Norwegian chess player Magnus Carlsen, the world number 1, was the second youngest chess grandmaster in history in 2004 at the age of 13.
At 33, he is backing Oslo-based SportAI, which aims to provide commentary and analysis for other sports, most notably tennis. (Although there are no chess competitions at the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee recognizes chess as a sport.)
The AI sports tech company hopes to democratize access to tech analytics in an AI-influenced sports market that’s expected to reach $30 billion by 2032. Add to that the way artificial intelligence—not just chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, but things like computer vision—is influencing sports, art, gardening, and other hobbies and activities by generating new content for us and suggesting ideas we haven’t tried before.
AI-powered swing tips
If you take a tennis lesson with a human coach and ask for advice on your swing, the help you receive will likely vary depending on the coach and their background and training.
“Today, technology analysis in sports is very subjective, expensive and not scalable,” said CEO Lauren Pedersen.
SportAI’s founders, including former NCAA tennis player Pedersen, saw an opportunity to analyze and track players’ technique on a more personal level. They did this by using computer vision, an area of artificial intelligence that allows computers to analyze visual content the way humans do; machine learning, which uses data and algorithms to enable AI to learn the way we do; and biometric analysis, which measures our physical and behavioral traits.
After analyzing video from mobile phones, tennis court cameras, or TV broadcasts, SportAI can compare your technique to that of any number of tennis players, including the best in the world, a specific player you admire, another player you want to emulate, or the thousands of players the model has seen practice. SportAI can then give you personalized feedback on what you need to do to improve. (SportAI also trained its model with input from coaches to understand what characterizes good technique.)
In a demo video of a tennis player, SportAI measures the player’s swing curve compared to a pro’s swing curve and highlights areas that can be improved. It then measures hip and shoulder rotation and swing speed and suggests the player shift her weight in the direction she wants to hit. It also evaluates her attack angle and swing curve compared to pros and recommends she opt for a compact backswing with a solid follow-through to improve her swing.
The startup is starting with racket sports like tennis and paddleball, but that’s mostly down to the team’s personal expertise. SportAI plans to expand into other sports with momentum, like golf, baseball and cricket.
But this is not a product you can buy as a consumer. Instead, SportAI is positioning itself as a business-to-business platform and is looking to partner with coaching associations, training academies, retailers, brands and broadcast media.
In the latter case, it would complement live commentary on the sport and “involve fans and show them how, for example, the forehand or serve of Spanish tennis pro Rafael Nadal compares to that of former Swiss Roger Federer,” Pedersen said.
One of his first customers is a training platform that runs tennis clubs. (Pedersen did not disclose the name.)
“These clubs have cameras installed at the back of the court so as a player you can book the court and also access your video. We can then do AI-powered analysis to offer statistics and technical analysis as well as tips and highlights,” she said.
Their goal is to facilitate access to personalized analysis that was previously reserved for elite players.
The startup closed a $1.8 million seed round in August, led by early-stage investor Skyfall Ventures. Other backers include Norwegian pension fund MP Pensjon, former professional tennis player Dekel Valtzer and chess grandmaster Carlsen.
SportAI will be launched in 2023 and plans to use the funds to further develop its technology, as well as to hire employees and expand its customer base.
