AI in Sports: Transforming the Game

Drivers behind Sports industry transformation with Artificial intelligence

The popularity of wearables, penetration of smartphones acting as a hub for those wearables, availability of peripheral data including videos and images from games, and development of measuring sensors - are the main factors that propel the AI evolution of the sports industry.

It is not just about more sports data being available. We are now able to access deeper tracking data that is collected using Computer Vision or wearables allowing to perform a more insightful type of analysis and forecasting, both were impossible before AI.

So, what sports data is available to us? Box scores, event data, and tracking data help reconstruct the match or a particular performance. Video footage, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) wearables track players' location and data from the radar can track ball trajectory.

GPS wearables collect additional data such as heart rate and betting data. In-venue data provides a better and safer fan experience during the game.

Finally, the meta data collected on each fan brings a personalized gaming experience and recommendations of future events.

How exactly is AI changing the Sports industry?

Let's look at the applications of AI in Sports industry.

• Player recruitment — By analyzing players' profiles (condition, goals, team fit, playing style), technology is changing the decision-making of the coach during the scouting process for buying and selling players and thus enabling the clubs to compose the best performing teams.

• Coaching & training — Similarly, coaches can now use the analysis of each player's performance to make decisions before, during, and after the game. The real-time analytics during the game can assist coaches in making effective strategic moves such as best player substitution or most effective line-up.

• Athletes' performance improvement — Smart wearables and sensors provide real-time insights into the health conditions and performance of athletes allowing for efficient training/exercise routines, nutrition plans, and sleep strategies.

• Broadcasting — Automation of repetitive tasks such as game content cataloging is reduced to almost “real-time” thanks to AI which makes games fully searchable. Other applications in broadcasting include specific game segment retrieval, quicker content creation, automated captioning and subtitling, game highlights creation, video notifications, and scorecards on OTT Apps, as well as immersive game experience.

• Predictive & Prescriptive analytics — Predictive analytics is using data to build models that can predict game outcomes, game simulations as well as foresee injury risks and forecast athlete performance based on biometric data in real time. With the advancement of AI, we hope coaches will soon receive prescriptive advice on the best course of action based on various available data.

• Fan engagement — Thanks to AI, fans can enjoy access to increasingly complex stats on games, immersive game experience, viewing recommendations, access to data on athletes that coaches use to make decisions, personal treatment via communication with chatbots, and improved stadium logistics - all improve fan engagement and thus increase collected revenues.

• Augmented Reality — AR is revolutionizing visual content streamed via phone, smart glasses, or other gadgets whether it is for in-stadium experiences or at-home fans looking for an immersive feeling from the comfort of their couch.

• Other applications — In addition to the cases mentioned above, AI is also changing the role of the referee as it proved to be making better and fairer decisions. The betting industry will be going through major transformations as AI will be predicting winners and losers better than humans do now.
  
  Finally, AI will be developing new sports with the first example being Speedgate. Introduced by design agency AKQA, it merges concepts from croquet, rugby, and soccer, with six-player teams kicking a ball around a field with three gates.
  
  Additionally, Metaverse is creating totally new opportunities in Sports. While we are still a long way from meaningful confluence of digital and physical worlds, it is exciting to imagine its impact on fan engagement and general sports experience.
  
  The rise of ChatGPT and other Large Language Models make it possible to automatically write match reports that accurately summarize key events during the game in an engaging manner.

AI in Sports Emerging Players

Innovation landscape of venture funded startups in Sports + AI space.

We have compiled a list of 100+ startups that leverage Artificial Intelligence and raised venture funds to spur future growth. To do that, we've leveraged public sources such as Crunchbase, Tracxn, Pitchbook, and website data.

Let's take a closer look at how various startups use AI to advance their mission.

In Sensors & Hardware, Catapult Sports provides wearable technology for elite sports. The company has developed a series of GPS-enabled tracking devices that combine positional tracking with inertial sensors to quantify athlete's performance across training and games by processing over 1000 data points per second from each athlete to provide actionable insights.

Figur8 has developed the first musculoskeletal diagnostics decision support system of its kind that can pinpoint the source and severity of an injury while showing real-time recovery visibility to improve musculoskeletal health at every point of care — from injury through full recovery.

Hydrow has built a connected indoor rowing machine that delivers challenging workouts from beautiful locations around the world, simultaneously connecting users with an entire community of fellow rowers.

