PodPlay Technologies, a vertical SaaS platform transforming operations for participatory sports venues, announced it has raised $8 million in Series A funding led by Frontier Growth, marking its formal spin-out from PingPod. As part of the investment, Frontier partner Dave Pandullo will join PodPlay’s board of directors.
PodPlay’s integrated platform combines software, hardware, and automation to help sports clubs operate more efficiently while enhancing the player experience. The system unifies reservations, memberships, events, coaching, and payments within a single operating stack. Its proprietary technologies — including digital scoreboards, autonomous access, and instant video replays — enable sports venues to cut labor costs by as much as 66%, while introducing new digital revenue channels and deeper community engagement.
Developed initially to run PingPod’s network of autonomous table tennis clubs, PodPlay has since expanded to meet surging demand in pickleball, the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. The company’s platform now powers many of the most innovative pickleball venues nationwide, such as Pickleball Kingdom, CityPickle, Performance Pickleball, SPF, and St. Pete Athletic.
Operating as an independent company, PodPlay will leverage its new capital to accelerate product innovation, expand its team, and scale to thousands of venues globally. The investment also reflects Frontier Growth’s broader thesis in vertical SaaS — backing founders who combine domain expertise with modern, scalable technology that reshapes entire industries.
PodPlay’s growth mirrors a broader trend toward tech-enabled recreation. The company has tripled year-over-year revenue, reached nearly 1 million users, and established strategic partnerships across multiple high-growth sports categories. With Frontier’s backing, PodPlay plans to expand engineering, sales, and customer success operations to meet rising demand.
KEY QUOTES
“PodPlay was built to make sports venues both more human and more autonomous. Our platform lets owners focus on community and experience while technology handles the rest. Operating independently and partnering with Frontier gives us the runway to accelerate product innovation and bring PodPlay to thousands of venues worldwide.”
Max Kogler, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PodPlay Technologies
“We partner with domain experts who are transforming their industries with modern vertical SaaS solutions that customers love. Our diligence revealed an exceptional level of customer passion for PodPlay—operators who describe it as transformative for their venues and communities. That customer love underscores a significant opportunity to replace the dated, fragmented tools that exist in the market today with a modern, integrated platform purpose-built for participatory sports. We’re thrilled to partner with a team whose deep domain expertise and technology leadership are redefining the category.”
Dave Pandullo, Partner, Frontier Growth
“The future of sports venues is connected, digital, and frictionless. Frontier’s track record with vertical SaaS leaders will help us scale faster without losing what makes these communities special.”
Ben Borton, Co-Founder, PodPlay Technologies
