PLAYBACK is one of five finalists in the 2026 Olympic Capital Sport Innovation Challenge - selected from a global field for an immersion in Lausanne's sport-tech ecosystem.

Activated by ThinkSport - the sport-innovation organisation founded in 2015 by the International Olympic Committee and the Canton of Vaud - the challenge accelerates innovative sport-tech projects within the Canton of Vaud, home to Lausanne, the Olympic Capital, and to the headquarters of the IOC and numerous international sports federations.

Over the coming months, the five selected projects - PLAYBACK, GINGA, Gritmaps, SKINETIX and VitalizeDx - will take part in a mentored immersion at the heart of the Vaud "Sport Valley", validating, collaborating on and testing their products with the region's leading research institutions, sports organisations and federations. The programme culminates in an immersion week at the UNIL-EPFL campus in Lausanne in September 2026, with implementation and real-world testing continuing into 2027.

"Lausanne is the home of world sport, so to be chosen here — by the people who help shape it — means everything to us," said Karim Fawaz, Founder and CEO of PLAYBACK. "Our mission is to take the tools only the top 1% of sport could ever afford and put them in the hands of the 99% who play. To have the Olympic Capital back that mission tells us we're building the right thing."