Another busy week ahead at the intersection of sports, technology, AI, investment and business.
From major sports-tech conferences to important earnings announcements, new Upside podcasts and an upcoming sports-tech startup announcement, there is plenty to watch this week.
Here are some of the developments weâll be following at Upside.
đ¤ SPORTS + TECH EVENTS
SportsPro AI + Tech â London | Sept. 29â30
SportsPro AI + Tech brings together leaders from sports, media and technology to discuss how AI is moving from experimentation toward real-world implementation.
Topics include AI infrastructure, data, governance, personalization, content automation, fan engagement and ROI.
Upside Take: The conversation around AI in sports is changing. Teams donât need another presentation explaining what AI is. They increasingly want to know:
What actually worksâand what measurable value is it creating?
Why it matters: Weâre entering the next phase of sports AI: moving from pilots toward technologies that become integrated into everyday workflows.
What to watch: Real-world deployments, measurable ROI, AI agents, data infrastructure and examples of organizations moving beyond experimentation.
đ° SBC Summit â Lisbon | Sept. 29âOct. 1
SBC Summit brings together tens of thousands of executives across sports, betting, gaming, media, technology and investment.
Upside Take: Sports, gaming, betting, media and technology are increasingly becoming parts of the same ecosystem.
Why it matters: Teams and leagues arenât simply competing for ticket sales and television viewers anymore. Theyâre competing for attention, data and digital engagement.
What to watch: AI, personalization, sports data, fan engagement, media, betting technology and new ways of monetizing sports audiences.
đ EARNINGS TO WATCH
đ Nike â October 1
Nike is scheduled to report its latest quarterly results.
Upside Take: Nike remains one of the most interesting indicators of the health of the global sports consumer.
The story isnât simply whether Nike beats expectations. Itâs what management says about consumer demand, innovation, distribution, digital strategy and competition.
Why it matters: Nike sits at the intersection of sports, athletes, culture, retail, technology and consumer behavior.
What to watch: Revenue trends, margins, North America, China, direct-to-consumer versus wholesale, running, basketball, product innovation and managementâs outlook.
đž Micron â September 30
Micron reports fiscal Q4 results this week.
Upside Take: Micron isnât a sports companyâbut thatâs precisely why weâre watching it.
The future of sports technology increasingly depends on the infrastructure powering the broader AI economy.
Computer vision, automated video analysis, digital twins, generative AI and athlete-data platforms all require increasing amounts of compute, memory, storage and data infrastructure.
Why it matters: The AI revolution in sports canât happen without the infrastructure underneath it.
What to watch: AI-related demand, data-center growth, memory demand, capital expenditures and commentary around the sustainability of AI infrastructure spending.
âď¸ Accenture â October 1
Accenture reports its latest results this week.
Upside Take: Accenture could provide another useful indicator of where enterprise AI adoption actually stands.
Weâve heard enormous amounts about AI investment.
Now the question is whether companies are moving from:
AI pilots â enterprise deployment â measurable ROI.
Sports organizations face exactly the same challenge.
Why it matters: Teams, leagues and broadcasters increasingly operate like technology companies, investing heavily in cloud infrastructure, data platforms, AI, cybersecurity, CRM and automation.
What to watch: AI bookings, generative-AI demand, cloud spending and whether customers are expanding AI projects beyond experimentation.
đď¸ AT UPSIDE THIS WEEK
Weâre also publishing two new Upside conversations this week, covering two very different but increasingly important parts of the sports ecosystem.
đ§ Upside Video Chat with Dr. Gregg Steinberg
Weâll sit down with Dr. Gregg Steinberg, Professor of Sports Psychology at Austin Peay State University (APSU).
Weâll discuss his background, his work at APSU, his experience working with athletesâincluding tennis players and golfersâand his approach to mental preparation and sports psychology.
Upside Take: Teams have invested heavily in technologies to measure athletes physically. The mental side of performance remains an equally fascinating area of opportunity.
Why it matters: Mental preparation, confidence, focus, stress management and decision-making can have enormous implications for athlete performance.
What to watch: How sports psychology continues to evolve alongside technologies such as biofeedback, wearables and athlete-monitoring platforms.
đ° Upside VC Profile: Centre Court Capital & Chat with Mustafa Ghouse, GP
Weâll also publish our latest Upside VC Profile, featuring Centre Court Capital, along with our conversation with GP Mustafa Ghouse.
Weâll discuss Centre Courtâs investment philosophy, what it looks for in sports-tech startups, the technologies and categories that excite the fund, and advice for founders looking to raise capital.
đ UPSIDE VIP LUNCH â FIRST STARTUP ANNOUNCEMENT COMING THIS WEEK
We will also announce the first sports-tech startup selected to present at the Upside VIP Lunch in Atlanta on December 18, 2026.
The event will bring together leaders from across the sports and sports-tech ecosystem, with selected startups getting the opportunity to present their technology directly to the audience.
This shift from pilots to measurable ROI is where AI adoption gets much more interesting. âHow many people are using AI?â is an easy metric. Iâd rather know what happened to cycle time, errors, cost, customer experience or capacity afterwards. If none of those moved, adoption itself probably isnât the outcome.