Israeli Shoe-Tracking Startup Playermaker Completes $40M Round

Israeli athletic performance tracking device developer Playermaker, announced the completion of a $40 million funding round on Thursday to drive the company’s soccer targeted platform into a multi-sport platform beginning with basketball.

The round was led by investment firm Ventura Capital Group, alongside participation from investors MIG Capital, Pegasus Tech, and others. 

This announcement follows a series of recent partnerships between Playermaker and Fulham Football Club (FC), Leeds Beckett University, and Liverpool FC wonderkid Harvey Elliot, joining as a brand ambassador.  

Founded in 2016, Playermaker designs wearable motion sensors equipped onto soccer players’ shoes that track and analyze a variety of physical, technical, tactical, and biomechanical metric data. The sensors automatically draw upon machine-learning algorithms capable of understanding movements, unpredictable situations, and detecting every time a player touches the ball. This data provides valuable insights to empower athletes at any level to improve their skills, monitor injury risk, as well as expedite injury recovery. In addition, the data is used to build up a player’s gait profile without compromising their performance.  

The company has experienced substantial international growth across demographics throughout academies, colleges, semi-professional leagues, as well as elite-level teams. Playermaker has already begun rolling out its Multi-Sport Platform by working with several elite recreational basketball teams in the US and Europe. Because performance tracking resources have traditionally only been made available for male professional athletes, Playermaker’s goal is to provide accurate performance insights and equal opportunities for all athletes regardless of their age, skill level, or gender. 

“Our mission is to challenge the disparities in sport, striving to attain fair play and equal opportunity for all by ensuring that everyone can access the knowledge they need to improve their game,” said Guy Aharon, CEO and co-founder of Playermaker. “We are empowering and inspiring boys and girls across the world of sports to stay active, pursue their dreams, and be the best they can be regardless of their discipline, location, or resources. Ultimately, wherever there is passion and shoes, that’s where we want to be.”

“Such a groundbreaking sports technology is extremely rare to find. Playermaker “ups the game” for professional and recreational footballers alike, creating a unique level of deep insight and competitive edge for players in a simple and user-friendly way,” said Mo El Husseiny, managing partner at Ventura. 

“Our journey began with soccer but the data, knowledge, and experience we’ve gained is a rock-solid foundation that we are excited to leverage to elevate all athletes across sports,” added Aharon. “We are confident that the success we have seen in soccer will be replicated in other sports because nothing feels better than having all the tools you need to improve when playing a sport you love at any level.”