Software development firm Globant and Formula 1 have reached a multiyear partnership to elevate the digital experiences of F1 teams and fans at races around the globe.
“This puts us in a place where we want to be, which is connecting with the most technologically advanced sport on the planet and be able to cooperate and co-create technology together with them,” Martin Migoya, Globant CEO, said in a video interview.
The first project of the collaboration will focus on improving the current pit wall system, which delivers different camera angles and audio and is a key source of information for racing teams. F1 and Globant have already been working on these enhancements. A longer-term project is focused on the guest experience at the tracks, which had nearly 6 million fans visit last year. It will include an enriched mobile application used by fans at each race.
“We’re always striving as a brand to innovate with the fans at the center of that,” Pete Samara, Formula 1 director of strategic technical ventures, said in an interview. He added that technology can also serve as a great tool to drive business. F1 is very selective with its technical partners, according to Samara, and it wants ones that can “move the needle.”
“This is about a relationship where we’re going to build great things,” Samara said.
Migoya co-founded Globant in 2003 in a garage in Argentina, and the brand now has 29,000 employees in 33 countries. Revenue for the company hit $2.1 billion in 2023, up 300% in five years.
Globant works with global brands including Google, Electronic Arts and Santander, and it has also moved into sports via partnerships with FIFA, Major League Rugby and LaLiga to help those properties with their innovation, design and engineering needs.
In 2022, Globant reached a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers to design the “digital road map” for the team’s $2 billion state-of-the-art home, the Intuit Dome, set to open ahead of the 2024-25 season. The focus is to minimize friction and create seamless connections for the fan.
“Sports is where the passion of people is,” Migoya said. “We are trying to reinvent our industry, and we are willing to play with all these sports that are willing to reinvent themselves.”
