London Sport and London & Partners, the Mayor’s promotional company, announced a partnership Tuesday to launch the city’s first sports and fitness technology incubator in 2017.
Backed by both entities, the technology hub will be housed within the “House of Sport” project and will help support startups which “create happier, healthier and more active populations in London, nationally and globally,” according to a release.
Additionally, London Sport and London & Partners will be searching for early-stage technology companies centered around fitness and who can help individuals participate in physical activity.
“Building effective partnerships with technology is the biggest opportunity for getting more people active in the foreseeable future,” said Peter Fitzboydon, Chief Executive of London Sport in a statement. “London’s standing as a global hub of tech innovation makes it the perfect place to form these partnerships, and this new tech hub will create an environment which breaks down barriers and opens up opportunities for startups, for the sport-sector and, ultimately, for people in London and around the world who want to be more active in a way that works for them.”
On a national level, the hub will bring the technology and sports industries together while providing innovation and collaboration for startups.
“London is a leading global center for sport and is open to innovation and technology from all over the world,” said Scott Thompson, Chief Commercial Officer of London & Partners in a statement. “The success of London’s booming tech sector has been built on a culture which encourages entrepreneurs, large corporates and startups to share ideas and collaborate. This is the essence of the sports tech lab which will be London’s first dedicated sport and health tech lab to bring together some of the world’s biggest sports brands and London’s best sports tech startups under the same roof.”
“From sports tech to events tech, we see an opportunity across a range of technology sectors to establish incubators which bring together the right people from London’s tech community. We have already had some great success supporting the growth of some of London’s most exciting travel technology startups with our Travel Tech lab, and we look forward to replicating this with the sports technology incubator.”
