adesso incubator inQventures and sports technology company Riedel Communications invest €2.15m in seed funding together with strong Lower Saxony partners, Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Niedersachsen (MBG) and Hannover Beteiligungsfonds (HBF).
The IoT sports start-up iotis was founded with angel investor and former national soccer player Fabian Ernst in March 2020 and has set itself the goal of sustainably digitizing ball sports and adapting them to the needs of future generations. The first product is a smart soccer ball, other ball sports such as golf or table tennis are already in planning.
"We are very pleased to have such strong partners on board. With the financial and strategic opportunities we can strongly push our vision of smart sports balls" Lennardt Hachmeister, CEO & Founder of iotis
iotis relies on sensor technology and complex algorithms, which form the basis for a training platform. Users can thus connect the digital soccer ball with a training app and view data in real time. In addition to pure performance improvement, a major focus is on sharing results with friends. Playful elements round off the training offer in the app.
In addition to the financial possibilities to further invest in product development and the team, the new investors open up a wealth of professional experience and international sports networks for iotis. In addition, the original founding team around Lennardt Hachmeister and Christian Veit Sist was expanded by Marcel Isakowitz (ex Asian Football Confederation and Entrepreneur First) and the technical director Dr. Peter Blank (ex University of Erlangen and Portabiles).
fltr: Marcel Isakowitz (iotis COO & Founder), Lennardt Hachmeister (iotis CEO & Founder), Fabian Ernst (Ex National Player & Investor), Christian Veit Sist (iotis CEO & Founder), Thomas Riedel (RIEDEL Communications Investor), Michael Retzki (Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Niedersachsen Investor), Dr. Bert Brinkhaus (Hannover Beteiligungsfonds GmbH Investor)
Not in the picture: Gregor Schwald (inQventures Investor), Dr. Peter Blank (iotis CTO & Founder)