MATCHI - Comprehensive Analysis Report

Summary

MATCHI, founded in January 2012 and headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, is a pioneering platform committed to making racket sports more enjoyable and accessible globally. Its mission is to empower players to spontaneously find courts, partners, or courses across various racket sports, including padel, tennis, badminton, table tennis, pickleball, and squash. Simultaneously, MATCHI provides venue owners and administrators with user-friendly technology to optimize operations, reduce administrative burden, and enhance profitability. The company has evolved from a startup into an international scale-up, accumulating millions of bookings since its inception and establishing itself as a significant player in the digital racket sports ecosystem.

1. Strategic Focus & Objectives

Core Objectives

MATCHI's core objectives are centered around empowering individuals in racket sports through intuitive technology. These include:

Simplifying Access: Making racket sports easier to discover, book, and participate in for players of all levels.

Enhancing Enjoyment: Fostering a more social and engaging environment for players, improving their overall experience.

Optimizing Operations for Venues: Providing comprehensive administration, automation, and accounting services to venue owners, enabling them to operate more effectively and focus on customer experience.

International Expansion: Solidifying its market leadership in the Nordics while strategically expanding its global footprint.

Specialization Areas

MATCHI specializes in providing a comprehensive online booking and administration platform that acts as a marketplace, connecting players with venues. Key areas of expertise include:

Online Booking and Payment Systems: Streamlining the court booking and payment process for various racket sports.

Activity and Course Management: Facilitating the offering and booking of lessons, clinics, and organized activities.

Player Partnering Solutions: Implementing features to help players find suitable partners for matches, enhancing social interaction and court utilization.

Automated Racket Rentals: Integrating systems for efficient management of racket equipment rentals.

Venue Administration and Automation: Offering tools for scheduling, financial management, and operational efficiency for sports facilities.

Target Markets

MATCHI primarily targets two key market segments:

Racket Sports Enthusiasts: Individual players across disciplines like padel, tennis, badminton, table tennis, pickleball, and squash who seek convenient ways to book courts, find partners, and participate in activities.

Racket Sports Venues: Operators and administrators of sports facilities (clubs, centers, etc.) looking for a robust, user-friendly platform to manage bookings, payments, membership, and staff, thereby optimizing their business operations.

Its market positioning strategy focuses on providing a scalable, adaptable solution that caters to local venue needs while supporting large, global racket sports organizations.

2. Financial Overview

Funding History

MATCHI has successfully raised $24 million to date through a Series B funding round.

June 14, 2021: Secured a Series B round totaling $24 million.

Key Investors: Verdane and Sprints Capital were the lead investors, making a significant minority joint investment.

Fund Utilization: The capital raised is specifically aimed at supporting MATCHI's ongoing international growth initiatives and strengthening its market leadership, particularly in the Nordics.

Impact on Company Growth: This significant investment has enabled MATCHI to accelerate its international expansion, form strategic alliances, and continue enhancing its platform.

November 2019: Secured an earlier financing round to foster further growth and was accepted into the Tenkan-Ten global growth accelerator program, sponsored by ASICS.

Additional Investors: AO Startups (Accelerator) and ASICS TenKan-Ten Growth Catalyst have also provided investments.

MATCHI has demonstrated strong financial performance, approximately doubling its revenues every year since its launch in 2012.

3. Product Pipeline

Key Products/Services

MATCHI's core offering is its global online booking and administration platform for racket sports, which continually undergoes development and enhancement.

MATCHI Platform:

Description: A comprehensive online booking and administration platform for various racket sports. It connects players with venues through a marketplace solution.

Development Stage: Fully operational and continuously updated with new features.

Target Market/Condition: Players seeking court bookings, activities, and player matching; venue owners requiring efficient administration, automation, and accounting services.

Key Features and Benefits: Simplified court booking and payment, management of activities and courses, player partnering functionality, automated racket rentals. For venues, it offers robust administrative tools to reduce manual workload and optimize operations.

Expected Timeline: Ongoing development with regular feature releases.

"Public Matches" Feature:

Description: A recently introduced feature designed to foster a more social environment, allowing players to easily find missing participants for their bookings.

Development Stage: Launched.

