Pro Weekly Update (5/6/2022) - Front Office Sports

May 6, 2022

Happy Friday!

Pro is back this week with an updated Deal Tracker and Heat Check on how the cloud services and infrastructure market is making an impact on sports. We break down earnings from the world’s largest cloud technology providers, along with some case studies of how sports organizations are utilizing those various technological capabilities. If you have any comments, please reach out to me at liam@fos.company.

Cloud Data is Driving Sports Decision-Making

Design: Alex Brooks

Cloud Computing is Powering the Economy

Cloud computing has become the most important technologies available. The services and the companies that provide them have become so ubiquitous that it’s hard to imagine the modern working economy without them.

Currently, thousands of companies and government agencies use cloud computing to run their core internal software and databases.

Given the business world’s heavy reliance on the technology, it’s not exactly shocking that the cloud infrastructure market had another standout quarter at the end of April.

After the largest cloud companies — Amazon, Microsoft, and Google — reported earnings this past week, the market once again witnessed big results.

Synergy Research estimated that the public market reached $53 billion for the quarter, representing a 34% increase from the prior year.

The “big three” cloud service providers have benefited from increased adoption and scale, particularly over the past five years. Collectively, the cohort has grown 42% YoY and currently accounts for 62% of global customer spend in the space.

When it comes to sports, cloud services are equally as essential. Many of the world’s most prominent teams and leagues partner with the largest cloud service providers in order to improve fan experience and leverage player data to produce better on-field results.

F1 has been a huge beneficiary. The world’s premier racing league has leaned heavily on Amazon Web Services to improve car and track design and reimagine race weekend formats.

Any way you look at it, the sheer amount of data required to make these decisions requires robust machine-learning capabilities — something that cloud service providers can offer.

Away from the track, the Golden State Warriors are using Google Cloud to manage and better use fan data from their Chase app. Additionally, La Liga is leveraging Microsoft Azure to handle their data need for fans, rights holders, and stadium operators, cloud services have already made an outsized impact on the sports industry.

Want to learn more? Check out the full Heat Check here.

ICYMI: Last week, we published another Heat Check on modular construction and stadium financing. You can access that report and our other research at Pr o HQ

Deal Tracker

This week’s Pro Deal Tracker highlights:

Embracer Group, the parent company of businesses developing and publishing PC, console, and mobile games for the global games market, acquired video game development studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal for $300 million in cash and debt.
Stakes, developer of a game prediction and chat app designed to allow predictions on real-time sports events, raised $5.3 million in seed funding from Digital Currency Group, CMS Holdings LLC, and LD Capital.
Fancurve, developer of a digital sports fashion platform to share and engage fandom through jerseys and collectibles, raised $6.25 million in Series 1 seed funding in a deal led by Greenfield One Management.
InfiniGods, developer of blockchain games in the mythological universe, raised $9 million in seed funding from undisclosed investors.
Decrypt, developer of an independent media brand application designed to offer news related to cryptocurrency and blockchain, raised $10 million in Series A venture funding from Hashkey Capital, Global Coin Research, and Protocol Labs.

Try out the full Deal Tracker.

Written by Liam Killingstad