Enterprise Ireland brings Irish sports tech to Oceania
Tue, 19th May 2026 (Today)
Enterprise Ireland has brought 11 Irish sports technology companies to Australia and New Zealand, with the delegation visiting Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland.
During the trip, Irish nutrition technology company Hexis said the South Australian Sports Institute is using its platform for athlete nutrition planning. The system is designed to deliver personalised fuelling strategies that adapt to training demands through links with wearables and training planners.
The wider mission includes meetings with AFL and NRL teams, the Victorian Institute of Sport, Eden Park and High Performance Sport New Zealand. The group includes companies focused on athlete performance, alongside software and services used by clubs, venues and fans.
PitchBook data ranked Enterprise Ireland as the most active European venture capital investor in sports technology by deal count since 2024. It recorded 19 investments in that period, more than three times the tally of the next most active firms.
The agency said Ireland's sports technology deal count rose 47.1% in 2024, while the broader European market fell 15.5%. Since 2014, Irish sports technology start-ups have raised more than €224 million across 181 venture capital transactions.
Regional footprint
The visit builds on an existing Irish presence in the region. Field of Vision's tactile devices for visually impaired fans are in use at Marvel Stadium and were also deployed at the Australian Open.
Tixserve supplied the digital ticketing system for the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour in partnership with Rugby Australia. Output Sports counts the All Blacks and New Zealand Warriors among its customers, while Orreco recently acquired Melbourne-based Data Driven Sports Analytics, whose clients include tennis player Aryna Sabalenka.
The delegation is split into two groups. The performance-focused companies are Hexis, Kitman Labs, Orreco, Output Sports, RYPT and Sports Impact Technologies.
The second group covers club operations, fan engagement and venue services: Clubforce, Field of Vision, Skippio, SportsKey and Tixserve.
Enterprise Ireland describes Kitman Labs as a sports analytics platform used by teams in leagues including the NFL, NBA, NHL, Premier League, AFL and NRL. Sports Impact Technologies makes a wearable concussion sensor, while Output Sports provides athlete testing and strength-tracking tools.
Among the off-field companies, Clubforce focuses on club administration, payments and communications. Skippio offers food and drink pre-ordering for venues, while SportsKey provides software for sports facility management.
Hexis deployment
Hexis co-founder and chief executive Dr David Dunne outlined the company's work with the South Australian Sports Institute.
"SASI's athletes now receive 24/7 personalised nutrition coaching, optimising fuelling, enhancing performance and accelerating recovery across one of Australia's most demanding high-performance environments. As Hexis continues to grow across elite sport, we're proud to support an institute with the history, expertise and ambition to develop Australia's next generation of champions," said Dunne.
Olivia Warnes, sports dietitian at the South Australian Sports Institute, described how the system is being used.
"HEXIS provides an evidence-based, athlete-empowered approach that allows SASI sports dietitians to support personalised nutrition strategies aligned with training loads, performance goals and health outcomes. Its ability to integrate meal planning, education and communication in one platform supports scalable nutrition support across a diverse high-performance athlete cohort," said Warnes.
Investment focus
The mission also reflects Ireland's push to build its profile in sports technology through trade and investment. According to Enterprise Ireland, sport, technology and international business now form a defined part of that wider strategy.
Libby Ryan, Sports Tech Trade Development Executive at Enterprise Ireland for Australia and New Zealand, said the region had become a priority market for Irish companies in the sector.
"For a small island nation with an outsized love of sport, Ireland has built a reputation for turning that passion into world-class innovation," said Ryan.
"From performance technology and fan engagement to athlete wellbeing and operational systems, Irish companies are helping teams, venues and sporting organisations perform at their best both on and off the pitch. This region is genuinely one of the most exciting markets for Irish sports tech in the world, and our clients are here to build lasting partnerships with the teams, venues and high-performance programmes that will define sport in this part of the world for the next decade," Ryan added.