In today's email:

🏀 Fastbreak AI raises $40M to expand AI scheduling across pro and amateur sports

🎾 ATP and Sony expand partnership with AR, AI and 5G technology

💰 Anthropic announces $50B AI spend with two new U.S. data centers

🤖 OpenAI upgrades ChatGPT with GPT-5.1 after mixed reviews

🎵 First AI-generated country song hits No. 1 on Billboard charts

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AI in Sports and Fitness

Fastbreak AI raised $40 million in Series A funding to fuel expansion across professional and amateur sports. The Charlotte-based company computes schedules for NBA, NHL, MLS and 55+ leagues worldwide, and recently launched Fastbreak Compete for youth sports featuring registration, team travel, ticketing and event execution management.

ATP and Sony expanded their partnership to include augmented reality, AI and 5G technology for men's tennis coverage. Starting with ATP Finals in Turin, Hawk-Eye's HawkAR will create real-time performance visualizations while Hawkvision provides player perspectives during matches, with Sony's 5G cameras enabling new creative opportunities.

IBM and Web Summit launched a Sports Tech Startup Challenge featuring regional events in Qatar, Vancouver and Rio, culminating at Web Summit Lisbon 2026. The competition spotlights startups using AI for athlete performance, stadium operations and fan engagement, with winners eligible for $100,000 proof of concept collaboration with IBM.

Columbia Athletics partnered with Cache AI to help student-athletes understand and maximize their NIL brand value. Starting with men's and women's basketball teams, the platform generates CacheScore performance indexes and CacheValue fair-market valuations while providing coaches with AI-powered dashboards for recruiting and retention strategies.

Monumental Sports & Entertainment CEO Ted Leonsis said his company is "AI-proof" despite embracing technology. In a Yahoo Finance interview, Leonsis explained that while using AI for operations, the feeling of attending games can't be replaced by simulations, and the company brings 3 million fans annually to Capital One Arena.

Fuelin launched Smart Meals using AI to suggest tailored meal options based on available ingredients, cuisine preferences or restaurant menus aligned with personalized nutrition targets. The feature instantly provides three performance-aligned recommendations whether athletes are cooking at home or eating out.

IdentifyHer launched Peri, a $449 wearable designed to detect and decode perimenopause symptoms using biosensing tech and AI. The device tracks hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety and sleep patterns alongside lifestyle data, then provides actionable insights through weekly and cyclical summaries with HSA/FSA eligibility.

🧰 Tools and Tips

• Transform your ideas into high-quality videos in 60 seconds with vidflux.ai. Perfect for social media, marketing, and creative content.

• We featured ElevenLabs in Issue 5, but thought it was worth mentioning again now that they are rolling out their Iconic Voice Marketplace that lets third-parties request approval to use AI-cloned voices from a roster of famous people.

• Guidde is the generative AI platform for business that helps your team create video documentation 11x faster.

• For those looking for a job change, Resume Worded is an AI-powered platform designed by top recruiters to instantly give you tailored feedback on your resume and LinkedIn profile.

What it does: Maps the competition and uncovers your product’s strategic edge.

**Act as a senior product strategist.**
Your task is to analyze the competitive landscape for a new product: **[YOUR PRODUCT NAME]** developed by **[YOUR COMPANY NAME]**.

Perform a structured analysis with the following sections:

---

**1. Identify Competitors**

* List 3–5 products or services that directly compete with [YOUR PRODUCT].

**2. Compare Key Attributes**

* Core features and functionality
* Pricing models
* Target audience
* Unique Selling Points (USPs)

**3. Evaluate User Perception**

* Summarize key themes from online reviews (e.g., G2, Reddit, Trustpilot)
* Highlight common strengths and weaknesses

**4. Assess Marketing & Distribution**

* How each competitor positions its product
* Marketing channels and tactics used
* Sales or distribution strategies

**5. Recommend Differentiation Strategies**

* Suggest clear ways [YOUR PRODUCT] can stand out in the market
* Propose 2–3 innovations or enhancements to improve competitiveness
* Recommend potential partnerships or strategic collaborations

**6. Conclusion**

* Summarize recommended next steps across product development, marketing, and sales

Beyond Sports: AI News Bytes

Anthropic announced plans to spend $50 billion on U.S. AI infrastructure, starting with custom data centers in Texas and New York going live in 2026. The project will create 800 permanent jobs and over 2,000 construction roles, positioning Anthropic as a major domestic player in physical AI infrastructure.

OpenAI upgraded ChatGPT to GPT-5.1 Instant and GPT-5.1 Thinking after mixed reviews of GPT-5. The new models feature warmer, more conversational tones with improved instruction following, adaptive reasoning for complex questions, and eight personality presets including friendly, professional, and quirky options.

The No. 1 country song in America "Walk My Walk" by Breaking Rust is AI-generated, marking the first time an AI-created song reached the top of Billboard charts. The artist has over 2 million monthly Spotify listeners with multiple songs exceeding 1 million streams.

Meta's chief AI scientist Yann LeCun plans to leave to build his own startup focused on world models, AI systems that develop internal understanding of environments to predict outcomes. The departure comes as Meta revamps its AI organization after hiring 50+ engineers from competitors.

Google introduced Private AI Compute, a cloud platform offering advanced AI features while keeping data private. The system ships difficult AI requests to a "secure, fortified space" with same security as on-device processing, starting with Pixel 10 phones.

OpenAI may soon release ChatGPT Group Chats, allowing multiple users to collaborate on projects by sharing invite links. The feature includes custom instructions, typing indicators, message reactions, file uploads, and ensures personal ChatGPT memory is never used in group responses.

AI Jobs in Sports and Fitness

• PlayOn Sports - AI Engineer

• Whoop - Numerous Software Engineering positions

• Hive - Analyst, Media & Sports

• Fastbreak AI - Sports Marketer / Social Media Manager

• New Balance - Senior Project Manager - AI

• Whoop - Senior Business Analyst (AI Product)

• Under Armour - Summer 2026 Internship, AI & Advanced AnalyticsGannett

• Patagonia - Principal, Head of AI

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