IBM has announced LivXP as the winner of the IBM Sports Tech Startup Prize Challenge at Web Summit Lisbon, recognizing the company for its innovative use of agentic AI to transform how fans engage with their favorite teams, organizations, and leagues.
The challenge marks the culmination of the IBM Sports Tech Startup Challenge, a year-long global initiative created to identify and evaluate growth-stage startups building enterprise-ready technologies for sports organizations, teams, media companies, and fans. Launched at Web Summit Lisbon 2025, IBM has engaged founders through showcases at Web Summits in Vancouver, Rio de Janeiro, and Lisbon, alongside a16z Tech Weeks in New York and San Francisco, and in virtual forums.
These showcase activities were designed to provide visibility and engagement opportunities and did not confer eligibility, ranking, priority, or advancement in the invitation-only Prize Challenge held this week. The invite-only challenge featured seven finalists selected from a broad field of sports technology innovators. Finalists pitched their solutions before a distinguished judging panel that included Sarah Meron, Chief Communications and Brand Officer, IBM; Marc Gené, Ferrari Ambassador, Scuderia Ferrari HP; Brad Smith, Headlines Anchor at CNN; and Frederico Gil, founder and CEO of FREDGIL Academy.
LivXP, a Swiss-American company accelerated at the Harvard Innovation Labs, is an AI-powered impulse commerce infrastructure for sports: auctions, experiences, and sponsor activations that land at the fan’s emotional high. From the Tour de Suisse to Boston College Athletics, federations, clubs, international events, and U.S. college sports programs use its white-label platform to reach fans in 150 countries.
“We were incredibly impressed by both the technical innovation and practical application of LivXp’s solution,” said IBM Chief Communications and Brand officer Sarah Meron. “At IBM, we’re always looking for new ways AI can help our clients create more engaging, personalized experiences, and we see exciting potential for technologies like this to enhance the work we do alongside our global sports and entertainment partners.”
Upon being announced the winner, LivXP Co-Founder Ashima Saxena stated, “Every emotional moment in sport revenue is waiting to happen, and AI finally lets sports organizations capture it at scale, without adding staff. We’re proud to have won the IBM Sports Tech Startup Challenge, and we look forward to working with IBM’s Sports & Entertainment Partnerships Team to bring impulse commerce to more clubs, sponsors, and fans worldwide.”
The Lisbon finale capped a year-long series of startup showcases and judging sessions bringing together influential voices from sports, media, and venture capital, including Maria Sharapova, and representatives from a16z, USTA Ventures, Sony Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), FIFA, and Powerhouse Capital.
The Finalists
The seven startups participating in the 2026 IBM Sports Tech Startup Prize Challenge were:
Fanory – Fan intelligence platform transforming live sports experiences into memories, assets, and behavioral data.
Neuron Systems – Multi agent AI platform for live sports and entertainment that generates real-time commentary, insights, and content for sports fans and creators.
LivXP – Fan engagement marketplace that connects sports fans with exclusive experiences, auctions, and interactions with teams, athletes, and sports organizations.
PressBox – AI-powered content platform that enables sports leagues, teams, and media organizations to create and personalize content and marketing.
NTangible – Verbal cognitive assessment platform that measures how athletes perform under pressure.
Proximity Works Inc. – AI engineering company that builds real-time intelligence and fan engagement systems for sports, media, and entertainment organizations.
Noiz – Sports-matching platform making it easier to find courts, try new sports, and build player connections.
The Prize Challenge Grand Prize includes up to $100,000 to support an eligible proof-of-concept project with IBM’s Sports and Entertainment Partnership Team, subject to separate review and agreement requirements, up to $20,000 in IBM credits to be applied toward services and technology, mentorship opportunities, and evaluation opportunities described in the Official Rules.
