West Palm Beach, Florida, United States: Greg Norman and Verizon Ventures have announced a strategic partnership to invest in PlaySight to aid in the company’s global expansion and introduce the technology into golf and new sports verticals.
Earlier this year, Norman and Verizon pledged to join forces to bring innovative and disruptive technology to the golf industry and their joint investment into PlaySight speaks to the evolution of that broader plan.
Selected in 2017 by Fast Company as one of the ’10 Most Innovative Companies in Sport’, PlaySight leverages both multi-angle video and proprietary analytics to improve on-field performance and connect the next generation of athletes.
Through a system of cameras, the company’s lauded SmartCourt platform tracks every shot through graphics and video providing professional, collegiate and amateur athletes and their coaches with personalised, detailed statistics that have never before been available.
The company has already achieved a dominant position in the tennis marketplace with its technology powering the leading federations, academies, 40 NCAA Division 1 schools, and clubs, including the USTA’s new National Campus and high performance facility in Lake Nona, Florida.
In addition to tennis, PlaySight is working with top teams across several other sports, including 2015 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors.
“We are pleased to have completed the first initiative in our partnership with Greg Norman,” said David Famolari, Director at Verizon Ventures. “PlaySight brings advanced sports technology, previously only available at the pro level, to recreational athletes.
“As we see the sports industry leverage technology to improve the participation experience, PlaySight’s SmartCourt platform is a testament to this as it enables athletes to train smarter for a reasonable cost. We look forward to working with Greg Norman to continue to bring innovative and disruptive technology to the sports industry.”
Norman said: “I love working with innovators in sport and to have the opportunity to invest in something so cutting-edge alongside Verizon Ventures enables us to collaborate on a larger platform to drive meaningful growth for PlaySight. Verizon shares in my vision to connect people across business, sport and culture, so I am thrilled to announce the PlaySight investment as the first of many exciting new developments on the horizon.”
Greg Norman Design is a Full Business Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.