Key Takeaways
- SkillCorner raises $60 million from Silversmith Capital Partners to accelerate multi-sport expansion in North America
- The company’s AI tracking technology now covers over 180 competitions and serves more than 300 organizations globally
- The NBA remains part of SkillCorner’s ownership group alongside Silversmith and the founding team
- Founded in 2016, SkillCorner has grown to over 100 employees and is expanding beyond soccer into basketball and American football
- Investment will fund data engineering capabilities and product development to serve professional and collegiate organizations
AI-Driven Tracking Finds New Capital
SkillCorner, the Paris-based provider of AI-driven sports tracking and performance data, has secured a $60 million growth investment from Silversmith Capital Partners. The Boston-based growth equity firm manages over $5 billion in capital and focuses on founder-led technology companies.
The investment adds Silversmith to an ownership group that includes the NBA and SkillCorner’s founding team. Seventure Partners, an early investor, exits following this transaction.
“We’re proud to welcome Silversmith Capital Partners as our new investment partner,” said Charles Montmaneix, Co-Founder and General Manager of SkillCorner. “Their experience partnering with founder-led, profitable technology companies makes them a strong fit to help us scale our operations and accelerate our global expansion.”
How the Technology Works
SkillCorner pioneered single-camera automated player and ball tracking, a technology that extracts performance data from broadcast video without requiring stadium-installed tracking systems. The company’s AI can extrapolate off-camera player positions, providing comprehensive game data from standard broadcast feeds.
This approach has enabled rapid scaling. The company now covers over 180 competitions and counts more than 300 organizations as clients, including many top-tier soccer clubs worldwide.
North American Expansion Takes Priority
The investment is earmarked for three primary areas: strengthening data engineering capabilities, accelerating multi-sport expansion in North America, and developing new metrics for player recruitment and team strategy.
“This investment will enable us to strengthen our data engineering capabilities, accelerate our multi-sport expansion in North America, and continue delivering innovative metrics that help teams make better decisions,” said Hugo Bordigoni, Co-Founder and CEO.
SkillCorner is actively expanding its coverage of basketball and American football, targeting both professional leagues and collegiate organizations. The North American market represents a significant growth opportunity as teams increasingly seek data-driven approaches to scouting and player development.
Strategic Implications for Youth and Collegiate Sports
While SkillCorner’s current client base skews toward professional organizations, the company’s expansion into collegiate sports signals potential downstream effects for youth athletics. As AI-powered tracking becomes standard at the college level, demand for comparable data at younger age groups could follow.
The technology’s ability to work from broadcast video rather than dedicated tracking hardware lowers barriers to entry. This could eventually make professional-grade performance analytics accessible to organizations that cannot invest in stadium infrastructure.
Sri Rao, Managing Partner at Silversmith Capital Partners, noted the company’s potential reach: “We see enormous potential for its data to reshape how teams, leagues, and broadcasters understand the game, from optimizing scouting, recruitment and tactical analysis to enhancing player development.”
SkillCorner will continue operating independently from Paris with its team of more than 100 employees. The company’s focus on broadcast-derived tracking positions it differently from competitors requiring dedicated camera systems, potentially enabling faster expansion across competitions and levels of play.
via: Skillcorner
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