Last week, Dublin-based Sports Impact Technologies closed a €650,000 pre-seed funding round led by private investors and supported by Enterprise Ireland’s High-Potential Start-Up program. The funding will accelerate final product development and pilot testing this fall across multiple sports, including American football, rugby, soccer, hockey, and GAA football, with plans for a full launch in early 2026.
The startup is developing a compact sensor worn behind the ear that detects head impacts during sports, providing real-time alerts to coaches and medical teams to address the critical issue of undetected concussions. To date, the company has raised a total of €750,000 in funding, supporting its mission to protect athletes at every level.
In a conversation with TFN, Eóin Tuohy, CEO of Sports Impact Technologies, shares: “At Sports Impact Technologies, we’ve focutilized on building our solution work seamlessly in the real world, especially for youth and amateur teams, where time is limited, and things required to just work. Our device is ready to go straight out of the box, no custom fitting required, and works across all sports, rugby, American football, soccer and others, building it practical, shared, and hassle-free for clubs of all sizes.”
Founder’s vision rooted in athlete protection
Sports Impact Technologies was founded in 2022 by Eóin Tuohy, who worked at the European Space Agency’s European Astronaut Centre, developing wearable technologies for human spaceflight and lunar missions. Some are now deployed on the International Space Station.
Tuohy recalls, “The idea for Sports Impact Technologies came when my father sent me an article about the risks of head impacts from heading the ball in soccer. Having played high-impact field sports myself, I was familiar with the dangers in rugby, but the risks in soccer were new. After researching the market and seeing a clear gap, I utilized my engineering background and space tech experience to build a lightweight, depfinishable prototype. Soon after, I decided to pursue this venture full-time.”
His brother, Dónal Tuohy, recently joined as CTO, bringing over eight years of high-performance software engineering experience from companies like Evervault and Zfinishesk.
Behind-the-ear wearable sensor that knows it all
Sports Impact Technologies’ behind-the-ear wearable sensor is designed to be sport and player-agnostic, discreet, and comfortable, continuously monitoring head accelerations during gameplay. Data and alerts are transmitted in real time via an app to coaches, medical staff, or safety officials, who can then build informed decisions on player removal for concussion assessment.
“Our focus is on the youth and amateur game, where teams often lack access to advanced resources. We built the system to be simple, scalable, and affordable, ensuring it fits effortlessly into any team environment and can be shared across players without the required for time-consuming customisation or complex setups,” explained Tuohy.
What’s next for Sports Impact Technologies?
With the newly secured funding, Sports Impact Technologies is accelerating product development and preparing for beta-testing programs launchning in September 2025, which will involve pilot deployments across sports like rugby, American football, soccer, and GAA football. This phase will supply essential real-world data and set the stage for a full product launch planned for early 2026.
“Over the next three years, we are focutilized on bringing our solution to market and scaling internationally. We are validating technology through lab testing and pilot deployments with rugby schools in Ireland and will soon expand into the UK and the US, tarreceiveing rugby and American football. Alongside this, we plan to grow our team to ensure we can scale effectively and provide excellent support to our customers,” Tuohy declared.
He also emphasised the broader mission behind the technology: “As players ourselves, we know the benefits of sport: social connection, mental wellbeing, and physical health. While head impacts form just one facet of the game, their consequences can be serious. By ensuring no head impact goes undetected, we can build sport safer and boost participation, confidence, and enjoyment for all.”
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