Reading FC will use Stelia’s AI platform and NVIDIA- and Lenovo-powered infrastructure to develop AI applications for performance, operations and fan engagement.
Reading Football Club today announced a major strategic AI initiative with Stelia AI, powered by NVIDIA and Lenovo, bringing together professional sport and advanced computing to accelerate the practical application of artificial intelligence.
The initiative will focus on the co-development of a Reading Football Club AI Centre of Excellence, designed to identify, develop and share best practice in applying AI and accelerating computing across football operations, performance analysis, fan engagement and commercial innovation.
The initiative aims to ensure that advances in AI deliver tangible benefits for sport, the regional economy and the future workforce.
The Centre will also support skills development, education and innovation across the wider Thames Valley, working with local schools, colleges, universities and technology organisations.
Embedded in high-trust environments, Stelia’s full-stack operating system serves as the operational backbone for production-grade AI, making deployment trusted, governed and accountable at scale. It replaces fragmented tooling with a unified platform that enables teams to build workflows and agents quickly and cost-effectively without having to construct, integrate, or maintain the complex infrastructure underneath.
As part of the initiative, Reading Football Club will use Stelia’s full-stack platform to support the development, testing and deployment of AI applications – leveraging accelerated compute infrastructure from NVIDIA and Lenovo.
This will enable organisations to prototype real-world use cases and explore emerging approaches such as generative AI and agent-based systems within a practical, applied, and secure environment.
Together, the organisations aim to establish a scalable model for deploying AI responsibly across both sport and enterprise.
“This initiative brings together the best of sport, technology and community,” said Tim Kilpatrick, Chief Revenue Officer at Reading Football Club.
“By working with Stelia, NVIDIA and Lenovo, we’re creating a platform that not only enhances how we operate as a football club, but also delivers real value to the Thames Valley business and education ecosystem.
The AI Centre of Excellence will help translate innovation into practical outcomes, locally and beyond.”
“Football is an ideal environment for applied AI – data-rich, fast-moving and outcomes-driven,” said Stuart Fenton, Head of AI at Reading Football Club.
“We’re building an AI Centre of Excellence to focus on real-world use cases, from performance and analysis to operations and fan engagement, while also sharing insight and opportunity with educators and technology partners across the Thames Valley.”