In the year when sports investment and financing in China is picking up, who is favored by capital?
According to the "Research Report on the Development of China's Equity Investment Market in 2025" released by Zero2IPO Research Center, the number of investment cases in China's VC/PE market in the first three quarters was 8,295, a year-on-year increase of 19.8% compared to 2024; the investment amount reached 540.73 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.0%. By industry, the hard technology sector has attracted significant market attention. The number of investment cases in fields such as IT, semiconductors, biotechnology/medical health, and machinery manufacturing all exceeded 1,000, and sub - sectors like AI, GPU, innovative drugs, and intelligent manufacturing have been highly popular.
The above data can be regarded as a microcosm of China's domestic investment and financing market in 2025. So, what was the situation of the sports investment and financing market in 2025?
Based on the statistics of Lanxiong Sports combining public information and its own sources, from January 1st to December 31st, 2025, there were a total of 35 investment and financing events of domestic sports - related companies, with a total amount of approximately 1.6754 billion yuan. In the same period of the previous year, there were 28 financing events of Chinese sports start - up companies, with a total amount of approximately 1.0048 billion yuan. Statistics based on this data show that the number of investment and financing events this year increased by approximately 18.42% compared to 2024, and the total investment and financing amount increased by approximately 40% year - on - year, indicating a certain recovery. Of course, this data is still at a low level compared to previous years.
[Note: All publicly announced amounts of "tens of millions" and "nearly tens of millions" are calculated as 8 million yuan; "tens of millions" and "millions" are calculated as 20 million yuan and 2 million yuan respectively; foreign exchange rates are calculated based on the average exchange rate in 2025; events with undisclosed amounts are not included.]
In terms of "large deals" worth hundreds of millions of yuan, there were a total of 6 investment and financing events worth over 100 million yuan in the domestic sports sector (accounting for approximately 16.67% of the total number of events), with a total amount of approximately 1.4654 billion yuan (accounting for approximately 87.47% of the total amount). Regarding the distribution of investment and financing rounds, in 2025, investment and financing events in the domestic sports sector were still highly concentrated in the early rounds.
Among them, the "Seed Round and Angel Round" (a total of 13 events) accounted for approximately 36%, the "Pre - A Round, A Round, and A+ Round" (a total of 13 events) accounted for approximately 36%, the "Pre - B Round, B Round, and Post - B Round" (a total of 5 events) accounted for 14%, and the "Strategic Financing, Equity Financing, and Capital Increase and Share Expansion" (a total of 5 events) accounted for a total of 14%.
More specifically in the sub - sectors, we also tried to summarize the main distribution and several trend observations of domestic sports investment and financing events in 2025 to review the Chinese sports investment and financing market in the past year.
The "Outdoor Enthusiasm" Continues to Heat Up
In 2025, the "outdoor enthusiasm" continued to ferment. At the 2025 China Outdoor Sports Industry Conference, the General Administration of Sport of China announced that the number of people participating in outdoor sports in China has exceeded 400 million.
As one of the few consumer sectors still maintaining growth, outdoor - themed projects have witnessed intensive capital layout. There were a total of 10 investment and financing events (accounting for approximately 27.78% of the total number of events), with a total amount of 819.8 million yuan (accounting for approximately 48.93% of the total amount).
The clearest signal is the IPO process. In April 2025, Pahaque officially submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, planning to list on the main board. It is worth noting that in March, Pahaque just completed a strategic financing of 300 million yuan, with Tencent as the investor. In October, Tanboer officially submitted its application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the second domestic outdoor brand to target the capital market in 2025.
Against the backdrop of outdoor brands' rush for IPOs, sub - brands have also received capital support. In July, SURPINE completed a Pre - A round of financing worth tens of millions of yuan provided by Jiebai Consumption Fund. Jiebai plans to accelerate the brand's offline layout through its high - quality offline resources. SURPINE started with ski quick - drying clothes and has now expanded to multiple categories, extending from skiing to outdoor scenarios. In addition, Shunwei Capital, co - founded by Lei Jun, also made a strategic investment in Gaofan, a high - end down jacket brand, in 2025, trying to integrate the Xiaomi ecosystem into outdoor clothing.
