Technology

Posted on October 3, 2018 by staff

AI firm raises $35m to explore exclusive sports insights

Technology

HEED, a revolutionary new AI platform that brings fan key moments and insights from live events, has secured $35 million funding in a round led by SoftBank Group International.

The investment will bolster HEED’s expansion as it partners with sports clubs and leagues around the world to create deeper connections with mobile fans.

Co-founded by AGT International and Endeavor, the company uses AI to identify a game’s most exciting moments. It then deploys IoT-based data analytics to generate ground-breaking exclusive new insights and automatically deliver them in near real-time to fans’ mobile devices.

Beyond analysing the physical elements of a sporting event, HEED goes even deeper to unlock the emotional and behavioural realities of live sports.

This investment represents a major milestone for HEED, as it extends the development of its platform to create exciting new experiences connecting fans to the best moments in soccer, MMA, basketball and other sports categories.

“Technology has evolved tremendously in interpreting the physical world. HEED is harnessing this to create a new sports fan experience,” said co-founder and owner of AGT International Mati Kochavi.

“This was the driving force behind our vision – to create a platform that uses AI and IoT to deliver the best and exclusive sports moments in near real time.

“HEED is leading this transformation and we’re excited to bring on SoftBank as a strategic partner.”

HEED CEO Danna Rabin said: “At HEED, we see a world in which live events become global digital experiences, spectators become participants and stats become stories.

“The platform we’ve built provides league and team partners with an innovative way to grow their fan-bases across different geographies, demographics and sports categories and engage with them in a different way.

“This investment is an exciting step forward for us as we transform the future of sports for our partners and their global fans.”