Are you looking for a tool to monitor metabolic fitness? Check out Levels which tracks blood glucose in real-time, enabling users to optimize their diet and exercise, while Naked's 3D scanning technology gives you a holistic picture of your body and how it changes over time.

When we talk about specific sports, ShotTracker helps basketball players to automatically track shot attempts, makes, and misses with real-time shooting statistics.

Check out Str8bat to improve younger cricketer’s batting with AI-driven insights and for adults - Ludimos whose state-of-the-art AI algorithms can extract line, length, speed & deviation from the training videos to improve your body position, movement & technique. For golfers, Sparrow might come handy with improving your swing using their simple yet advanced AI technology.

In Analytics, Olocip uses ML algorithms to predict success or failure on the field and suggest the best strategies based on the objectives of the football (soccer) team. They also aim to control the physical condition of the players by assigning a risk of injury and a maximum daily bearable load.

An e-sports startup out of Ukraine, Mobalytics, is dedicated to helping video game fans master their favorite games. Mobalytics have created the Gamer Performance Index (GPI) which involves using in-game data available from game APIs and crunching it through machine learning algorithms to analyze and improve player performance across several skills crucial for competitive gaming.

Sportlogiq's advanced analytics software tracks the location and actions of every player on the ice, field, or court. Their machine intelligence techniques are then used to extract meaningful insights from the collected data, allowing teams and fans to understand and experience the game in ways previously unimaginable.

Track160 is transforming video-based sports analytics. The company uses computer vision technology to track players' jersey numbers, team colors and textures, unique player movement, tactical positions, ball appearance & 3D movement, etc. to provide game insights.

In Fitness & Workout, Pear is a smart training system that coaches users in real-time, creating a workout experience that inspires and pushes its users to reach their goals tailored to the user's gender, age, fitness level, and aspirations.

In Video, Trace's new PlayerFocus AI technology seamlessly identifies, follows, and spotlights each player during the game and automatically delivers a playlist of highlights with your player – front and center. Highlights are sent directly to your inbox so that you can enjoy an enhanced viewing experience focused on your son or daughter.

To improve Athletes’ Performance, Kitman Labs predicts, manages, and reduces the risk of injury in professional athletes. The platform's proprietary predictive algorithms are linked to athletes' medical records to analyze key indicators of risk. Mustard also uses AI to analyze athlete’s mechanics and offer corrective tips to help them improve.

Companies like Satisfi Labs and Esports One boost Fan Engagement with technology. Satisfi Labs, for instance, leverages conversational AI for the sports industry where it helps businesses to improve customer experience with their innovative AI Chat to drive loyalty and reduce staff burnout. Esports One created an online fantasy platform designed to change the way fans watch and engage with esports. Its platform uses proprietary machine vision technology, custom datasets, and customizable modules that provide an advanced computer vision and real-time data insights platform for engaging experience.

In the table below, we assembled a list of startups that recently raised capital and are players ‘to watch’ poised for success.

AI in Sports M&A activity

• In the beginning of 2023, Tivity Health acquired BurnAlong, a digital health, wellness and fitness platform to accelerate Tivity Health’s efforts to provide a robust digital platform and health and wellness content.

• In May, 2022 Strava acquired Recover Athletics, an AI-powered injury prevention and rehab app for runners to tap into their subscription user base. Also around that time IMG ARENA acquired a controlling interest in Swedish computer vision company Signality to enhance its data collection capabilities with computer vision and camera technologies.

• In March 2021, Peloton has finalized deals on three companies, having acquired Atlas Wearables, Otari, and Aiqudo, to add talent and technology to its brand.

• Cure.fit, India's largest health & fitness company, has acquired Onyx, a California-based fitness company that is building the world's smartest digital training experience to bolster its digital offerings in India and abroad.

• Last year Lululemon Athletica bought home fitness content-maker Mirror for $500 million amid the booming demand for at-home fitness classes caused by coronavirus lockdowns. This acquisition gave a push to the development of lots of Mirror's clones in a variety of sports.

As companies continue to develop and show real-life traction and add value with their AI products, we will see more AI in Sports deals in the next few years.

AI in Sports Challenges and final thoughts

With the advancement of AI, the sensors, wearables, processors, and algorithms will become more accurate, drastically changing the way sports are played, viewed, and monetized across the globe. We are excited at the changes AI already brings and will bring to the sports industry. More AI means less effort to reach better results, smarter workouts, fairer game outcomes, and an unparalleled gaming experience for fans. While we are very bullish on the impact of AI in Sports, we acknowledge its current limitations:

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