Danu Sports, a provider of wearable sports analytics technology, has raised €3.5m in a Series A funding round led by CastleGate Investments, the Tommy Kelly investment vehicle that owns Sherry FitzGerald.

Danu Sports said the funding round will support the creation of 10 jobs and the commercialisation of Danu’s wearable technology solutions.

Taxpayers invested €400,000 in the round through Enterprise Ireland, bringing the state agency’s exposure to the venture to €700,000.

Initial funding rounds comprised €600,000 in November 2020 from HBAN angle investors and Enterprise Ireland, and €465,000 in November 2021, when CastleGate came on board.

The company has also been supported by the European Space Agency’s BIC programme.

In Association with

CastleGate is nominating two directors to the Danu board, including Jason Crawford, global vice president, Hype, Adidas.

Founded by Oisín Lennon (31) in 2017, Danu has developed a wearable movement analysis system providing injury and performance analysis ‘in the field’ to lab-based accuracy.

Comprising sensor-integrated ‘smart’ socks, a mobile app for live analysis, and a professional analytics platform, Danu’s initial target is clinicians and strength and conditioning coaches for professional teams across soccer, rugby, basketball and American football.

Danu’s technology analyses a combination of activities that would usually require multiple devices, and can do so across multiple athletes. These activities include Gait Analysis, Plyometrics and Velocity Based Training.

The technology and fabric engineering has been developed to bespoke specifications, involving collaboration with academia (University of Limerick, Northumbria University, Munster Technological University and Leeds Beckett University), and industry (Design Partners in Bray and IMME Electronics Engineers in Dundrum).

The company believes that movement analysis systems can also have applications in the medical arena and human health.

“It has proven capability to inform diagnosis, disease severity, progression, and therapeutic response of Parkinson’s disease and stroke,” says the firm.

“Eldercare providers can also use movement analysis to inform targeted intervention for those likely to fall, whilst the technology can also assist orthopaedic outpatients in their recovery.”

Oisín Lennon commented “CastleGate has been an early stage investor since 2021 providing both financial and mentoring support, including Tommy Kelly’s ecommerce and disrupter expertise and Roy Barrett’s financial and sporting nous.

“The assistance and expertise provided by CastleGate and our other shareholders has accelerated our commercialisation journey, and we are now hiring to fill 10 roles across marketing sales and data science.

“Initially our focus will be on B2B applications for professional sports but we see significant potential downstream for medical and consumer sports applications.”

Roy Barrett, CEO of CastleGate Investments, stated: “We are excited for what the future holds for Danu Sports. We’ve seen the progress the company has made over the last 15 months and have been very impressed by the team and their technology.

“We are delighted that Adidas’ Jason Crawford has agreed to join the board, adding his global insights and expertise."

Danu Sports Ltd booked a net loss of €480,000 in 2021, bringing accumulated start-up losses to €660,000.