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Chicago Startup News

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Who’s Hiring in Chicago

💸 Confirmed Startup & Funding Deals

1. Orreco — $4M funding round

• Galway-based AI sports performance and injury-risk analytics startup Orreco raised $4 million in fresh funding.

• The round includes participation from billionaire investor Mark Cuban and Enterprise Ireland, plus other professional athletes and existing backers.

• The investment will help scale Orreco’s AI tech and build out a real-time athlete data monitoring center, with job growth planned in Galway. Think Business

2. Ace High Sports — £600K investment (~$770K)

• Ace High Sports secured about £600,000 in funding from investors that include the FSE Group.

• The startup focuses on sports-led video card gaming platforms for global audiences. UK Tech News

3. SkillCorner — $60M investment (reported Dec 17)

• Paris-based sports data analytics company SkillCorner received a $60 million investment from Silversmith Capital Partners to accelerate growth in the U.S. market.

• SkillCorner uses AI to generate tracking data from broadcast video for teams and leagues. Sports Business Journal

🗞 Sports Business News

🚙 Linglong Tire signs global partnership with Chicago Bulls In step with the NBA’s push to recapture interest in China, the Bulls have a new global tire partner. Linglong Tire enters into its first partnership with a U.S.-based pro sports team. It follows its partnerships with soccer giants Chelsea in London and Real Madrid in Madrid. The agreement will bring the Linglong brand to Bulls fans digitally and throughout the United Center this season. As one of the most recognizable NBA teams globally, the partnership will help the Bulls expand its presence in China and vice versa. The NBA hosted its first preseason game in China in October after a six-year hiatus. China represents a huge market for the NBA, first ignited by former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, a Hall of Fame and a Chinese-born player. Whether Linglong tires can help us tread through the onslaught of snow this winter is another question, but the NBA and the Bulls are looking to capture a new share of the world’s most populous country. See the details of the new partnership here.

⚽️ Chicago Fire FC Earns 2025 Mark Abbott MLS Club Business Award for Stadium Business Initiative of the Year It didn’t lift the Philip F. Anschutz trophy as Inter Miami did earlier in the month. Still, the Fire have their own trophy to lift that arguably has a bigger impact. The award is given each season to the MLS club that has made the biggest strides in its stadium-related business efforts. Led by owner Joe Mansueto, the Fire have made huge strides toward construction in the South Loop. Tired of getting overshadowed by the Bears at Soldier Field, the Fire are on track to have their own stadium built by 2028, pending any final approvals from the local government. Once built, the stadium could reinvigorate the 78 through a mix of sporting events, concerts, community events, shops, and residential housing. Winning the Mark Abbott Club Business Award shows that the rest of the league is paying attention to the progress the Fire have made towards a new stadium in 2025. Check out the Chicago Fire FC website for info on the MLS year-end awards.

🏎 Gatorade backs all-female F1 Academy and rookie star Lisa Billard One could argue 2025 was the year of women’s sports. Throughout 2025, we saw plenty of headlines that showcased the growing momentum in investments, promotions, and opportunities for female athletes. One of Chicago’s most well-known global headquarters, Gatorade, wants to propel women even further through its backing of the all-female F1 Academy. Currently, women represent only 5% of participants throughout all levels of racing. The all-female F1 Academy will not only equip participants with plenty of Gatorade branding but also with invaluable performance insights through the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. The partnership follows Gatorade’s announcement as the Official Sports Drink of Formula 1 back in May and parent company PepsiCo’s announcement of a multi-year official partnership with the global racing league. Reuters reports on rookie Lisa Billard’s rise and how Gatorade will fuel the all-female academy.

⛹🏻‍♂️ Intersport bringing two big college hoops games to Fox, CBS on Thanksgiving Day No sports agency makes a bigger dent on college hoops than Intersport. We’ve mentioned how much Intersport founder and Chicago native Charlie Besser has grown the company over the past 40 years, starting with his love of college hoops and golf. This Thanksgiving, Intersport challenged the NFL’s longstanding stranglehold on Turkey Day. North Carolina-Michigan State aired on Fox, and Duke-Arkansas aired on CBS in between a full slate of NFL matchups. TV viewership for both games set new records. The Duke-Arkansas matchup drew the most viewers for any regular-season college basketball game in over 30 years, with about 6.8 million viewers. Intersport used its multi-decade experience in producing in-season college hoops tournaments to take the Thanksgiving showcase to new levels. Based on the success, Intersport will be poised to continue and expand the events going forward. Here is info on the number of in-season college basketball tournaments Intersport owns and operates.

