News - June, 2024

Cipio Partners invests in Spiideo

Munich/Luxembourg – June 5, 2024 – AI-Powered Swedish Sport-Tech Spiideo raises $20 Million In Growth Round Led By Cipio Partners. Investment To Be Used To Consolidate And Expand Spiideo’s Position As Leader In The Global Transition From Manual To Automatic Sports Video

The global leader in AI-automated sports video, Spiideo (www.spiideo.com), today announces the successful completion of a $20 million funding round led by growth equity firm, Cipio Partners (www.cipiopartners.com). Existing investors, including Mathias Kamprad, Måns Hultman (Tassaka AB), and Håkan Roos (Roosgruppen AB), also participated in the round. Roland Dennert, Managing Partner of Cipio Partners, will join the Spiideo board.

As the global value of sports media rights reaches a record high of almost $56bn, SaaS company Spiideo is spearheading the transformation in sports video from manual to automatic using AI. The company is already generating half of its revenue in the North American market, and will use this new investment to further accelerate innovation by expanding its product and AI teams, and drive growth through an expanded international sales team.

Already a global market leader, present in more than 60 countries, Spiideo’s products are installed in over 6,000 venues and used by more than 4,000 teams across English football’s Premier League, NHL (North America’s National Hockey League), NBA (North America’s National Basketball Association), Serie A, MLS, Ligue 1, NCAA, Liga MX, and Bundesliga, as well as numerous second and third tier international leagues. Spiideo’s cloud-native cameras, which are the most flexible and powerful AI cameras on the market, enable a range of automated production and analysis services.

Accelerated growth is being experienced in the utilisation of Spiideo’s ‘Spiideo Play’ cloud-based broadcasting and live-streaming platform for media rights holders, leagues, and clubs. Spiideo leverages AI automation to supply “TV-class" production at previously unimaginable price points, enabling increased commercialisation of lower-tier leagues and niche sports in an increasingly inflated media rights market. As the landscape of sports broadcasting changes and develops, Spiideo is leading the transformation in enabling more fans to watch and engage with the teams they follow, irrespective of their level or popularity. 

In addition to its production and live-streaming capability, Spiideo’s ‘Spiideo Perform’ product - a cloud-based and multi-angle sports video analysis tool with live game and player data - unlocks the full potential of teams and players. It is trusted by elite clubs such as Brentford, Wolves, Inter Milan, LA Galaxy and numerous women’s national soccer teams including World Cup winners, Spain, as well as all teams in the US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

An AI-native company, Spiideo is in a prime position to capitalise on the rapid AI transition of the sports video production and analysis industry. Spiideo was co-founded in 2012 in Malmö, Sweden, by CEO Patrik Olsson (former VP, Head of Software at Sony) and Chairman, Örjan Johansson (co-founder of, and headed development for, Bluetooth).

Cipio Partners has previously invested in encrypted messaging service, Wire, leading professional network for scientists and researchers, Research Gate, and global leader in end-to-end solutions for reality capture and digital twins, NavVis. 

The funding follows a year of rapid growth and significant milestones for Spiideo. In 2024, for the fourth consecutive year, Spiideo was named as one of the Financial Times’ fastest-growing companies. Spiideo also announced a new partnership to provide streaming services to ESPN's Wide World of Sports (a 220-acre multi-sport complex which plays host to up to 400 fixtures every weekend) as well as the expansion and renewal of its long standing relationship with the the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the US, providing every stadium in the league with Spiideo AI camera systems. 

Spiideo co-founder and CEO Patrik Olsson comments: “Spiideo is delighted to have Cipio Partners join our journey to 100% AI automation, resulting in a quantum leap in sports streaming and analysis. Sports video is undergoing a revolution, as traditional manual processes are rendered obsolete by the opportunities offered by AI, and this investment ensures that Spiideo continues to lead and shape this global industry transformation. With the rising cost of media rights, providing a cost-effective and scalable broadcasting solution is more critical than ever. Now with our trajectory accelerated, more teams, leagues, and coaches - and ultimately fans - can enjoy the benefits of Spiideo’s technology than ever before.”

Roland Dennert, Managing Partner of Cipio Partners comments: “Spiideo has consistently displayed growth and development as a company, evolving its product suite to capitalise on market opportunities. This funding round aims to accelerate Spiideo’s next phase of growth, as it consolidates its position within major sports whilst unlocking the use and monetization of entirely new content categories. We are excited to be part of this revolution, supporting the market leader in the global transition to automatic sports video production.”  

 

About Spiideo

Spiideo delivers astonishingly simple, powerful, and innovative solutions to the global sports community that shape the future of sports video production, analysis, and consumption. Spiideo was founded in Malmö, in the south of Sweden, in 2012. Since then, the company has expanded and now has international offices in the UK, US, China, & Germany. Spiideo has raised $40 million to date.  

 

About Cipio Partners

Founded in 2003, Cipio Partners is a leading investment management and advisory firm for European growth capital & minority buyouts for technology companies. Cipio Partners targets European growth stage technology businesses with €10-50 million in revenue and makes initial investments ranging from €5-15 million. Cipio Partners operates from offices in Munich and Luxembourg. Further information is available at www.cipiopartners.com

 

Media contact

Sophie von Eberhardt: media@cipiopartners.com