Teamworks acquires four new businesses following Series D funding

Zach Maurides started Teamworks as a class project at Duke.

Since then, it has grown to be a multi-million dollar company. In June, the sports tech firm announced $50 million in Series D funding, with supporters including NBA legend David Robinson, Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and 28 other former or current professional athletes.

When Maurides spoke to On3 after June’s news, the CEO knew where he wanted to allocate the funding – investing in more technology. The company saw that come to fruition this week, as it acquired four new companies Smartabase, Retain, Grafted and NextPlay.

The additions bring Teamworks to more than 300 employees living and working across 10 countries, per the Sports Business Journal. As the sports tech firm has grown, it has described itself as the “operating system for sports.”

Smartabase, Retain, Grafted and NextPlay helps Teamworks grow closer to that.

“We have a group of people here that really care about this industry,” Maurides previously told On3. “And they believe in what technology can do for this industry because it makes it better for everyone. If this industry becomes more efficient as a result of adopting technology, that means more value goes to the athlete.”

Breakdown of acquisitions

Founded in Brisbane, Australia, Smartbase is the largest company Teamworks has ever acquired. Started back in 2003, the company was formerly known as Fusion Sport before rebranding last year. Focused on tracking human performance in both sports and the military, the addition partners well with Notemeal, a nutrition-tracking software Teamworks acquired back in October 2021.

Smartbase has offices in London and Colorado. Maurides plans to have the tracking data and analysis from the company integrated into the Teamworks hub, per Sports Business Journal.

Retain is the second addition to the Teamworks platform, providing assistance on the academic side. Built to help college programs in communication and team scheduling, the technology tracks academic progress, academic calendars and monthly student check-ins via survey.

Grafted and NextPlay both service college athletic alumni. Those have been bought out and will be consolidated and rebranded into Teamworks Communities.

“With the acquisitions of Smartabase, Retain, Grafted, and NextPlay, Teamworks continues to unite the sports industry’s top technology companies and its most innovative leaders,” Maurides said in a press release. “The addition of these products solidifies Teamworks’ impact on each phase of the athlete lifecycle and its indispensable position serving elite athletic organizations.”

How Teamworks compliance software will assist INFLCR

Beyond the acquisitions, Teamworks also included in the announcement plans to “build a complete compliance solution that seamlessly integrates into the Teamworks Hub.”

Compliance will assist athletes in their day-to-day activities. Teamworks bought NIL-focused INFLCR back in 2019. With the ability to assist athletes in brand building and connect them with businesses in their global and local exchanges, over 70,000 athletes use the INFLCR app.

It appears the new platform would help athletes with their NIL happenings. INFLCR has no intentions of becoming an NIL marketplaces. But simplifying NIL for athletes and institutions remains a constant goal.

“We’ve always viewed ourselves as constructing infrastructure like we’re building plumbing,” Maurides said in June. “And we’re building plumbing to make everything that relates to NIL easier for the institutions and the athletes that they serve. And so, you know, number one, our focus is almost always on extensibility.

“… A lot of this going to be driven by how NIL continues to develop. the new types of transactions and behaviors and interactions that we need to be able to support.”