Shamrock Capital, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, today announced that it has led an investment round in Pixellot, the global leader in automated AI-based sports production technology. Existing Pixellot investors joined Shamrock in the round.
Transaction terms were not disclosed. Following this round of investment, Pixellot has raised more than $40 million over the past five years.
Almost 99% of organized sports aren’t produced. For decades, only the professional leagues of popular sports, such as baseball, basketball, and football, have received coverage due to the high costs of producing events with live camera crews. Niche pro sports like volleyball and handball, amateur leagues, and women’s and youth sports have been ignored – leaving an enormous opportunity to deliver content to fans, coaches, parents and scouts. Meanwhile, technological advancements and the demand for exclusive content for social media channels and OTT services have created a significant opportunity.
Pixellot revolutionizes traditional video capture, production, and distribution processes by enabling sports organizations to automatically produce and monetize athletic events at an affordable price point. Using computer-vision AI algorithms, the unique technology dynamically tracks on-field action, providing viewers a seamless, professional-quality experience that includes automated highlights, remote/local commentary, scoreboard and professional graphics.
“Pixellot’s unparalleled technology is not only compelling for broadcasters, but is also already being utilized by 1,000 U.S. high schools and youth sports organizations as a new revenue stream and a value-added service for their parents and players,” said Alan Resnikoff, Partner at Shamrock Capital. “We are excited to partner with Pixellot’s top-notch executive team to support their continued growth.”
Production companies, sports portals, sports federations, leagues, clubs, and coaches across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Latin America are using Pixellot systems to reach new audiences and fine-tune player and team performance. Broadcasters can produce more games less expensively, and coaches can utilize footage produced by Pixellot’s technology as part of their training. Pixellot has sold more than 2,500 systems worldwide and produces 20,000 hours of sports content every month. The company also provides video coaching solutions that are used by the top soccer clubs in the English Premier league, La Liga, LigaMX and the Bundesliga.
“Given Shamrock’s experience in sports and entertainment, we are very pleased to welcome them as an investor,” said Alon Werber, CEO of Pixellot. “Pixellot is poised for growth as we continue to connect fans to the field and provide them with innovative ways to share, distribute, and monetize their content. Shamrock’s knowledge and relationships in the sports ecosystem will be invaluable to us. In addition, I’d like to thank our existing shareholders, primarily Firstime Ventures and TheTime, for their continued and ongoing support and backing from our early days.”
Werber and Peter Schon, CFO, of Pixellot, led the investment round on Pixellot’s behalf. Cooley LLP served as legal advisor to Shamrock.
About Pixellot
Pixellot offers automated sports production solutions that provide affordable alternatives to traditional video capture, production and distribution systems for professional and semi-professional sport events. Founded in 2013, Pixellot’s patented technology solution streamlines the production workflow by deploying an unmanned multi-camera system in a fixed location, with additional angles as required, to cover the entire field, offering a stitched panoramic image. Advanced algorithms enable automatic coverage of the flow of play and highlight generation. Pixellot systems are deployed by broadcasters, production companies, clubs, federations, sports portals and coaching solution providers around the globe. For more information: http://www.pixellot.tv.
About Shamrock Capital
Shamrock is a Los Angeles-based investment firm with approximately $1.9 billion of assets under management, investing exclusively in the media, entertainment, and communications sectors. Shamrock was originally founded in 1978 as the family investment company of the late Roy E. Disney and has since evolved into an institutional money manager with a leading group of investors including endowment and pension funds. Shamrock partners with strong management teams and takes an active, collaborative approach to creating value in each investment. Shamrock’s current investments include Appetize, Branded Cities, BTI Studios, FanDuel, INgrooves Music Group, Maple Media, Mobilitie, Omega Wireless, Questex, Screenvision Media, Silvergate Media and Wpromote. For more information, visit: shamrockcap.com.
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