Borussia Dortmund has tapped Biolyz to provide real-time insights on player performance and injury prevention. The Austrian health tech company plans to collaborate with teams across different sports
Biomarker testing is finding its way into the world of professional soccer as Austrian-based health tech company Biolyz enters a multiyear partnership with German team Borussia Dortmund.
The two are embarking on a three-year deal, in which Biolyz will integrate its non-invasive saliva testing to track over 100 biomarkers, providing the team with real-time insights into physiological stress, recovery, inflammation, nutritional status and overall readiness.
Dortmund already piloted the partnership in its 2024 to 2025 Bundesliga (the top German soccer league) season, during which over 12,000 samples were collected as players were tested two to five times per week and team-level trends in hydration, stress and recovery were analyzed.
“The testing helped us, especially during the intense second half of the season, to better understand players’ physiological responses to strain,” said the team’s doctor, Dr. Markus Braun. “We now gain far clearer insights into what is happening inside an athlete’s body.”
Each sample only requires a single drop of saliva, but has the potential to help optimize game-day preparation, improve performance, manage individual workloads, proactively identify risk factors and inform injury prevention.
“Biolyz has contributed significantly to improving player management,” said Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl. “Today, we are facing far fewer injuries thanks to more precise control over workload and recovery.”
Biolyz’s testing also incorporates AI-powered pattern detection, which identifies biomarker trends at individual and team levels, in addition to insights from athlete-specific baselines instead of population averages.
Other teams in the same league as Dortmund have already begun adopting the tech, as more clubs enter negotiations with the company, with plans to roll out its testing to the Premier League in England as well.
Biolyz is also looking to extend its testing to other professional sports, including basketball and football in the U.S., as well as to amateur athletes and preventive health platforms, signifying a trend toward biomarker-driven performance in elite and recreational sports.
“Blood tests and wearables alone cannot capture the internal chemistry of an athlete with the precision and frequency required,” said Biolyz founder and CEO Marlon Millard. “Our method finally answers the question: How is the player today? This technology has the potential to redefine the limits of human performance.”
The biomarker testing market is seeing explosive growth, as people become increasingly interested in optimizing all aspects of their health. Companies are also looking to make the testing more accessible, without the need for bloodwork — as Biolyz is doing — with Eli Health announcing the launch of its own saliva-based hormone testing earlier this year.
Function Health, a fast-growing startup that offers access to blood biomarker tests and personalized health protocols, raised $298 million at a $2.5 billion valuation in November.
