AI Startups Headline NBC SportsTech Accelerator’s 2023 Class
The third class of Comcast NBCUniversal’s SportsTech Accelerator, which starts Tuesday, will run twice as long—six months instead of three—and aim to help young companies sign more commercial deals.
Launched in 2021 in partnership with Boomtown Accelerators, the program connects startups with NBC partners including NASCAR, WWE, and the PGA Tour.
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“One of the biggest changes is the type of startups that are coming in for cohort three,” Jenna Kurath, VP of startup partnerships and head of Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech, said. “They are much more enterprise ready with existing products and revenue streams, in that place where they can test and pilot at the kind of scale that Comcast and NBC and Sky expects.”
More than 900 companies from across 40 countries applied this year. The 10 selected, listed below, will collaborate with expert advisors from Comcast NBCUniversal and other outfits, linking with leaders at the program partners to develop commercial relationships.
Aircast, a low-latency, in-venue streaming tech provider from Australia
Einbliq.io, a streaming data analytics service based in Germany
FanFest, a digital fan engagement toolkit from New York
FanSaves, a Canadian digital couponing platform
GeoSnapShot, an artificial intelligence-powered photo distribution platform located in Australia as well as Colorado
Quicc, a content management system designed for video editing and based in Kansas
Recut, personalized video creation tool headquartered in New York
Rivalry Tech, a Houston, Tex.-located mobile ordering solution provider for venues
Rizzarr, a marketplace connecting brands and creators from Detroit
Tickets for Good, a UK company that helps venues give tickets to local community members
Several of the companies have AI at the heart of their offerings, allowing for faster and more customizable content creation.
“Technology that helps us personalize content, create something that is much more bespoke and helps us understand the dynamics of that fan,” Kurath said, “is very powerful from a storytelling standpoint but also drawing fans into venues.”
Boomtown executive director Chris Traeger said the goal is for each of the companies to sign multiple deals with various partners by the end of the program in September.
“Many accelerators are done with investment in mind as kind of the main outcome,” he said. “What we’re trying to do at the end of the day is build long term relationships. Either these companies get acquired, or there’s a long term licensing of the technology, etc.”
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