Kerala sports-ech startup Dartle raises $100,000 to expand into US market

Founded by Nihal Pradeep, Swathi Krishnan and Nagaraj R. Potti, Dartle operates a business-to-business software-as-a-service (B2B SaaS) platform designed for youth sports and football academies. Its technology brings functions such as scheduling, player-performance analytics and parent engagement into a single digital platform.

The company plans to use the new funding to strengthen its go-to-market operations, accelerate its US expansion and introduce additional AI-driven features. Dartle is currently working with 14 sports academies across India, the Middle East, Nepal and the US, while running eight paid pilots in the American market.

The startup has also secured a $60,000 sponsorship deal with MLS NEXT, according to the company. It says its average contract value has increased from $15,000 to $33,000 as its product offering has expanded.

Dartle says its platform can reduce the administrative workload of sports academies by up to 75 per cent by replacing fragmented systems involving spreadsheets, messaging applications and manual processes. Its technology also provides data-based tools to monitor athlete development and engagement.

With the fresh capital, the company is targeting more than 100 sports academies globally over the next year and is aiming for annual recurring revenue of nearly $1 million.

The US is emerging as a key market for the Kerala startup, with Dartle seeking to convert its existing pilots into wider deployments while continuing to develop AI-enabled tools for youth sports organisations.