Mark Cuban has backed Irish sports performance company Orreco with fresh funding. The Shark Tank investor has joined a four-million-US-dollar extension to its Series A round. Cuban has invested alongside Enterprise Ireland, professional athletes, and existing supporters.
The investment follows Orreco’s acquisition of Data Driven Sports Analytics, a computer vision startup that adds deeper visual analysis to the company’s AI-led performance platform.
Mark Cuban Backs Orreco’s $4 Million Acquisition
Orreco has been gaining traction across the sports innovation space. The company recently completed Comcast NBCUniversal’s SportsTech program and is set to join the next MLS Innovation Lab cohort, which is expected to be announced soon.
The deal centers on Orreco’s Motion Signal platform. The system brings together many different data streams to flag potential injury risk. It looks at external workload through tools like GPS wearables and video-based movement analysis, while also factoring in internal signals pulled from the company’s own biomarker testing.
Motion Signal is starting to show real potential as a live monitoring tool that can spot warning signs before soft-tissue injuries occur. It could help teams anticipate certain non-contact Achilles and ACL injuries.
Dr. Brian Moore, Orreco’s co-founder & CEO, has commented on the same in a conversation with SBJ. He said, “What’s driving a lot of interest is Motion because it’s so scalable and it’s in the middle of this really challenging problem.”
Mark Cuban has also said that “This is the first proactive approach to use AI to help reduce injury risk. It’s great today and only going to get better.”
Premier League Trials and Growing NBA Interest
Motion Signal has been trialed by four clubs in the Premier League. Newcastle United is leading that charge, having worked with Orreco on innovation for several years.
On the basketball side, the company is also in active discussions with several NBA franchises. Orreco has also taken another step by becoming the first performance science company to sign a deal with Sportradar for access to its live NBA data stream.
Data Driven Sports Analytics operates out of Melbourne and has spent years working with top tennis talents like Aryna Sabalenka. The company is now preparing to apply its approach beyond tennis, to greener pastures of Basketball and Football.
Its system works using standard broadcast video. Ergo, teams do not need to install special equipment. An AI-driven interface also simplifies how teams access and work with the data.
Moore explained this by saying, “This is our step toward having a fully integrated system. We have a full stack ourselves so that we can go toe to toe with the bigger organizations in the space.”
How Orreco Is Closing the Gap Between Rehab and Play
Orreco’s algorithms also play a role in helping athletes return safely after injury. One common issue in rehab is recreating the curved and multi-directional movements that show up in real competition. To tackle that, Orreco has previously used drones to map out these movement patterns.
Recently, they have introduced a product called Trace. It is an automated tool that allows trainers to design custom cone drills so athletes can rebuild form and confidence.
High-Profile Investors and Awards Strengthen Orreco’s Position
The new funding is set to support the creation of as many as 55 roles and will help Orreco build a real-time athlete monitoring center at its headquarters in Galway. The company has also picked up industry recognition. They took home the Best in Athlete Performance award at the 2023 Sports Business Awards Tech.
Earlier backers of the company include well-known figures from across sports. Golfers Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell, NBA agent Todd Ramasar, and NHL agent and Olympic medalist Allain Roy, to name a few.
What’s Next for Orreco After Mark Cuban’s Investment
With Mark Cuban now on board, Orreco is stepping into a bigger spotlight. The company is turning years of research into tools teams can actually use.
Early traction in soccer, basketball, and tennis points to strong demand. If that momentum holds, Orreco could play a meaningful role in how modern teams manage athlete health and performance.
