US sports technology firm Teamworks is expanding its Belfast engineering team with a three-year research and development programme, backed by £398,077 (approximately €467,000) in financial support from Invest NI, as the company advances its AI, data, and platform capabilities across its global sports management technology network.

The Irish News reported that Teamworks, headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, is the preferred technology partner for all Premier League, NFL, and NHL teams, and established its Belfast presence in 2023 following the acquisition of Kairos, a sports management platform co-founded by former Irish rugby international Andrew Trimble and Gareth Quinn at Ormeau Labs.

The R&D investment follows a $100 million (approximately €92 million) private equity funding round announced on 28 April 2026, led by Hg, which more than doubled its stake in the platform to $200 million (approximately €184 million), valuing Teamworks at $1.5 billion (approximately €1.38 billion).

Dr Vicky Kell, innovation director at Invest NI, said the organisation had supported Kairos Sports Tech before its acquisition to build innovation capability and export readiness, and that projects combining advanced software development, AI, and machine learning engineering to drive commercial and export ambition are exactly the type of activity it wants to support.

Gareth Quinn, now head of EMEA at Teamworks, said: "When Teamworks acquired Kairos, a real strength of the acquisition was the calibre of the engineering team in Belfast and its ability to deliver at pace. This programme, which will continue our advancement of AI and data capabilities, reflects the confidence we placed in that team from day one and our long-term commitment to building something significant in Northern Ireland."

Get the full story on Teamworks' Belfast R&D expansion and Invest NI backing here.