Partnership to Showcase Doppel to Knicks Widespread Audience Through In-Arena, Digital and Out-Of-Home Assets
NEW YORK, May 6, 2026 – Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (NYSE: MSGS) announced today a new partnership with Doppel, naming the AI-native Social Engineering Defense (SED) platform an Official Partner of the New York Knicks. The initiative marks Doppel’s first collaboration with a global sports franchise.
Doppel’s brand will be showcased at Knicks home games at Madison Square Garden (MSG), including through in-arena contests and Gardenvision features during Knicks regular season games. Additionally, the Knicks digital channels will feature Doppel in a variety of ways, including a content series on Knicks socials.
“My co-founder Rahul and I came up with the concept of Doppel on a basketball court, so partnering with the New York Knicks feels like a full-circle moment,” said Kevin Tian, CEO and Co-Founder of Doppel. “In basketball, defense determines outcomes in the highest-pressure moments, and in social engineering defense, the same is true. For impersonation and phishing attacks that target high-profile organizations and their executives daily, the best offense is a good social engineering defense. The Knicks operate in one of the most visible, high-stakes environments in sports, and that is exactly where our technology is built to perform. This partnership puts our mission to protect the world from social engineering attacks on one of the biggest stages in the world.”
Bringing the partnership outdoors, Doppel will be included across MSG’s digital signage boards, providing brand visibility to those who walk by the arena every day.
“We welcome Doppel to the Knicks family,” said Doug Jossem, Executive Vice President Global Sports and Entertainment Partnerships, MSG Entertainment. “Bringing them on board as a valued partner unlocks new ways to connect and engage with fans, and deliver value across our platforms, both inside and outside of the Arena.”
“We built Doppel to be an AI-native platform that could identify and disrupt social engineering attacks, like deepfakes or phishing, before they ever reach their target,” said Rahul Madduluri, CTO and Co-Founder of Doppel.
“That requires operating in real time with a high degree of precision and resilience. Those are the same standards that define elite organizations like the New York Knicks, where performance and discipline are non-negotiable. That shared mindset is what makes this partnership so natural.”
About Madison Square Garden Sports Corp.
Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (MSG Sports) is a leading professional sports company, with a collection of assets that includes the New York Knicks (NBA) and the New York Rangers (NHL), as well as two development league teams – the Westchester Knicks (NBAGL) and the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL). MSG Sports also operates a professional sports team performance center – the MSG Training Center in Greenburgh, NY. More information is available at msgsports.com.
Doppel is the Frontier AI Social Engineering Defense (SED) platform, protecting individuals and brands from AI-powered impersonation, phishing, fraud, and social engineering through three solutions unified on a shared intelligence layer. Digital Risk Protection (DRP) detects threats across multiple channels, links alerts into a real-time threat graph, and delivers AI-driven infrastructure disruption. Human Risk Management (HRM) turns those live threats into phishing simulation campaigns and next-generation security awareness training, measuring and reducing employee risk by user and team. Email Security adds inline protection, using a self-healing, agentic architecture that tunes detection policies, investigates threats, closes detection gaps, and uses the Doppel Threat Graph to stop inbox attacks and disrupt the infrastructure behind them. Together, they defend the entire social engineering attack chain, from infrastructure built before a target is acquired to the moment of compromise, advancing Doppel's mission to protect the world from social engineering, every day.
For media requests, please contact [email protected]
Homegrown deal between the two Bay Area-based brands names Doppel the 49ers Official Social Engineering Defense Partner and brings AI-native defense to the franchise
Investment will support Doppel’s continued product innovation, team growth, and global expansion
Rachid joins amid broader leadership expansion and industry recognition
