A newish-to-Raleigh tech startup that could help your favorite professional or collegiate team win more games just secured $3.25M in its most recent investment round.
Gemini Sports Analytics is a platform solution that uses machine learning (ML) to help coaches and front offices make better tactical and roster management decisions by streamlining sports data and information.
The nearly three-year-old startup—which moved from Miami to Raleigh in January—has generated impressive traction. It has a handful of clients across the NFL, collegiate basketball and soccer committed to multi-year, six-figure contracts, according to COO Alec Coughlin.
Some of Gemini Sports’ most notable clients include the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and the NCAA’s Texas A&M Aggies. The startup has also received investment from the owners of nine professional sports teams.
The startup charges a one-time set-up fee and an annual subscription thereafter in exchange for Gemini Sports’ descriptive and predictive analytics. The analytics help coaches and front offices make more informed decisions about roster management, player performance, talent development and tactical optimization.
The startup’s descriptive analytics compile large amounts of data—such as individual player statistics, injury information and training reports—into a more easily understandable description that enhances human decision-making, according to Coughlin.
“Professional and collegiate sports programs have access to like 60-plus times the amount of data they had 20 years ago,” said Coughlin. “Yet, the way that they’re using data hasn’t changed much. Connecting all the dots between all those data sets using machine learning to interpret, ‘hey, is there anything that we should learn from the past that we didn’t already know because we as humans can’t look at a gazillion amounts or units of data?’ That’s descriptive analytics.”
Gemini Sports’ predictive analytics take the same information to predict the outcome of a certain decision, such as drafting a player at a certain draft slot or trading a player, among other things.
“What would be the difference if I traded down to pick number 25?,” said Coughlin. “What do I need to get in exchange to justify it, and who’s going to be available then? You see how complicated that stuff can get real quick, and if you’re using pen and paper, good luck. As a human, that’s not feasible, so the reason we exist is that with all of that data and […] AI infrastructure—machine learning in particular—we can enable the front office and or the equivalent in collegiate sport programs to be able to answer [those] questions.”
Gemini Sports’ CEO and sole founder Jake Schuster worked as a strength and conditioning coach for collegiate and professional teams for a decade and also has a PhD in biomechanics. During that time, Coughlin said Schuster wondered why teams didn’t use player data to inform strength and conditioning plans.
So, Schuster decided to quit to build a startup that helped teams use player data to make more informed decisions about strength and conditioning training.
Before starting, a member of the Miami tech community connected Schuster and Coughlin to discuss Schuster’s startup idea. Within three minutes of listening to Schuster’s pitch, Coughlin knew Schuster had to start the company.
“I heard what his vision was, and I’m like, ‘Hey, dude, you’ve got to do this, no doubt,’” said Coughlin. “It just made all the sense in the world. And he didn’t need to be convinced; he was already convinced. Maybe it was helpful to hear it from someone with my background.”
Schuster’s idea excited Coughlin, too, but he felt his skill set wouldn’t be helpful at the very beginning stages of the startup. Coughlin made a career in business development, including a four-year stint with the then-St. Louis Rams of the NFL, so he felt his skills would be most helpful when it was time to attract clients and bring awareness to the market.
So two years later, when Schuster had assembled a team and gotten Gemini Sports off the ground, Coughlin quit his job to join. Now, the startup has 13 full-time employees, and it’s looking to hire another.
Gemini Sports’ top priority now is continuing to attract new customers, especially those that push the startup to think of more ways it could be of service to teams. In addition, Gemini Sports wants to invest heavily in the Triangle.
“We’re deeply committed to this area,” said Coughlin. “Whatever we can do to be an active, committed member of the Triangle, we’re always looking for that.”
