PlayerMaker, an Israel owned football tech startup, has recently raised $10 million in a Series B led by Feng He Group. It has landed the mark for its smart sensors which get physically attached to players’ footwear.
The product is a small silicone strap which gets strapped to the side of soccer shoes and helps analyze player specific data via its state of art gyroscope and accelerometers. PlayerMaker provides coaching enhancement solutions for football academies. It analyses data and give coaches data regarding how many touches player has on a ball or the total distance travelled during a game.
According to PlayerMaker, the device can also be used for minimizing injury risks and further enhancing optimization. Maccabi Tel Aviv, an Israeli sports club, uses the wearable to monitor players and if they are achieving their training session goals.
After its launch last year, PlayerMaker has gathered an extensive database of football players movement across the world. It recognizes Catapult, a GPS guided, chest mounted sensor, as one of its major competitors. Probably because PlayerMaker adapts a similar sensor tech for its strap device for shoes.
PlayerMaker has seen a rapid growth, with its product showing up in teams across 10 countries. According to a press release the following clubs have been involved with PlayerMaker: Manchester City, Clb American, Toronto FC, and Argentina’s Olympic national team.
The sports wearable industry is still a growing market and has a sizeable amount of funding. In a recent report, it has been estimated that currently there are 6040 deals with a total amount of $33 billion. The funding round will be used to grow in Europe, the United States, and Asia.