On the other hand, consumer - grade exoskeleton products targeting outdoor scenarios are moving from niche to the public eye. In November 2025, Hypershell completed a Pre - B and B round of financing totaling $70 million (equivalent to 499.8 million yuan). Among them, the B - round financing was jointly led by Photon Venture Capital and Matrix Partners China, with Meituan Longzhu participating; the Pre - B round was led by Monolith, with Matrix Partners China participating, and old shareholders such as IDG Capital, Sequoia China, and Oasis Capital all over - invested. Also in this year, a significant change is that exoskeleton players previously focused on the B - end in medical, technology, etc. have also expanded into the consumer - grade market, targeting the outdoor sports field.
Overall, brands are successively rushing for IPOs, and the market remains hot. However, there is still potential in the outdoor track, and the number of investments in sub - sectors such as water sports, cycling, and camping is still increasing. The market is still worthy of attention.
Smart Hardware and AI + Sports Catch the Wave
If the outdoor sector represents the present, then "AI + sports" might be the future bet by capital. In 2025, around the AI direction, investment in the sports field was active, with a total of 10 investment and financing events (accounting for approximately 27.78% of the total number of events), and the total amount was 340 million yuan (accounting for approximately 20.29% of the total amount).
In 2025, this track witnessed two financings worth over 100 million yuan. According to AING, Photon Leap, an AI sports imaging brand established only three months ago, completed an angel - round financing of hundreds of millions of yuan, with Zhuchuang Venture Capital participating in the investment. This financing scale refreshed the record of angel - round financing in the consumer imaging field. The funds will be used for in - depth R & D of AI imaging algorithms, global market layout, and preparation for mass production of smart hardware products.
Another large - scale financing came from Accelerated Evolution, which combines embodied intelligence with sports. In November, the company completed a Series B financing of over 100 million yuan, led by IDG Capital and followed by Yizhuang State - owned Investment. Old shareholders such as Source Code Capital, Inno Angel Fund, Shenzhen Capital Group, and Bohua Capital continued to increase their investments. The funds will be mainly used for product R & D and upgrading, large - scale mass production and delivery, and construction of the ecological platform service. Accelerated Evolution completed its Series A and Series A+ financings in June and July respectively, indicating its growth potential.
From the investment trends, on the one hand, as more companies combining AI with the outdoor sector emerge, capital has quickly followed. Shentingji Intelligence and Ruichi Intelligence, which focus on outdoor embodied intelligence, completed a Seed + round and an angel - round financing worth tens of millions of yuan respectively in 2025. New - generation companies such as Kuangye Innovation, which focus on the outdoors and AI, also received financing within the year.
On the other hand, AI applications combined with racket sports such as tennis and table tennis have continuously emerged. Pangbot, a developer of intelligent table - tennis serving robots, and Yingbaidi, a developer of tennis intelligent robots, both received financing in 2025. Yunwang Innovation, a provider of intelligent musculoskeletal health products, also completed a Pre - A round of financing jointly invested by Xiaohongshu and ZhenFund.
AI itself is a long - term track. Companies that have been deeply involved in the sports vertical for a long time still need to face challenges such as exploring profit models, refining technology implementation, and market education. However, new - generation enterprises are emerging like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. The increasing number of investment and financing events shows the favor of capital, and this trend may continue in 2026. The market, which is waiting to be verified, is about to receive more clear answers.
The E - sports Track Seeks Innovation while Maintaining Stability
Compared with other tracks, the e - sports investment and financing market did not cause much stir in 2025. However, with a total financing amount of approximately 326 million yuan (accounting for approximately 19.46% of the total amount), there are still three cases worthy of attention.
In January 2025, Xingjing Weiwu Group founded by Ho Youjun reached a strategic cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. According to the five - year agreement, Xingjing Weiwu will set up its global headquarters in Abu Dhabi to jointly promote the development of the local game, media, and entertainment industries. ADIO will provide support of up to approximately $40 million to assist Xingjing Weiwu's business layout in Abu Dhabi.
