Sweden's PlayReplay Targets MENA Expansion After New $12M Investment

STARTUP VENTURE CAPITALMay 22, 2026 at 12:46 PM UTC

TLDR

Swedish sportstech company PlayReplay secures $12 million funding led by Alfvén & Didrikson for AI-powered court technology expansion.
PlayReplay targets international growth, focusing on Middle East markets like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Egypt.
PlayReplay's innovative technology revolutionizes racquet sports with real-time electronic line calling and match analytics, aiming to redefine how players train and matches are managed beyond elite tournaments.

Swedish sportstech company PlayReplay raised $12 million in a funding round led by Alfvén & Didrikson to expand its AI-powered court technology for racquet sports.

The round included Centre Court Capital, ExM Investment Partners, Charbe Partners, Crimson Sports Capital and a fund managed by LionTree. PlayReplay, founded in 2019 by Hans Lundstam and Mattias Hanqvist, builds systems for electronic line calling, coaching tools and match analytics.

The company said the funding will support international expansion and the rollout of its technology across clubs, federations and new sports. PlayReplay has identified Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Egypt as target markets as it looks to enter the Middle East.

PlayReplay is partnering with Söderhub to support regional partnerships and investment opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa. Söderhub said the region offers a long-term opportunity because of rising investment in sports infrastructure and demand for new technology.

The company said its technology has been used in about 350,000 matches and has generated about 150 million line calls. PlayReplay also said it is the only tracking solution with ITF silver-level classification for real-time and review electronic line calling across indoor and outdoor use.

Points clés à retenir

PlayReplay’s funding shows how sports infrastructure is becoming a technology market. Tennis and other racquet sports are moving beyond courts, rackets and coaching into data, automation and digital tools. Electronic line calling has long been linked to elite tournaments, but companies like PlayReplay are trying to bring similar tools to clubs, academies and federations. That can change how players train, how coaches measure progress and how matches are managed outside the professional level. The Middle East focus also matters. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar are spending on sports, venues and events as part of wider plans to build tourism, entertainment and health sectors. Egypt offers a large population and a growing sports market. For PlayReplay, the challenge will be turning interest into installations across many courts. Hardware, software, maintenance, pricing and local partnerships will shape adoption. The company’s partnership with Söderhub is designed to reduce that market-entry risk. If PlayReplay can scale beyond early markets such as the US and Canada, it could become part of the next layer of sports technology: systems that make everyday play measurable, fair and connected.

Startup