Former College Athlete Accumulates Half a Million Dollars for Her Artificial Intelligence Business Focused on Basketball Statistics Analysis
Ballin AI, a sports tech startup founded by former Division I athlete Nyla Pollard, aims to revolutionize the player recruitment and development process. The company recently completed a successful $500,000 angel round, with participation from Slauson & Co., Oregon Sports Angels, ACT House, and FBomb Angels Investment Club.
In a LinkedIn post announcing the fundraising, Pollard shared, "We're backed by an incredible group of early believers fueling our mission: to make recruiting faster, smarter, and data-driven for both athletes and coaches."
The idea for Ballin AI was born out of Pollard's own college recruitment process. Recognizing the need for a more streamlined and data-driven approach, she started working on the startup in November of 2022.
Ballin AI's platform leverages artificial intelligence to provide athletes with personalized development plans based on their gameplay. Players can upload their game footage, which is then examined by a nationally recognized evaluator. The evaluator scores the players across various key skill criteria such as defense, shooting, rebounding, scoring, transition, finishing, and ball handling.
The AI-powered system also offers an ranking system, allowing players to compare their performance with other athletes. This feature aims to increase recruitment chances for players by providing them with valuable insights and feedback.
Pollard reflects on the evolution of Ballin AI, stating, "My initial idea was to focus on the recruiting process and how to make that better for coaches and players. Then, when we dove into customer discovery and market research, we really landed on the right solution for right now."
With the raised funds, Ballin AI will focus on making recruiting faster, smarter, and data-driven for both athletes and coaches. The company was formally incorporated in 2023 and is poised to make a significant impact in the sports industry.
Visit Ballin AI's website to learn more about their mission and services. A video featuring Pollard discusses the startup's vision and goals in detail.
- Ballin AI's platform, powered by artificial intelligence, offers personalized development plans for athletes based on their gameplay, examining their skills in areas like defense, shooting, rebounding, scoring, transition, finishing, and ball handling.
- The AI-powered system also includes a ranking feature, which allows players to compare their performance with other athletes, potentially increasing their recruitment chances by providing valuable insights and feedback.
- The startup, focused on revolutionizing the player recruitment and development process in sports, will use the raised funds to make the process faster, smarter, and data-driven for both athletes and coaches in the sports tech industry.
