NBA Launchpad Unveils Its 2026 Cohort, Betting on the Future of Basketball Tech

What's Happening?

The National Basketball Association is doubling down on innovation.

The league has officially announced the fifth cohort of NBA Launchpad, its internal program designed to source, pilot, and scale emerging technologies that can shape the future of basketball—from player performance to fan engagement and commercial growth.

After reviewing more than 200 companies worldwide, the NBA selected five startups to participate in a six-month pilot program that includes hands-on collaboration with NBA and WNBA teams, league executives, and partners. The cohort will culminate at Launchpad Demo Day during the 2026 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where companies will present to league decision-makers and investors.

“This platform has made meaningful progress toward shaping the future of the game,” said Tom Ryan, the NBA’s Senior Vice President and Head of Basketball R&D. “This cohort builds on that momentum.”

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The 2026 NBA Launchpad Cohort

Each company reflects a broader shift toward data, intelligence, and immersive experiences across sport.

• Atlas (San Francisco)
  A brain-sensing wearable platform focused on measuring cognitive clarity—how ready the mind is for high-focus, high-pressure performance. A signal that mental readiness is becoming as measurable as physical output.
• CRED (San Francisco)
  A predictive intelligence platform designed to help organizations identify and activate sponsorship opportunities using real-time market signals and internal data. Commercial performance, optimized.
• Diddo (Los Angeles)
  An API that enables shoppable moments to be embedded directly into media content—turning highlights, clips, and live moments into commerce without friction.
• Peripheral Labs (Toronto)
  A spatial intelligence company applying autonomous vehicle technology to reconstruct live sports into photorealistic 3D environments, enabling next-level tracking, visualization, and analytics.
• Swish Basket (Tel Aviv)
  An AI-powered basketball training and gaming platform that connects real-world courts to a digital ecosystem using cameras and sensors, delivering gamified skill development and performance feedback.
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Why This Matters

NBA Launchpad continues to act as a front door for founders building at the intersection of sport, technology, and culture. The program isn’t just about experimentation—it’s about real pilots, real data, and real pathways to scale inside one of the world’s most influential sports ecosystems.

Taken together, this cohort highlights where the league is placing its bets:

• Cognitive performance and mental readiness
• Intelligent commercialization and sponsorship tech
• Immersive media and spatial computing
• AI-driven skill development
• Seamless fan engagement

In short, the NBA isn’t just evolving how the game is played—it’s investing in how it’s experienced, monetized, and sustained for the next generation.