Sports Engineering

What Sports Engineering does

Sports Engineering, Inc. (SEI) is a privately-held sports technology company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with additional offices in New York and Toronto. The company identifies, develops, and commercializes injury-prevention technologies originally created at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) by Professor Christopher Brown and approximately 50 sponsored mechanical and biomedical engineering students. SEI's core platform combines a patented SplitSole™ interface, which divides the shoe sole into upper and lower portions, with SmartSpring™ tunable nonlinear springs (including the Goat's Head™, AEF™, and Cam-Condyle variants) that absorb horizontal shear, rotational, and vertical loads once performance thresholds are exceeded, then return to their original configuration.

The company's product portfolio has expanded from athletic footwear into shoulder protective equipment, ski binding suspension systems, articulating ice skate blades, and nonlinear-spring helmet prototypes developed under the NFL HeadHealthTECH Challenge. SEI owns an exclusive worldwide license to the WPI-developed technology suite, holds one issued US patent (US# 9,730,486) with multiple pending US and international applications, and has registered trademarks for SplitSole, SmartSpring, Goats Head, and AEF. Clinical validation is conducted in partnership with Hospital for Special Surgery, the #1 globally ranked orthopedic hospital per Newsweek, using human-subject testing and robotic simulation.

SEI operates as a B2B technology licensor, targeting footwear brands and manufacturers through direct licensing negotiations modeled on the W.L. Gore / Gore-Tex embedded-component playbook. Customer segments span athletic, recreational, medical, utility, hospitality, and military footwear, plus protective sports equipment. Go-to-market combines outbound licensing negotiations under NDA, PR-driven awareness, and high-profile advisory relationships including former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann. The company has raised approximately $2.36M across four disclosed funding rounds between 2018 and 2022, has not disclosed revenue, and remains pre-commercialization.

Name

Sports Engineering

Legal name

Sports Engineering, Inc.

Website

https://sports.engineering

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sports Engineering, Inc. (SEI) is a B2B sports technology licensor that develops and commercializes patented nonlinear-spring footwear and protective equipment technology, licensing it to footwear brands and manufacturers for injury prevention applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Technology / Athletic Footwear Components

NAICS

Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing (3152)

SIC

Footwear, (No Rubber) (3140), Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949)

akta.pro primary industry

Activewear & Athleisure Cut & Sew (IMAOAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Athletic Footwear Manufacturing (Running/Training/Court) (IMAOAIAA)

Keywords

• Injury prevention footwear
• Load management technology
• Nonlinear spring technology
• Athletic footwear components
• Sports equipment licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Portsmouth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Technology Licensing: SEI licenses its technology to footwear brands and manufacturers. The company owns exclusive marketing and manufacturing rights to the SEI suite of technologies developed by WPI. SEI technology is positioned to be licensed to marketers and manufacturers much like W.L. Gore is used as Gore-Tex in footwear and apparel.
2. Intellectual Property Commercialization: SEI specializes in identifying, developing and commercializing innovative and disruptive sports technologies and other intellectual property developed at WPI. The company can incorporate technology into existing and new shoe designs for utility, hospitality, military and other footwear.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SEI develops and licenses patented SplitSole™ and SmartSpring™ load management technologies for athletic footwear and protective sports equipment. The tunable nonlinear spring system is inserted into a split-sole interface to absorb horizontal shear, rotational, and vertical forces that exceed performance thresholds, reducing the risk of knee and ankle injuries. SEI licenses this technology to footwear brands, manufacturers, and equipment makers for embedding into their products.

Product overview

Sports Engineering (SEI) offers a dual-technology system consisting of SplitSole™ and SmartSpring™ that work in tandem to prevent sports injuries. SplitSole™ is the foundational patented split-sole interface that splits the shoe into upper and lower portions, while SmartSpring™ provides tunable nonlinear springs (including Goats Head™, AEF™, and Cam-Condyle variants) that manage horizontal and rotational forces. When loads exceed performance thresholds during athletic activity, these springs absorb energy that could otherwise cause knee and ankle injuries, then recover to their original configuration. The technology is licensed to footwear manufacturers and can be adapted for various sports including basketball, soccer, lacrosse, tennis, and running.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SmartSpring: Embedded technology component using non-linear springs to absorb energy from unusual and abrupt movements to mitigate injuries to knees and ankles
• SplitSole
• Goats Head
• AEF

