Purdue University and Indianapolis-based Sports Tech HQ have formed a partnership aimed at supporting Indiana’s emerging sports technology sector.

The partnership, which officially launches this weekend, is designed to connect early-stage sports tech startups with Purdue in ways that benefit both the startups and the university.

“We’re going to be able to really tap into what [Purdue] can do for some of the companies that we’re bringing into the ecosystem from all over the world,” said Sports Tech HQ Executive Director Jeff Hintz.

Sports Tech HQ, launched by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. in 2022, is an initiative that aims to attract sports tech startups to Indiana and help them connect with the state’s existing athletics ecosystem, including sports organizations that could become future customers.

Purdue offers a motorsports engineering program which is based at race car maker Dallara’s U.S. headquarters in Speedway. Purdue also offers a sports engineering program which is currently based in West Lafayette. That program will move its operations to Dallara’s Speedway facility starting in the Fall 2025 semester.

The new partnership between Purdue and Sports Tech HQ has both a research component and a workforce development component, said David Umulis, senior vice provost for Purdue University in Indianapolis.

Purdue can offer research and technical expertise that sports tech companies may need as they develop their products, Umulis said. Likewise, these companies may create internships and job opportunities for Purdue students and graduates.

“Sports Tech HQ, as they grow, will identify more partners that they can put us in touch with that will be looking for talented students,” Umulis said.

Hintz said the Purdue partnership will offer an additional incentive for young sports tech companies to choose Indiana. Part of Sports Tech HQ’s pitch to startups is that if they relocate to Indiana, they can tap into the sports and technology resources that already exist here.

“For us, it’s an attraction tool for sure,” Hintz said of the Purdue partnership. “It’s just another thing we have in our toolkit here.”

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