In June 2025, Wolverhampton Wanderers e - sports Club under Fosun Sports completed a strategic investment of tens of millions of yuan by Chongqing Lvfa Industrial Group Co., Ltd. This round of financing will be mainly used for the upgrade of the team system and the construction of the e - sports digital economy ecosystem.
In addition, Jingxiang Technology, a full - space intelligent technology service provider for offline e - sports, completed a Pre - A round of financing of tens of millions of yuan led by Anhui Jinpu Digital Innovation and Strategic New Industry Fund in 2025. According to 36Kr Games, after this round of financing, Jingxiang Technology will focus on projects such as AI technology R & D, channel construction, and large - scale brand implementation.
It is worth mentioning that in January 2024, Jingxiang Technology became a partner of Tencent's e - sports ecosystem, and the two sides jointly built an offline community ecosystem for Tencent's IP. Currently, Tencent e - sports experience halls have been established in many places, and the mid - to high - end e - sports brand "Jingsheng Hotel x Tencent e - Sports" has been launched. At the same time, it has cooperated with Changbaishan Wanda Tourism Resort to explore the "e - sports + tourism" model and built an e - commerce scenario based on sports events. This may also point to a new operation direction for the integration of e - sports and traditional commercial entities.
Overall, the e - sports investment and financing market was still quiet in 2025. At the end of October, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially announced the suspension of the cooperation and preparation work for the first e - sports Olympic Games and did not announce any plans or schedules for the resumption of subsequent events. This event may have had a certain impact on the e - sports investment and financing environment. However, whether it is Xingjing Weiwu's promotion of its Middle East layout or the integration of offline scenarios and exploration of regional markets, the commercial exploration of e - sports has not stopped, and the results of these layouts may gradually emerge in 2026.
Stay Active and Focus on Niche Fitness Businesses
Although gym brands frequently had problems such as going bankrupt and running away in 2025, investment and financing in the fitness field still maintained a certain level of activity. In 2025, there were a total of 4 investment and financing events in the fitness track (accounting for approximately 11% of the total number of events), with a total amount of 40 million yuan (accounting for 2.39% of the total amount).
In September 2025, Jiandan Sports, a community - based intelligent health platform, completed a Series B financing of tens of millions of yuan jointly invested by Shanghai Youshi Fund and Shanghai Dongchao Investment. The funds will be mainly used for intelligent upgrading, accelerating the national layout of stores, improving the membership service system, and exploring overseas markets. In November, Aoben Sports, a provider of shared yoga Internet platforms, completed a Pre - A round of financing of tens of millions of yuan invested by Suzhou BBK Investment. The funds will be mainly used for platform technology upgrading, expanding the training system, and laying out national market channels.
In addition, Jinruisi, a comprehensive service provider in the fitness industry, and Leranpai, an operator of men's fitness and stress - relief private training studios, also announced the completion of angel - round financings of 2 million yuan and 18 million yuan respectively. It can be seen that capital is still looking for possibilities of model innovation and user stickiness in niche fitness scenarios.
New Opportunities for Niche and Diverse Sports
The relatively niche sports nutrition field also witnessed a large - scale financing of over 100 million yuan. In November 2025, a professional sports nutrition brand under Mengniu Group completed a Series A financing of nearly 100 million yuan. This round of financing was led by Xianle Health, followed by Hillhouse Capital and Mengniu Venture Capital. The funds will be mainly used for upgrading the R & D system, expanding the product matrix, and deepening market education.
In the beverage sector, ELECTRO X, a functional beverage brand, completed a Series A+ financing. Different from traditional brands, it first entered channels such as sports venues, five - star hotels, cinemas, and boutique supermarkets; cooperated with sports communities and clubs such as marathons, CrossFit events, frisbee, cycling, and urban running groups, and also established its own sports community, focusing on more emerging scenarios. This financing is the fourth round of financing disclosed since its establishment in 2021.
In the event operation field, Dongfang Junguan, a provider of the autonomous IP brand event alliance platform, completed an angel - round financing of 10 million yuan. In the footwear and apparel sector, FEYLYLY, a brand focusing on urban women's sportswear, completed a seed - round financing of hundreds of thousands of yuan with the investment of Deju Investment under X GROUP.
In addition, Fengye Sports, an operator of a billiards sports chain brand, and