SpeedLabs raises $6.5 million seed round to build AI-powered live sports markets

SpeedLabs has raised $6.5 million in a seed funding round led by Parlay Capital Holdings, as the sports technology startup seeks to expand its team and launch an artificial intelligence-powered market platform for live sporting events in summer 2026.

The round included participation from Bullpen Capital, TA Ventures and EdgeEquity.

SpeedLabs is developing Momentum Markets, a system designed to create and price new betting or prediction markets in real time based on events unfolding during a game. Unlike traditional sportsbooks, which typically adjust odds on existing wagers, the platform generates entirely new markets in response to shifts in game momentum.

The company's technology uses AI foundation models built specifically for sports to analyze live game action and instantly create markets that allow users to trade on whether momentum in a game will continue or reverse.

SpeedLabs is positioning the product as infrastructure for sportsbooks and prediction market operators rather than solely as a consumer-facing platform.

"Sports betting is getting lapped. Prediction markets are minting new categories every week. Meanwhile, sportsbooks are stuck on the same pre-set markets and bet types," SpeedLabs Chief Executive Officer Nick Meader said.

"The market for trading on what is happening right now is enormous, and sports - the most-watched, most-discussed, most-emotional category on the planet - is the one place where you still can't really do it. SpeedLabs is building the engine that fixes that," he added.

SpeedLabs cited the growth of short-duration prediction markets as evidence of demand for real-time trading opportunities, noting that five-minute Bitcoin price markets on Polymarket have generated more than $4 billion in cumulative trading volume, including $153 million in a single day.

SpeedLabs also cited data showing sports account for roughly 90% of activity on Kalshi, underscoring the sector's importance within the broader prediction markets industry.

Parlay Capital Holdings CEO and Managing Partner Greg Buonocore said the company's approach differs from existing offerings in the sector.

"SpeedLabs is doing something we have not seen before: using AI to create the market itself, not just price markets that already exist," Buonocore said.

"Every other company in this space is building incremental improvements to a category that has been structurally unchanged for decades. Nick and the SpeedLabs team are building the layer that the next generation of sportsbooks and prediction markets will run on. We are thrilled to lead this round," he added.

The funding will be used to hire across leadership, engineering, machine learning, trading, sports betting and growth roles ahead of the planned summer 2026 launch.

SpeedLabs plans to introduce a live, skill-based game built on the same momentum-market concept.