AN EXCITING UPDATE FROM OUR CEO - JUNE 29, 2026

Hi everyone,

This is one of those updates I've been looking forward to writing, because it's not just about what we're doing, but where we're going.

NHRL started in 2018, when our founder Austin went to his first robot fighting event and came away certain that this sport deserved more fans. So he invested in the broadcast and the content to bring this sport to as many people as possible. As it grew, he wanted to find out whether robot fighting could become a real, viable business, and that's where I came in.

I started as CEO almost five years ago, and I've shared that dream from day one: that robot fighting should matter, everywhere.

I've seen the difference it makes first-hand. A parent tells me their kid never quite fit in at school, and since joining NHRL they've "found their people" - more confident, more outgoing, happier. I've heard that story many times. And the bond lasts: as kids head off to college, into first jobs, or get deployed around the world, NHRL is the place they call home. We've celebrated marriages, births, tattoos, and rookies becoming World Champions.

NHRL is a special place, and as CEO I see myself as its custodian. My team and I spend every waking moment thinking about this community, our fans, and how we keep growing the sport and sharing that joy with the world.

Our goal has always been the same: establish robot fighting as a sport, make it accessible to everyone, and make NHRL the premier place to compete at the top of it.

Let me reflect on how far we've come, because it shapes where we go next.

From a few dedicated builders huddled around a single cage in Norwalk, we're now a global force. When I started, we had 4,000 YouTube subscribers and 400,000 views a year. This year we have 3 million subscribers and are on course for 5 billion views.

Along the way we've:

  1. Run nearly 70 events across rookie, amateur and pro tournaments
  2. Crowned 13 World Champions
  3. Launched our Academy, with our first summer camps and school programs this year
  4. Struck deals with DAZN, ESPN, Cheddar (with more to announce soon)
  5. Been backed by our partner ASML for four years
  6. Launched two new tiers, XP and Pro, in our sporting pyramid
  7. Donated $4 million to local events, teams and STEM organizations around the world
  8. Partnered with four leagues, offering XP points and Pro Tour wildcard slots

We're now one of the fastest-growing and most-watched sports in the world, and we make that happen together: the team, the competitors, and our wonderful fans.

To reach our goals, we need to keep growing: faster, bigger, better. In DAZN, we've found a partner as dedicated to the sport and the community as we are.

This shapes where we focus next. We're expecting to invest significantly in the Pro level - we want professional robot fighting to be a real career choice, and we're putting more time, resources and energy into making that happen. At the same time, Open remains the heartbeat of the sport. Our plan is to help it grow through stronger partnerships and more touchpoints at the regional and local levels, so more people can find their way into this sport. Pro and Open grow together; one feeds the other.

GROWING THE GRASSROOTS: OPEN, ACADEMY, AND LOCAL LEAGUES

The entry point into this sport matters enormously, and we're putting serious energy into making it better, wider, and more accessible than ever.

  1. Local leagues: We're formalizing our relationships with leagues around the world. Events run by GrowingSTEMS and Texas Robot Combat will now allow competitors to earn NHRL XP points, connecting regional hubs to the broader NHRL ecosystem. For the Pro Tour, we're offering wildcard slots to the top finishers of certain international events, including RCX and RSM in Brazil, Robot Rampage in New Zealand, and more planned domestically and internationally for 2027. This is just the start - we're actively looking to bring more leagues into this network.
  2. Academy: We're launching summer camps and a school curriculum this year in collaboration with GrowingSTEMS, an organization that has brought a remarkable number of new builders into the sport through its programming in Maryland. We're also planning an affiliate program that would allow community members to earn money by selling kits and bundles into their own hometown programs - putting the tools to grow the sport directly in your hands.
  3. Content and infrastructure: We're planning to open source our content systems, including BrettZone, so that other leagues can create great content and build their own audiences. We're also building a league finder on our website, so anyone, anywhere can find their local community and get started.
  4. Open events: We'll continue to host our own Open events in Norwalk, while also exploring ways to empower others to run NHRL Open events in their own communities.

INVESTING IN PRO

At the Pro level, we're going all in - because we believe professional robot fighting can be a real career, and we want to build the infrastructure that makes that possible.

To that end, I'm beyond thrilled to announce our second Pro Tour event: September 12th, in the greatest city on earth (I'm biased) - New York City, at Terminal 5 on West 56th Street. This iconic Manhattan venue puts robot fighting in one of the world's biggest media markets, and it's easy to reach for competitors and fans alike - three major airports, transit everywhere, hotels at every price point.

Expect fans, press, sponsors, investors, athletes and creators, all there to be part of our sport. Coming from a family of New York Knicks fans, I want to bring that "Knicks in 5" energy into NHRL. We're also designing a brand-new dedicated 12/30lb cage from the ground up.

But the event is only part of it. Our content is already driving huge viewership, and that makes sponsor placements genuinely valuable - something we're actively building on with DAZN. We're also going to be investing in our builders directly: media training, social media support, and helping the people who compete at the top of this sport build the kind of profile that attracts fans and sponsors of their own. The athletes are the story, and we want to tell it properly.

And this is just the start. We're building on this year's Pro Tour to launch the NHRL Pro League in 2027: a full season structure, formalized teams, a clear pathway for elite builders, and a property that sponsors and broadcasters can build around. The Pro League will take NHRL on the road - to major cities, new markets, and crowds who've never seen a robot fight in person but are about to become completely obsessed. We will have more information on this in the latter part of the year. We'll also be joining activations and events with DAZN, the first likely in the UK this August (more on this soon).

We're outgrowing our roots in Norwalk. The House of Havoc isn't going anywhere - it's home, and will be for the foreseeable future - but our future is also out in the wider world, showing everyone that this sport is exciting, welcoming, and that it matters. Robot fighting is for everyone, and NHRL is your home, wherever we are.

With change this big comes some tough calls. Listening to competitor feedback about the lead times between qualifying for and competing at Pro Tour events, we're revising the remainder of the 2026 calendar:

  1. September 12 - Pro Tour 2, Terminal 5, NYC
  2. October 3 - Open qualifying event, Norwalk (as before)
  3. November 7 - Pro Tour 3, Norwalk
  4. December 5 - Pro World Champs, Norwalk (date subject to change pending feedback and review)

This means the planned September Open event in Norwalk will no longer go ahead. We will be reaching out to affected competitors shortly. We will also be reaching out to competitors who are eligible for the September and November Pro Tour events to confirm your participation, and later in July to extend wildcard invitations.

I'm confident this strategy secures the long-term future of NHRL and the sport we all love.

Thank you, as always, for your time and your support.

Kelly