Sports-Focused Augmented Reality Startup Lands Seed Round
Startup Quintar believes sports’ augmented reality future could begin arriving next year, and it has announced backing from SeventySix Capital to develop a platform for rightsholders ranging from teams to broadcasters.
Founded by former Intel Sports execs Sankar “Jay” Jayaram and Jeff Jonas, Quintar plans to build both in-venue and at-home AR functionalities. Someone in the stands, for instance, could hold their phone up to see a kicker’s field goal range during a late-game drive, while an at-home fan could view an NBA player’s shot chart on their table. Financial details of the seed round weren’t announced, though Quintar’s funding is “in the millions.” The money will go towards developing a tech stack made up of four pillars, Jayaram explained.
The first step is mapping fields of play ranging from soccer pitches to golf courses, to enable Quintar’s tech to locate a user’s phone and what it’s pointing at within inches. Then Quintar will work to sync that mapping info with 3D game stats so they can be properly displayed. Third, the company will also have its own cameras at venues to produce its own video feed for at-home interactivity. Lastly, Quintar will develop the infrastructure that will actually allow people to access its offerings.
Jayaram said partners will be announced within months, with plans to show the first experiences by the end of 2021. “We are hoping with what we’re going to be doing this year,” he said in an interview, “these experiences on mobile devices will become commonplace next year, and on AR headsets whenever the right ones come out.” Quintar might create showcase apps, but its goal is to serve as a backend for consumer facing brands.
Cowles Company, Assam Ventures, Pragya Ventures and others joined SeventySix Capital in the seed round.
“The sports industry is being transformed by entrepreneurs who are developing new technology to make dynamic, new fan experiences,” SeventySix Capital partner Chad Stender said in a statement. “Our team at SeventySix Capital is thrilled to be backing Jay, Jeff and the team at Quintar who are creating a true Augmented Reality technology platform by ingesting statistics, sports betting data, analytics and video and then presenting it in a way to wow sports fans.”
More from Sportico.com
