SharpSports and Pine Sports merge to accelerate consumer AI app, B2B product development

The news: SharpSports and Pine Sports have merged, forming a combined business that pairs Sharps’ B2B betting infrastructure (which serves partners like OddsJam and RotoWire) with Pine Sports consumer LLM jaXon. The companies announced the deal exclusively on The BettingStartups Podcast on Tuesday.

Zoom in: The deal will help accelerate SharpSports’ product cycles through direct consumer testing and feedback. “It would take a sales cycle to get a new customer to use it, implement it, and then get feedback from their customers before we could iterate,” SharpSports Founder Ryan Murphy said. “We wanted to have that B2C exposure for quicker iteration.” As for Pine Sports, the merger provides access to clean, reliable data to support and enhance jaXon’s capabilities as it looks to become “one-stop shop sports companion.”

Why it matters: Betting tools are evolving fast with AI overlays, subscription revenue, and casual-friendly interfaces. The merger is a bid to own that convergence: infrastructure plus distribution, with professional-grade analytics delivered through a familiar chat interface. Pine Sports Vijay Dewan hopes the merged product strategy will help them break through the category, adding that the opportunity amongst casual bettors is “enormous.”

AIstats raises $1.1M for advanced soccer analytics

The news: Polish startup AIstats has raised $1.1m to build AI-powered soccer analytics tailored for fans, bettors, oddsmakers, and clubs. Co-founded by Alexey Vorobey and Eugene Sertukov, the company is developing advanced performance metrics that draw on multiple data sources for deeper insight into players and teams. Backers include Acquinox Capital and a roster of angel investors, with the funding set to support growth of its consumer app and the launch of a B2B platform for soccer clubs by Q4 2025.

Zoom in: AIstats is growing at a reported 50% month-over-month clip over the past four months, and will use the new funding to fuel both product lines. On the consumer side, the upstart is developing a mobile app to deliver advanced team and player metrics to fans and bettors. At the professional level, the startup is working on a beta platform for clubs that evaluates player performance based on 3D skeletal data. Longer term, Vorobey says the vision is to become a “universal cross-sectoral platform” that can serve a wide-range of stakeholders and needs. AIstats is also one of five finalists pitching at First Pitch during SBC Lisbon later this month.

Why it matters: Soccer is the world’s largest betting market, yet most analysis still relies on traditional data providers and conventional statistics—leaving room for newcomers to reimagine how insights are created and delivered. AIstats believes an “AI-native” approach can unlock new layers of performance insight and make them accessible to a broader audience. If it delivers, the startup could carve out a unique position bridging the consumer and professional sides of the game—while also tapping into the fast-growing market for sports analytics.

Verse Gaming pivots from DFS, launches first parlay prediction platform in the U.S.

The news: Verse Gaming has sunset its DFS product Verse Fantasy and relaunched with what it calls the first U.S. parlay prediction platform, Verse Picks. The new app allows users to bundle predictions across sports, politics, entertainment, breaking news, and more. CEO Daniel Zimmermann says its “a platform so compelling we’re confident enough to close down our DFS operation on the eve of the NFL season.”

Zoom in: Launched in 2023, Verse Fantasy was the first product to let fans stake real money behind their season-long fantasy teams’ moneylines and spreads. The product was live in 25+ states before shutting down this week. While Zimmermann said Verse was proud to have delivered that product, he added that “the industry is shifting, new styles of play are emerging, and Verse is stepping forward with something entirely our own.”

Why it matters: The prediction arms race is accelerating, and Verse is staking its ground firmly around parlays—the single most profitable and sticky feature in traditional sportsbooks. “Parlays are the path to a risk-a-little, win-a-lot experience most gamblers chase,” Zimmermann wrote in an August blog post. He added that “prediction wars” won’t be won on single-game contracts or political markets alone. Parlays remain the crown jewel of betting economics, and Verse is betting that a social, sweepstakes-style product is the wedge to mainstream adoption.

News, money, and alpha

• SoBet launched a subscription-based sports betting product where users manage wager from a bankroll and compete against other players for cash prizes—its NFL Week 1 prize is $7.5K. 

• Waterhouse VC’s Tom Waterhouse walked through the next era of prediction markets and what’s ahead.

• FTN Network Founder Kevin Adams has launched StatRankings to provide a “cleaner and smarter” data experience for sports fans and bettors.

From the studio

Catch up on the latest episodes of The BettingStartups Podcast.

• Just merged: Pine Sports and SharpSports join forces w/ Vijay Dewan & Ryan Murphy

• The convergence of financial trading and sports betting w/ Trent Hoerr from BullRush

• SBC Summit First Pitch Preview 

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