Capstone Partners’ new Sports Technology Market Update – March 2026 paints a more active dealmaking picture for the sports technology sector, with M&A volume rising 0.8% year over year to 123 announced or completed deals in 2025. According to the report, that modest increase was still meaningful because it represented the first year of positive M&A momentum for the category after three consecutive annual declines. 

The report attributes that activity to several familiar growth lanes across the sports business ecosystem: youth sports, wearable technology, fan engagement platforms, and AI-based performance and analytics tools. Capstone also says increased technology adoption across both professional and amateur athletics, along with the continued professionalization of youth sports and the maturation of esports, is helping sustain investment interest heading into 2026. 

Artificial intelligence sits near the center of that thesis. Capstone says AI remains a dominant driver of sector growth and investment activity, pointing to adoption of AI-enabled tools for league management, player development, and participant experience. The report also links AI and data-focused optimization initiatives to stronger buyer appetite and rising transaction multiples across the SportsTech landscape. 

Capstone’s report also draws a distinction between buyer types. Strategic acquirers accounted for the majority of SportsTech deal flow in 2025, even though their deal volume declined year over year. At the same time, the firm says financial buyers remained active, building on private equity add-on momentum from 2025 and continuing to target technology-enabled businesses that can extend existing capabilities or plug into broader platforms. 

Another theme running through the report is that sports technology is no longer being framed narrowly around teams and leagues alone. Capstone places significant emphasis on the broader ecosystem, especially the business infrastructure around youth sports and live event engagement. The report says growing participation in youth sports has made that segment an active target for fundraising and deal activity, while venue infrastructure upgrades and fan engagement enhancements continue to reshape how audiences interact with live sports. 

For operators, investors, and vendors across the sports business market, the report suggests that AI, fan engagement, wearables, analytics, and youth sports infrastructure remain the clearest categories to watch. Capstone’s broader takeaway is that buyers are still willing to pay for differentiated capabilities, and that appetite is expected to persist through 2026 as the sector continues to modernize.