial deals.
Client
Tennis Australia
Sector
Sport
Services
Innovation programme design, pilot governance
Delivered
Accelerator model, pilot programme, link to venture fund
The outcome
40+
startups supported
More than 40 startups have been supported since the programme launched in 2022.
70%
secured commercial deals
70% of startups had secured commercial deals as of May 2025.
2
intakes a year
New companies join twice a year, and an investment fund backs the strongest.
The Challenge
Startups struggle to prove an idea without a real venue and real fans. Sports organisations struggle to try new technology without putting the event at risk. Tennis Australia had both sides of that problem in one place: a Grand Slam that reaches more than a million fans live.
WHY IT MATTERS: INDUSTRY DATA
>
40
Startups supported
Since 2022
>$
10
m
Follow-on funding
Raised by startups
70
%
Secured commercial deals
As of May 2025
What we did
1
Built the model
With Techstars and Wildcard Ventures, the programme launched in November 2022, focused on athlete performance, injury prevention, esports, climate and padel.
2
Put pilots on site
Startups run pilots at the Australian Open, from VR viewing and AI video to digital ticketing and wearables.
3
Kept it running
Two intakes a year keep new companies coming through, with an investment fund behind the best of them.
What happened next
The programme opened its ninth intake in late 2026, with new focus areas including robotics in sport, live-event technology and community sport.
