DLD (Digital, Life, Design), the international conference and innovation platform of Hubert Burda Media, will hold the first edition of DLD Sports in Valencia on Saturday 5 September, a new international event dedicated to exploring the convergence between sport, technology, investment, science and culture.
The event will take place at Base 2, in La Marina de Valencia, and will bring together athletes, entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, experts and international executives to analyse how artificial intelligence, data analytics, robotics, wearables, biomechanics, new entertainment formats and science applied to performance are transforming the way athletes train, teams operate, fans engage and sport-related businesses grow.
Burda Principal Investments, Schwarz, GSIC Testing Lab Valencia, Startup Valencia, Base 2 and Innsomnia Group are among the DLD Sports Valencia partners, which also counts on the collaboration of Valencia Innovation Capital, of the Ayuntamiento de Valencia.
Startup Valencia‘s participation as a partner is part of its objective of connecting the Valencian technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem with organisations, talent, capital and international trends, in this case around a sports industry in which areas such as artificial intelligence, data, health, investment and entertainment are increasingly converging.
From artificial intelligence to sport as an investment asset
DLD Sports is born at a moment when sport is becoming a field of experimentation and application for some of the most transformative technologies.
Among the confirmed participants are Christian Volk (FIFA), Juan Fuentes Fernández (GSIC Powered by Microsoft), Lea-Sophie Cramer (Epix Sports), former Dutch international footballer Merel van Dongen, Austrian sailor Lara Vadlau, Olympic champion in the mixed 470 class at the Paris 2024 Games, Thomas Ehemann (FC Bayern München), Alexander R. Thiel (Altor Equity Partners), Christian Teichmann (Burda Principal Investments), Anahita Thoms (Baker McKenzie), Paulius Motiejunas (BC Zalgiris Kaunas), Roald van Buuren (ELO) and Dominik Schreyer (WHU), among other international profiles from sport, technology, investment and the business world.
The programme will analyse the impact of artificial intelligence and data on training, scouting, injury prevention and decision-making, as well as the role of wearables, sensors, robotics, prosthetics and biomechanics in the evolution of performance and accessibility.
The growing economic dimension of the sector will be another major axis of the event. DLD Sports will address why sport is gaining attractiveness as an asset class for investors, media companies and global brands, and how technology is giving rise to new business models around clubs, competitions, athletes and communities.
The transformation of the fan experience will also occupy a central part of the debate. In a context of growing abundance of digital content, participants will analyse what can make the live sport experience even more valuable and how distribution formats, digital communities and ways of engaging with new generations of fans are evolving.
The programme will also focus on the growth of women’s sport as a cultural, commercial and technological force and on the role that sport can play in the identity, innovation ecosystem and international projection of cities.
Valencia connects sport, technology and innovation
The choice of Valencia to launch DLD Sports comes at a moment of growth and greater international projection of its technology ecosystem.
The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2026, produced by Startup Genome, places Valencia in the 61–70 range among the world’s emerging ecosystems, twenty positions above the previous edition. The city currently has around 1,700 active startups and more than 20,000 qualified jobs linked to the innovative economy.
Added to this is a record of 229 million euros of investment raised by Valencian startups in 2025, which placed Valencia as the third Spanish city by investment volume, behind Madrid and Barcelona.
“Sport is becoming one of the spaces where the convergence between artificial intelligence, data, health, entertainment and investment is best observed. The fact that DLD has chosen Valencia to launch DLD Sports reinforces the city’s capacity to attract international conversations in high added-value sectors. From Startup Valencia we want to contribute to connecting that global debate with an ecosystem that already competes internationally and in which technology applied to sport has enormous potential”, states Nacho Mas, CEO of Startup Valencia and VDS.
For Steffi Czerny and Alessia Sinzger, Co-CEOs of DLD, this convergence makes sport one of the next great areas of transformation. “This World Cup summer has shown what sport is capable of: uniting nations without the need for translation. That is DLD’s territory: unexpected connections and conversations between people who would otherwise never meet. For more than twenty years we have had the instinct to identify topics before they become mainstream. Sport is this new chapter: for professionals and for all those who consider their body an investment. Valencia is the right place to debate this future”.
Programme and access
DLD Sports Valencia is conceived as an international event concentrated in an afternoon session that will combine keynotes, conversations, panels and networking.
Doors will open at 1:00 PM and the main programme will run from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM, followed by a cocktail and networking session on the Base 2 terrace overlooking the Mediterranean.
Capacity is limited. Those interested can request an invitation and their participation through the official DLD Sports Valencia website.
