Sports-tech companies are experiencing a resurgence after the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, more than USD 2 billion were invested in Europe and over USD 10 billion globally in the category. Swedish World's Sports Group AB, which runs Ahotu and World's Marathons, just closed an investment round to continue scaling and by doing so doubled the valuation of the company.
"We are seeing great growth and now serve over a million visitors every month looking for their next race event," says Charlotte Melchert, founder and CEO of World's Sports Group AB.
The global market for endurance races practically disappeared during COVID-19 because of the lockdowns. However, people have not lost interest in running and cycling — quite the contrary.
"In the industry, we see that almost a third of all who register on various running apps started running or cycling on their own during the pandemic. In the US alone, over seven million people have started running since 2020, and Strava gets two million new users every month. Now that the world is opening up we are perfectly positioned to meet that demand."
— Charlotte Melchert
The current investment will primarily be put into the platform to further improve customer experience and meet the increased demand for endurance sports.
