NewsOct 22, 2026, 07:28 UTC

Austrian AI startup Wictory.ai lands six-figure angel backing from Olympic champion

What's the deal? Vienna-based Wictory.ai has raised a six-figure angel round, with Olympic ski champion Michael Walchhofer leading as an investor. The startup builds an AI-powered coaching platform that bundles wearable, biometric, and nutrition data into what it calls a central "system of intelligence."

What's the endgame? Wictory uses that data to deliver personalised coaching protocols across training, recovery, and nutrition for athletes and their trainers. The company has been expanding beyond Austria, with co-founder Klaus Müller pointing to a US push.

Why now? Müller, a former Googler who previously founded JENTIS and 123sonography, frames the US move as central to the strategy. "I learned at Google to think big, and that applies to startups too," he said (translated from German). "That's why we took the leap into the US."

Who's backing it? Walchhofer brings more than capital, serving as an investor and a sought-after brand ambassador for the company. He likened startup investing to racing the Streif downhill: "You prepare for it, inspect the course or the startup, and try to find the ideal line," he said (translated from German), adding that in the race "you often have to leave the ideal line to win."

The signal: The round reflects growing investor appetite for sports-tech in Austria, where Red Bull's activity has fostered a dynamic ecosystem around the sector. Wictory's bet pairs athlete-grade data with elite sports dietetics — a combination now chasing scale in the US market.