Sportlogiq Doubles Down on AI with New Kitchener-Waterloo Lab
More companies are setting up AI shops outside of the typical Montreal and Toronto hotbeds, and it seems Kitchener-Waterloo is the new destination.
SPORTLOGiQ has announced the opening of a brand new AI lab situated in Kitchener-Waterloo, the fastest-growing market for tech talent in Canada. The region has increased its pool of talent by 66 per cent over the last five years.
Another main reason for the new AI lab and it’s prime location is the improved access to top research facilities like the University of Waterloo and their newly opened Waterloo.ai facility. SPORTLOGiQ already has partnerships formed with David Clausi of the VIP lab and is planning a collaborative effort with Pascal Poupart to focus on the theoretical and practical aspects of reinforcement learning. Poupart currently works with Borealis AI.
On top of the proximity to high-level researchers and AI organizations, SPORTLOGiQ is hoping the new lab will help the company recruit top talent from neighbouring schools.
“SPORTLOGiQ began collaborative research with the University of Waterloo over a year ago, we are very appreciative of the local support and the amazing talent in the area,” said Mehrsan Javan, co-founder and CTO of SPORTLOGiQ. “We look forward to collaborating with the vibrant local AI community to further advance AI for human behavior modelling and sports analytics. We are fortunate to be working with some of the top researchers in the world to ensure that our AI technology remains ahead of the curve.”
The Montreal-based SPORTLOGiQ is an AI sports analytics company that uses its software platform to track the locations of players in hockey, soccer, football or other sports purely through basic game footage. This data can be used by sports organizations to gain more insights into how the team can improve and strategize differently, while broadcasters can use the data to form better opinions, track players and engage with an audience in a more personalized manner.
The company raised a $5 million Series A in August 2017 and have since used that to expand into soccer and different leagues like Major League Soccer, the Premier League and various other European clubs. Mark Cuban was also involved in the Series A, as well as SPORTLOGiQ’s seed round.
SPORTLOGiQ was also formally recognized for their advancements in AI by being named to the CB Insights AI 100 late last year, joining other massive Canadian AI companies like Kindred and Element AI.
Overall, SPORTLOGiQ is used by 24 NHL teams, 40 pro sports teams and five major broadcast networks.
from Techvibes
