Sports Technology start-up nears €3 million seed funding
Precision Sports Technology, a Galway-based start-up, is gearing up for a significant seed funding round following the success of its earlier €700,000 pre-seed round. Founded in 2021 by Emma Meehan, (pictured above), a computer science graduate and former Olympic weightlifter, the company specializes in using depth-sense technology and AI to provide real-time feedback on exercise technique and range of motion for sports practitioners.
The pre-seed round exceeded expectations, with Enterprise Ireland as the principal investor, contributing through three separate funds over the past three years: the Competitive Startup Fund (CSF) in 2022, the Pre-Seed Startup Fund (PSSF) in 2023, and the High Potential Start-Up Fund (HPSU) in 2024. Additional funds were secured from Hummelnest, an Austrian international accelerator, which selected Precision Sports as one of over 300 European companies for investment. UK and Irish angel investors also contributed an extra €100,000.
“We’re raising our seed round to drive our expansion into the U.S. market,” Meehan shared with the Business Post. “We plan to hire two U.S.-based employees—one on the east coast and one on the west coast—to close deals with potential clients in the NFL and NBA.”
Ireland’s VC market
While Precision Sports already has clients in Major League Soccer (MLS) and Major League Baseball (MLB) through word-of-mouth referrals, the company is yet to launch a formal marketing campaign in the U.S. “Bigger NFL and NBA teams need full-time, on-the-ground support, unlike MLS teams that often look to Europe for solutions,” Meehan explained. “We’re focusing on solidifying our European soccer client base before leveraging those relationships to gain traction in the NFL and NBA.”
Meehan is targeting a seed funding round of between €2.5 and €3 million to finance Precision’s U.S. expansion, with hopes of securing a venture capital investment of at least €1 million. She mentioned ongoing discussions with Irish VCs who have shown interest but are awaiting a successful customer acquisition strategy before committing. While the Irish VC market remains a viable option, Meehan is particularly interested in the health and sports VC networks in the UK and US.
“Many VCs only start investing from €750,000 to €1 million upwards, which has been challenging for us in the past. They’d often say, ‘You’re too small; you’re only looking for €300,000!'” Meehan noted.
In parallel with fundraising efforts, the Precision Sports team is developing a more user-friendly second version of their software, with the first version primarily serving physiotherapists and personal trainers. Looking ahead, the company is considering becoming a “white label” technology supplier, aiming to be the foundation for the entire movement industry.
