Infinite Athlete
Infinite Athlete is a sports data technology corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California. Formed from the merger of Biocore and Tempus Ex Machina, it provides data stream consolidation, data visualization, and integrated player tracking technology for organizations including the National Football League, Chelsea FC, and the NCAA's Pac-12 Conference.
Corporate history[edit]
Tempus Ex Machina[edit]
In 2021, Charlie Ebersol co-founded Tempus Ex Machina with former Alliance of American Football CTO Erik Schwartz and COO Annie Gerhart, receiving investment funding from firms including Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Silver Lake, Endeavor, and Will Ventures.[1][2]
The company's first major client was the National Football League, for which it provided real-time data monitoring technology.[3]
In March 2022, Tempus Ex partnered with the Pac-12 Conference, agreeing to provide on-campus data capture and analysis services to Pac-12 athletic programs.[4]
In August 2022, the Pac-12 announced an initiative involving Tempus Ex, NIL marketplace Opendorse, Curastory, and Twitter, that allowed conference football players to monetize videos of their highlights on social media.[5][6]
In April 2023, Tempus Ex entered into a seven-year agreement with Chelsea FC, involving data capture and visualization integrated into live events, player management, and the team's official app.[7][8]
That same month, a similar agreement was signed to provide similar services to the University of Colorado athletics department.[9]
Biocore[edit]
Biocore is a Virginia-based biomechanics consulting, data analytics, and research firm. In support of the NFL and NFLPA, it studies the impact of equipment and playing surfaces on player health.[10]
Biocore evaluates different types of artificial turf, and has demonstrated that artificial fields cause more lower extremity injuries than natural grass fields.[11][12][13]
Biocore research has demonstrated how add-on devices such as the Guardian Cap can reduce impacts and concussions. Their work on position-specific helmets led to quarterback-specific and lineman-specific helmets debuting during the 2023 season.[14][15]
Merger[edit]
Tempus Ex Machina acquired Biocore in August 2023, with the newly formed entity rebranding as Infinite Athlete.[16]
The newly rebranded company announced its first partnership as Infinite Athlete in the same month, a multi-year agreement with the TGL.[17]
References[edit]
- ^ Lemire, Joe (2023-02-09). "Inside Tempus Ex Machina as the company reveals its technology and significant impact on the NFL". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Weprin, Alex (2021-09-08). "Endeavor Invests In Sports Data Firm Tempus Ex Machina". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Coffey, Brendan (2021-09-08). "Silver Lake, Endeavor Invest in Tempus Ex as Larry Fitzgerald Joins Board". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Wilner, Jon (2022-03-15). "Pac-12 partners with Tempus Ex Machina on data deal, paving the way for a vital new revenue stream". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Uggetti, Paolo (2022-08-04). "Retweet riches: Pac-12 launches highlights deal". ESPN. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Casey, Tim (2023-01-17). "Curastory, Tempus Ex Partner For Pac-12 Football NIL Deal". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ "Long-term partnership agreed with Tempus Ex". Chelsea FC. 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (2023-04-10). "Charlie Ebersol on Tempus Ex Machina-Chelsea partnership: 'Our technology ultimately is infrastructure.'". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ "CU Football Taps Tempus Ex Machina For Technological Advantage On and Off The Field". University of Colorado Athletics. 2023-04-13. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ "Exclusive: Inside NFL funded lab designing safer helmets". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
- ^ Edholm, Eric (2020-10-30). "Why so many NFL injuries this season? One sports-medicine doctor thinks he knows why". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Reed, Steve (2021-08-25). "NFL players experiment with 'Guardian Caps' to protect heads". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ "Research shows "statistically significant higher risk" of lower extremity injuries on slit-film turf". NBC Sports. 2022-11-14. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Burke, Peter (2023-04-14). "New helmet to better protect from concussions available for Tua Tagovailoa, other NFL quarterbacks this season". WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ DeArdo, Bryan (2023-04-13). "LOOK: NFL unveils quarterback-specific helmet for 2023 season". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ McCaskill, Steve (2023-08-07). "Tempus Ex rebrands as Infinite Athlete, acquires Biocore to create 'OS for sport'". SportsPro. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
- ^ Lemire, Joe (2023-08-15). "Infinite Athlete partners with TGL to incorporate Tempus Ex Machina's FusionFeed technology". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved 2023-09-14.