Target Market/Condition: Players who have booked a court but need additional participants, or players looking to join an existing match.

Key Features and Benefits: Bookers can control who joins, set a level range for fair play, and toggle matches between private and public, enhancing flexibility and social connectivity.

Expected Timeline: Already available.

Future Social Features (e.g., Sports Profiles with Levels):

Description: Planned enhancements aimed at further personalizing the player experience and facilitating better matching.

Development Stage: In planning/development.

Target Market/Condition: All players on the MATCHI platform.

Key Features and Benefits: Will allow players to create detailed sports profiles, potentially including skill levels, to find more compatible partners and activities.

Expected Timeline: Future releases, building on the success of "Public Matches."

Competition Tools (Padelboard by MATCHi, Backhandsmash):

Description: Tools and integrations developed to support competitive play and tournaments.

Development Stage: Operational and integrated.

Target Market/Condition: Competitive players and tournament organizers.

Key Features and Benefits: Facilitate organized competition within the racket sports community.

Expected Timeline: Currently available.

4. Technology & Innovation

Technology Stack

MATCHI provides a global online booking and administration platform for racket sports, built on robust and user-friendly technology.

Core Platforms and Technologies: The platform is designed to be scalable and adaptable, capable of serving local clubs as well as large international venues. While specific underlying technologies are not detailed, the focus is on a comprehensive digital solution that integrates various functionalities.

Proprietary Developments: MATCHI's platform itself is a proprietary development, combining in-depth market insights with technological expertise to simplify the entire customer journey for racket sports venues and players.

Technical Capabilities: The platform's capabilities include sophisticated court booking algorithms, secure payment gateway integrations, robust user authentication, real-time availability updates, and comprehensive back-end administrative tools for venues, including reporting and accounting functionalities. The system is designed to handle millions of bookings efficiently.

5. Leadership & Management

Executive Team

MATCHI's leadership team is instrumental in driving its strategic vision and growth.

Daniel Ekman

Position: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder

Professional Background: Co-founded MATCHI in 2012.

Key Contributions to the Company: Remains the largest shareholder and has guided the company from a startup to an international scale-up, defining its strategic direction and market expansion.

Mattias Lundström

Position: Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Co-Founder

Professional Background: Joined the company at its inception, brought onboard by Daniel Ekman.

Key Contributions to the Company: Responsible for the technological vision and development of the MATCHI platform, ensuring its robustness, scalability, and user-friendliness.

Solaleh Khorramshahi

Position: Chief People and Culture Officer

Key Contributions to the Company: Focuses on talent management, organizational culture, and ensuring a supportive work environment as the company scales internationally.

Johan Wingård

Position: Chief Product Officer (CPO)

Key Contributions to the Company: Oversees the product strategy, roadmap, and development, ensuring the platform continues to meet and anticipate user and venue needs.

Andreas Karlsson

Position: Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)
Key Contributions to the Company: Drives commercial strategies, sales, and revenue growth, essential for MATCHI's expansion and market penetration.

Tobias Hill

Position: Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
Key Contributions to the Company: Responsible for technological leadership, innovation, and the execution of the company's tech strategy.

Recent Leadership Changes

The provided information indicates Tobias Hill as a current Chief Technology Officer, alongside Mattias Lundström who is also listed as CTO and Co-Founder. This suggests a potential restructuring within the technology leadership to support the company's scale and ongoing development.

6. Talent and Growth Indicators

Hiring Trends and Workforce

MATCHI has demonstrated significant growth in its workforce, reflecting its transition from a startup to an international scale-up.

Employee Growth: In June 2021, the company reported having over 50 employees. By January 2022, this number had grown to close to 80 employees spread across the globe, indicating a rapid expansion of its team. The workforce nearly doubled in 2019 alone.

Company Size and Expansion Metrics: This growth in personnel directly supports the company's international expansion and platform development initiatives. Its global team structure caters to its presence in various markets.

Hiring Patterns: While specific current hiring patterns for January 2026 are not detailed, the historical growth indicates an ongoing need for talent to support its expanding operations and continuous platform enhancements. The general technology sector saw a 14% increase in job openings by July 2025, suggesting a demand, though the overall labor market was cautious.