📺NBC Sports in major broadcasting change talks over Big Ten Championship which effects Amazon and Netflix Despite the record-setting ratings from the thrilling Indiana-Ohio State game, NBC Sports may be looking to offshore its media rights to the Big Ten Championship game. On December 6th, 18.3 million viewers tuned in to see Indiana take the Big Ten crown, the most ever for the game. But NBC Sports reportedly says previous mismatches in the game are among the reasons it might sell the package. NBC has plenty on its plate (“Roundball Rock” is back, for example) through its involvement with other sports it broadcasts more regularly. Either way, the Big Ten Network and Fox, which hold the majority of the conference's media rights, win. BTN’s media empire is worth $7.8 billion based on media rights deals with networks like NBC. Amazon, Netflix, or whoever else may join the bid will pay a premium for a guaranteed ratings hit event. The Big Ten title game regularly attracts over 10 million viewers. The Sun breaks down what to know about the talks.

🤼‍♂️ Donald Trump teases record number UFC title fights at White House event No one promotes quite like Trump. His friendship with Dana White almost guarantees a UFC event unlike any other before it next summer. Legal boundaries will be the only obstacles to making it the most anticipated UFC title showcase ever. UFC CEO White is in charge of building an arena that will host a few thousand people. An additional viewing area nearby will reportedly offer 80,000 to 100,000 additional seats. The biggest names in the sport are vying for shots to be included on the card, including one of President Trump’s favorites. All title fights is the promise: a pay-per-view dream come true that aims to rival the biggest PPV blockbusters of all time. If executed well, it could set a new bar for sports entertainment and serve as a precedent for future White House events. If poorly, prepare for an avalanche of memes to ridicule it. Yahoo Sports describes how many seats the arena will hold and some of the UFC stars that could be featured on the card.

🏈 Betty Wold Johnson Foundation Provides $1 Million Grant To ECAC Launching Largest Intercollegiate Women's Flag Football League Speaking of precedence, a generous grant will help the ECAC make history. The Eastern College Athletic Conference will debut its women’s flag football league at MetLife Stadium in February. Fourteen schools will send players to media day during Super Bowl season, while the season itself will be played at the various campus sites. The championship game will be played at MetLife. Named after the late philanthropist Betty Wold Johnson, the Betty Wold Foundation will provide a groundbreaking opportunity for many young women seeking a chance to play football. Upholding his mother’s legacy is Woody Johnson, the Jets' owner, who oversaw the investment. It’s one of the few moves Johnson has made recently that can’t be criticized by the New York sports media. ECAC Sports announced the launch on its website with more details on the league’s format.

⛹🏾‍♂️ In a college first, UNLV details 5-year, $11 million jersey-patch sponsor deal Staying in college, UNLV is paving the way for monetizing empty uniform space. The NCAA has to approve the jersey patches first, with a vote coming after the new year. But UNLV, anticipating the measure going through, has jumped at the chance to set a trend and earn more revenue. The new rule would allow up to two more logos on a school’s uniform. Revenue sharing makes it imperative that schools keep up with the budgetary demands of today’s NCAA. Between coaches, facilities, and players, schools' expense sheets are ballooning. Learfield Sports, which manages sponsorships and media rights for colleges, says more deals are coming down the pipeline after the holidays. The NCAA’s forced modernization continues as it undergoes even more fundamental changes to its historical structure. The Athletic recounts how UNLV’s jersey-patch deal came about.

💰Paramount Makes Hostile Bid to Unite CBS Sports, TNT Sports If at first you don’t succeed…quit knocking on the door of opportunity and break it off the hinges, says Paramount in its actions. Netflix was in the driver's seat, getting an agreement in principle on its $82.7 billion offer for Warner Bros Discovery’s (WBD) studio and streaming businesses. But Paramount is determined to gain approval, looking to force a vote among WBD shareholders with its latest bid. This bid, its fourth, is offering $30/share or about $108 billion for the flailing WBD. It will also aim to keep all of the assets under one roof, unlike Netflix’s bid to separate the sports properties. Both Netflix and Paramount envision a powerful enterprise that would control much of entertainment if the White House approves the deal. Regardless of which company wins the bid for WBD, the resulting enterprise raises monopolistic concerns given the market share it gains. President Trump’s connections at Netflix and Paramount make the approval process even more interesting. Front Office Sports reports on Paramount’s hostile bid to WBD shareholders and how Trump is connected to both bidders.

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