Products and services

• SplitSole™ The patented Split Sole system splits the shoe sole into upper and lower portions, allowing management of horizontal forces and rotation. It works in tandem with SmartSpring technology to absorb loads when they exceed performance thresholds, designed to be licensed to footwear brands and manufacturers for embedding into athletic, recreational, medical, military, and utility footwear.
• SmartSpring™ Tunable nonlinear spring technology integrated into the Split Sole interface that absorbs energy from unusual and abrupt movements that could otherwise result in potentially injurious loads on knees and ankles. The springs are initially stiff and responsive, then displace after an established threshold is surpassed, then return to original configuration. Licensed to footwear brands and manufacturers.
• Shoulder Protective Device SEI technology adapted for shoulder protective equipment using tunable, nonlinear springs integrated into shoulder pads to distribute impacts through a system of tethers. Designed for collision sports such as football, lacrosse, and hockey. Licensed to protective sports equipment manufacturers.
• Ski Binding Suspension System Patent for vertical load transmission designed to absorb potentially injurious loads while transmitting loads for control and performance in skiing applications. Licensed to winter sports equipment manufacturers.
• Articulating Skate Blade Self-recovering impact-absorption system for ice skates where the blade folds laterally or medially under sufficient load to absorb impacts that could otherwise cause injury. Licensed to ice skate manufacturers.
• Nonlinear Spring Helmet Technology Nonlinear springs between outer shell and head to absorb impacts without relying on foam. The absorptive capacity can be twice that of conventional helmets for linear impacts and addresses rotational impact. Licensed to helmet manufacturers across baseball, softball, lacrosse, field hockey, ice hockey, cricket, biking, construction, and military applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• The absorptive capacity of nonlinear springs can be twice that of conventional helmets for linear impacts
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2021Strategic partnership with world-leading orthopedic hospital (ranked #1 in orthopedics globally by Newsweek) to develop technology for athletic footwear that seeks to reduce injury risk. HSS is providing clinical expertise, conducting research and product development, and using human subject testing combined with high-accuracy robotic simulation in their Motion Analysis Lab to validate SEI technology.
• BiomechanicasupportingTechnology or Integration · 13 January 2021Testing partner for SEI technology. Testing was completed at Biomechanica in Portland, Oregon using two popular performance shoe models to represent industry standards.
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 April 2020SEI is partnering with WPI for the NFL HeadHealthTECH Challenge to develop a helmet prototype for the NFL Helmet Challenge. Professor Christopher Brown and SEI Director of R&D Tristin Carlton are leading the WPI engineering student team.
• UMass DartmouthsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 April 2020Partner university in the NFL HeadHealthTECH Challenge for developing helmet prototype. SEI submitted a proposal for up to $2 million in funding grants.
• Perfect Storm Sports Technology, LLCsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 April 2020Partner in NFL HeadHealthTECH Challenge for developing helmet prototype for the NFL Helmet Challenge.
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017SEI has an exclusive license to sole technologies created by a development team led by Professor Christopher Brown at WPI. The company owns exclusive marketing and manufacturing rights to the SEI suite of technologies developed by WPI. SEI has sponsored approximately 50 mechanical and biomedical engineering students led by Professor Brown for ongoing development.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• W. L. Gore & Associates: Gore licenses Gore-Tex as an embedded technology to footwear and apparel brands under a royalty model that SEI explicitly benchmarks itself against ("positioned to be licensed...much like W.L. Gore"). Same B2B technology-licensing business model targeting footwear brands.
• Vibram: Vibram licenses its proprietary rubber sole technology to hundreds of footwear brands across athletic, outdoor, and safety categories. Directly comparable to SEI in providing sole-component IP for licensing to footwear OEMs.
• OrthoLite: OrthoLite licenses branded insole and component technology to footwear manufacturers globally. Same embedded-component licensing model targeting athletic and performance footwear OEMs.
• Boa Technology: Boa licenses its dial-based footwear closure system to athletic, snowsports, cycling, and medical footwear brands under a component-licensing model. Closely analogous to SEI in licensing a single embedded technology across multiple footwear categories.
• D3O: D3O licenses rate-sensitive impact-protection materials for sports equipment, footwear, and protective gear to brands. Highly comparable in licensing impact-absorbing technology into helmets, pads, and footwear—an adjacent but parallel licensing model.
• Salomon: Salomon develops proprietary footwear sole platforms (Contagrip, Energy Cell) and licenses/extends them across trail running, hiking, and court categories. Comparable in developing performance-sole IP that is core to its footwear differentiation.

Emerging players

• Bauerfeind: Bauerfeind manufactures sports medicine braces, compression, and orthopedic supports for injury prevention and rehabilitation. Comparable to SEI in clinical-grade injury-prevention positioning, though operating in the rehabilitation/medical category rather than embedded athletic licensing.

Broad incumbents

• Nike: Nike operates massive in-house footwear R&D (e.g., Air, Zoom, React) and is a potential SEI licensee/competitor. Represents the dominant incumbent that controls whether SEI's technology reaches scale through commercial partnership or is matched by in-house innovation.
• Adidas: Adidas invests heavily in proprietary footwear platforms (Boost, Lightstrike) and partners with material innovators. A likely SEI licensing target and a potential competitive incumbent if it chooses to develop in-house alternatives to load management.
• Under Armour: Under Armour has its own performance footwear R&D and proprietary cushioning platforms (HOVR, Flow). Comparable incumbent athletic footwear brand that could either license SEI's technology or compete with in-house load-management innovation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/28982990/admin
• Xx.com/sportsenginc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sports Engineering