7. Social Media Presence and Engagement

Digital Footprint

MATCHI maintains an active digital footprint to engage with its community and disseminate information.

Social Media Activity: MATCHI has a presence on platforms such as LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/matchi-ab), where it shares company news, updates, and product announcements.

Brand Messaging and Positioning: The company's communication frequently emphasizes user-friendly features, control, and flexibility, aligning with its core brand mission of making racket sports more accessible and enjoyable for both players and venues.

Notable Campaigns or Content: In November 2024, MATCHI announced its "Public Matches" feature through its social channels, highlighting its commitment to fostering a more social environment and enabling players to connect effortlessly. This campaign showcased new functionalities designed to enhance community engagement.

Community Engagement Strategies: By promoting features that connect players and simplify the sports experience, MATCHI encourages community participation and interaction on its platform.

8. Recognition and Awards

Industry Recognition

MATCHI has garnered significant recognition for its rapid growth and impact within the racket sports industry.

Growth and Leadership: Since its founding in 2012, MATCHI has established itself as one of the fastest-growing platforms globally for racket sports. It is recognized as one of the world's largest companies in this segment.

Market Dominance: The company holds a well-established leadership position in the Nordics.

Platform Quality: Its platform is acknowledged for being user-friendly, robust, and scalable, catering to the diverse needs of the racket sports community.

Milestones: Achieving millions of bookings since its inception and expanding to over 1,600 venues and one million users by June 2022 are significant milestones highlighting its success and market acceptance.

9. Competitive Analysis

Major Competitors

MATCHI operates in a competitive landscape with various digital platforms offering sports management systems for racket sports.

Other Digital Booking and Management Platforms: Competitors include regional and international companies that provide court booking, player matching, and venue administration services for sports like padel, tennis, and badminton.

TPC Matchpoint: While MATCHI allied with TPC Matchpoint in June 2022 to expand its presence, this company was previously a significant player in the Spanish and Latin American markets, indicating the type of entities MATCHI competes with or consolidates.

Focus Areas: Competitors typically offer similar core services such as online court reservations, payment processing, and administrative tools for clubs. The differentiation often lies in user interface, specific features (like advanced player matching or league management), regional focus, and integration capabilities.

Technological Capabilities: Competitive platforms strive for user-friendly interfaces, robust backend systems, and mobile accessibility, similar to MATCHI.

Competitive Positioning: MATCHI aims to differentiate itself through its comprehensive feature set, international scalability, focus on community-building features like "Public Matches," and strategic partnerships that expand its network and market reach.

10. Market Analysis

Market Overview

The racket sports market has experienced considerable growth, particularly in recent years, with MATCHI's trajectory aligning with this expansion.

Total Addressable Market Size: The global market for racket sports is substantial and diverse, encompassing numerous disciplines, millions of players, and tens of thousands of venues worldwide.

Growth Potential: The market exhibits strong growth potential, especially driven by the increasing popularity of certain sports, notably padel. Regions like Sweden have seen substantial growth in padel, leading to MATCHI's expansion.

Key Market Trends:

Digitalization: Increasing demand for online booking, payment, and club management solutions.

Community Engagement: A growing desire among players for features that facilitate finding partners, joining groups, and participating in organized activities.

Convenience and Spontaneity: Players seek user-friendly platforms that allow for spontaneous court bookings and flexible participation.

Internationalization: Racket sports, particularly padel, are expanding globally, creating opportunities for international platforms.

Market Challenges and Opportunities:

Challenges: Fragmented market with numerous regional players, differing local regulations, and the need to adapt to diverse venue operational models.

Opportunities: The rapidly growing popularity of racket sports presents significant opportunities for platforms that can offer scalable, user-friendly solutions globally. There is potential for consolidation through strategic alliances and acquisitions.

11. Strategic Partnerships

MATCHI has engaged in key strategic collaborations to bolster its market position, expand its geographic reach, and enhance its service offerings.

Verdane and Sprints Capital:

Partner Organization: European growth equity investment firms.

Nature of Partnership: Significant minority joint investment in June 2021, with additional financing in June 2022.

Strategic Benefits: Provides substantial capital and strategic support to fuel MATCHI's international growth ambitions and solidify its market leadership.