[THE INVESTOR] SoftBank Ventures Korea on Aug. 16 said it has led 10.3 billion won (US$9.07 million) funding in Bepro11, a Seoul-based startup that provides video and data analysis for soccer teams. 

The venture capital arm of the Japanese tech giant has injected 6 billion won, with the remainder coming from other investors such as Altos Ventures and KT Investment. 

By implementing artificial intelligence, Bepro11 allows amateur teams to use video analysis tool, while assisting global soccer clubs on their game strategy and growth of their players,” said Jay Choi, senior associate at SBVK. “We project the firm will be able to create value in the soccer industry, beyond video data analysis contents in future.”

“With the latest investment, we are planning to expand our service to the US, while focusing on Europe, including Germany, UK and France,” said Bepro11 founder and CEO Kang Hyun-wook. 

Established in 2015, Bepro11 films soccer matches and creates a clip that captures all the players’ movement and all parts of a stadium using 3D stitching technology. Artificial intelligence allows the firm to detect different actions of the players, including passing, tackling and shooting, and provide in-depth performance analysis for the team and each player. 

Bepro11, which has offices in Seoul and Hamburg, Germany, is used by 120 clubs in seven countries, including Germany’s Bundesliga and Korea’s K League.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)