Jabbr.ai, Copenhagen’s AI-powered combat sports analytics platform, has secured €4.3 million in seed funding backed by Silicon Valley heavyweights including Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian (Seven Seven Six), Lyft co-founder John Zimmer, Figma CEO Dylan Field, and early-stage investor Josh Buckley—making it one of the most star-studded European sports tech rounds in recent history. But beyond the prestigious investor lineup, this funding round raises a crucial question: why is venture capital flowing into a niche combat sports startup when football analytics dominates European sports tech?
The €1.7 Billion Problem Nobody Else Addressed
The answer lies in understanding what’s happening beneath the surface of combat sports. Despite global combat sports products markets valued at $9.54 billion in 2025 and projected to reach $12.46 billion by 2029, the sector faces a critical infrastructure gap. Boxing, MMA, and kickboxing lack the automated analytics, transparent scoring, and professional broadcasting tools that transformed football over the past decade through companies like VEO.
Jabbr.ai, founded in 2022 by Allan Svejstrup and Elias Obeid after years of R&D, targets combat sports’ €1.7 billion analytics and content creation gap with its proprietary computer vision AI called DeepStrike. The platform watches fights like a coach, scores like a judge, and produces like a broadcast crew—automating streaming, highlights, statistics, scoring, and overlays in real-time using only smartphone cameras or basic video feeds.
The timing proves strategic. Combat sports represented 26% of all medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, yet professional fighters and training facilities still rely on what CEO Allan Svejstrup describes as “1980s tech” for video analysis and performance tracking. This technological gap creates massive inefficiency where broadcast-quality content costs prohibit grassroots adoption while subjective judging generates controversy that damages sport credibility.
Why Reddit and Lyft Founders Are Betting on Boxing
Jabbr.ai investor composition signals broader recognition that combat sports represent untapped technology opportunity. Alexis Ohanian, whose Seven Seven Six portfolio includes AI pioneers and who owns Angel City FC—America’s most valuable women’s soccer team—stated: “I back founders who break old systems. Jabbr isn’t just disrupting—it’s rebuilding the sweet science from the ground up.”
Lyft co-founder John Zimmer, known for championing technology increasing opportunity access, emphasized: “This is bigger than stats and video. It’s leveling the playing field, increasing accountability and giving fighters all over the world a fair shot.” His perspective highlights Jabbr’s democratization potential—professional-grade analytics previously requiring expensive equipment and production crews now accessible to any fighter with a smartphone.
Josh Buckley, whose early investments include Applied Intuition and AI safety company Flock Safety, sees platform potential: “Jabbr.ai seamlessly integrates hardware, software, and AI to create a new category experience for combat sports. Much like how Twitch unlocked a community-driven revolution in gaming, Jabbr.ai platform can redefine how fighters, trainers, and fans connect and engage.”
The Viral Moments That Validated the Technology
Beyond investor credentials, Jabbr.ai commercial traction proves market demand. Following controversial professional bouts where human judging sparked global debate, Jabbr.ai AI-generated fight metrics went viral, accumulating millions of views. The technology debuted on DAZN and TNT Sports—broadcasting to mainstream audiences and demonstrating real-world viability at the sport’s highest levels.
Early investor Christian Dalsgaard recognized potential when Jabbr’s first AI-generated fight metric demo went viral in late 2022, stating: “Jabbr.ai is like Plaid for combat sports; their hardware and API will power everything from automated broadcasts to betting. We’re backing the category king.”
This assessment reflects Jabbr.ai strategic positioning as infrastructure rather than consumer app. The platform’s API approach enables third-party developers to build betting platforms, training apps, and fan engagement tools on top of DeepStrike’s computer vision foundation—creating network effects similar to Plaid’s financial services connectivity.
Why This Matters For Global Combat Sports
Jabbr’s €4.3 million raise positions the company within broader 2025 European sports tech trends where AI-powered analytics attract significant capital. Comparable raises include ReSpo.Vision’s €4.2 million for football tracking, ScorePlay’s €12.5 million Series A for AI media automation, and smaller rounds like SponsWatch’s €1 million for sponsorship analytics and Model Health’s €800k for movement analysis.
However, Jabbr differentiates by targeting combat sports’ unique requirements. Unlike football where multiple players and complex positioning create analytical challenges, combat sports offer structured one-on-one or team matchups with clear metrics: punch accuracy, defensive movements, strike volume, and ring control. This structured environment enables DeepStrike’s computer vision to achieve accuracy matching or exceeding human judges while providing transparency lacking in subjective scoring.
The global combat sports market validates Jabbr’s opportunity. MMA markets alone reached $1.5 billion in 2024 and project growth to $3.5 billion by 2030 at 12% CAGR. North America maintains leadership with over 45,000 martial arts academies projected to reach 67,000 by 2025, while emerging markets including Brazil, Russia, Japan, UAE, and Thailand demonstrate accelerating adoption.
The Answer: Infrastructure for Sport’s Next Generation
So why €4.3 million for Jabbr? Because the company addresses three converging opportunities: technological infrastructure gap where combat sports lack football’s analytics maturity, transparency crisis where controversial judging damages sport integrity, and content democratization where fighters need affordable broadcast-quality production competing with traditional media’s gatekeeping.
Building on its previous €685k seed round from PreSeed Ventures and Accelerace in 2023, this Silicon Valley-backed raise validates that combat sports technology represents category-defining opportunity rather than niche vertical. With DeepStrike processing fights from amateur gyms to professional broadcasts on DAZN, Jabbr positions itself as the operating system for combat sports’ digital transformation.
I’m Araib Khan, an author at Startups Union, where I share insights on entrepreneurship, innovation, and business growth. This role helps me enhance my credibility, connect with professionals, and contribute to impactful ideas within the global startup ecosystem.
