Collaboration will connect companies, technologies and expertise across two of Indiana’s growing innovation sectors
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. September 23, 2026 – The Indiana Life Sciences Association and Sports Tech HQ today announced a strategic partnership designed to strengthen connections between Indiana’s life sciences and sports technology communities and accelerate opportunities for collaboration, commercialization and business growth.
The partnership recognizes the increasing convergence between technologies being developed for sports and those advancing human health. From wearables, sensors and biometrics to artificial intelligence, data analytics, rehabilitation, human performance and digital health, companies in both sectors are developing technologies that can have applications well beyond their original markets.
Through the partnership, the Indiana Life Sciences Association and Sports Tech HQ will create opportunities for companies and entrepreneurs from both communities to exchange ideas, identify shared challenges and explore new applications for their technologies. Importantly, the organizations will work together to facilitate meaningful connections among companies, potential partners, customers, investors and other organizations that can help move innovations from ideas to market.
“Some of the most exciting innovation happens when we bring together people who approach similar challenges from different perspectives,” said Kristin Jones, President and CEO of the Indiana Life Sciences Association. “There is significant overlap between the technologies transforming human health and those changing how we understand athletic performance, recovery and wellness. This partnership gives us an opportunity to connect those communities intentionally, helping companies find new partners, new customers and potentially entirely new markets for their technologies.”
Indiana is home to a substantial life sciences sector spanning medical technology, biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, digital health, research institutions and other organizations. The Indiana Life Sciences Association has served the sector since 1994, connecting companies with potential partners, advocating for the industry and providing programs that help member organizations grow.
Indiana carries a similar density on the sports side. The state is home to professional franchises, national governing bodies, sports equipment and apparel manufacturers, and a full calendar of marquee events and championships. That concentration gives Indiana a natural foundation for a sports technology ecosystem, one Sports Tech HQ works to grow by connecting entrepreneurs and innovators here while attracting new companies to the state.
“The line between sports technology and health technology continues to become less distinct, and that creates tremendous opportunity,” said Jeffrey Hintz, Executive Director of Sports Tech HQ. “A technology designed to measure an athlete’s performance may have applications in patient monitoring, rehabilitation or preventative health. Likewise, innovations originating in life sciences can change the way athletes train, recover and perform. Working with the Indiana Life Sciences Association will help us connect innovators on both sides of that equation with the people and organizations that can help them take the next step.”
The collaboration will focus on creating connections between the organizations’ respective networks, identifying technologies with potential cross-sector applications and developing opportunities for companies and innovators to engage with one another.
###