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Irish sports-tech company Kitman Labs has raised $6m in funding as it looks to develop new solutions in a rapidly changing field.
With teams and leagues across the world trying to figure out how the future of their sports will look in a post-Covid world, Irish sports-tech company Kitman Labs has received fresh funding. According to the Irish Times, the business has raised $6m.
The investment came from New York-based investors Qvidtvm and brings the total amount raised by Kitman Labs in the last six months to $10.5m. The Irish company has raised more than $30m over its eight-year history.
Kitman Labs said the investment would be used to accelerate the development of its performance intelligence platform, with a focus on new priorities driven by the ongoing pandemic.
This includes Covid-19 symptom monitoring and testing for players; and player value assessments to allow coaches to make better post-season decisions on players. To date, Kitman’s performance analytics technology has been used by more than 150 sports teams across the NFL, NHL, English Premier League, Bundesliga, Premiership Rugby and the Chinese Super League.
‘A new level of urgency’
“We see teams and leagues evaluating everything through a new lens and operating at a new level of urgency,” said Stephen Smith, founder and CEO of Kitman Labs.
“They have to understand what success looks like and be more aligned than ever on how to achieve it. They have to move fast and adapt to a more complex and high-risk environment with even less room for error than they’ve ever had. Our goal is to continue to invest in the development of advanced solutions that address these acute needs and help teams build sustainable performance and operational excellence.”
The company’s new backer, Qvidtvm, was founded by former Morgan Stanley mutual fund manager, Burak Alici. During his time there, Alici led early investments in Airbnb and Dropbox. Speaking about Kitman Labs, Alici said the Irish company has an “extraordinary vision” for the sports-tech market.
“By facilitating the new strategic requirements of Covid-era sports, Kitman Labs has taken the lead in helping teams and leagues safely return to play. They are developing the most advanced offering to help teams optimise talent and deliver strong week-to-week performances for their fans,” he said.
Previous investors in Kitman Labs include the Sony Innovation Fund, Blue Run Ventures, Comvest Partners senior investor Peter Kight, former Ireland rugby captain Jamie Heaslip and Enterprise Ireland.
