Equity firm Cipio Partners led growth round of investment for automated sport production company

NWSL 2

Automated sport production company Spiideo has raised $20 million (£15.67m) in a growth funding round led by Germany-based equity firm Cipio Partners. 

Existing investors, including Mathias Kamprad, Måns Hultman (Tassaka AB), and Håkan Roos (Roosgruppen AB), also participated in the round, which sees Cipio managing partner Roland Dennert join the Spiideo board. 

Spiideo, which recently expanded its deal with the NWSL to see two additional automated cameras at every ground in the competition, produces AI-powered automated cameras, as well as providing a cloud-based live streaming platform. These products are joined by a video analysis tool for use with the content captured.

Cipio Partners has previously invested in encrypted messaging service Wire; a professional network for scientists and researchers, Research Gate; and reality capture and digital twins business NavVis.

Spiideo co-founder and CEO Patrik Olsson said: “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.”

Dennert added: “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.”