Biolyz and Borussia Dortmund Are Redefining Performance Tracking — One Drop of Saliva at a Time

The Breakdown

Biolyz, an Austrian deep-tech company specializing in high-resolution saliva analytics, has signed a multi-year partnership with Borussia Dortmund following a successful pilot during the 2024–25 Bundesliga season. The three-year agreement integrates Biolyz’s non-invasive biomarker testing across Dortmund’s performance, medical, and recovery operations starting this season.

Using just a single drop of saliva, Biolyz analyzes 100+ biomarkers tied to stress, recovery, inflammation, hydration, nutrition, and readiness — giving clubs real-time visibility into how players are responding internally, not just how much they’re running.

The pilot results were substantial:

• 12,000+ saliva samples collected
• 1M+ biomarker data points analyzed
• 2–5 tests per player per week, replacing infrequent blood draws
• Clear team-level trends in stress, hydration, and recovery for the first time

The data helped Dortmund fine-tune training loads, improve match-day preparation, and reduce injury risk across the squad.

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Why It’s a Game-Changer

For years, elite teams have relied on GPS, wearables, and video to measure external load. But those tools can’t tell you what’s actually happening inside the athlete.

Biolyz fills that gap by measuring internal physiological response — the missing layer in performance diagnostics.

What sets Biolyz apart:

• Non-invasive, high-frequency testing (no needles, no labs)
• 100+ biomarkers per sample covering stress, sleep, metabolic strain, and recovery
• AI-driven trend detection at both individual and squad levels
• Early warning signals for overload and injury risk
• Personalized baselines, not population averages

In short: the analytical depth of blood testing with the usability of a wearable — finally enabling continuous internal monitoring.

As Prof. Dr. Dr. Philipp Zimmer (TU Dortmund, Sports Medicine) put it:

“Deploying a high-resolution measurement method at high frequency is a true game-changer. It adds real value to systems like GPS tracking by quantifying internal load and recovery.”

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The Playbook Take

This kind of tech gets me excited on how we are moving way beyond wearables.

The next era of sports science isn’t about collecting more data — it’s about collecting the right data, at the right frequency, with minimal friction. Biolyz answers the question performance teams care about most: “How is the athlete — today?”

With additional Bundesliga clubs already onboard and a Premier League rollout underway, biomarker-driven performance management is quickly becoming the new standard. Expect this model to expand into basketball, American football, and eventually consumer and preventative health.

Wearables show what athletes do. Biolyz shows how athletes respond.

That difference changes everything.