TGL, the innovative golf series at the intersection of technology and sport, co-founded by golf legends Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy through TMRW Sports' venture, is set to introduce a wave of artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced operational and fan-centric technologies.
This push comes via a strategic collaboration with Infinite Athlete, a recently rebranded entity that merges content creation technologies from Tempus Ex Machina and analytical capabilities from Biocore. The aim is to construct a comprehensive "operating system for sport" to cater to fans, athletes, and the broader sports industry.
Central to this multi-year partnership is Tempus Ex's Fusion Feed, a machine learning-powered technology. Fusion Feed analyzes every play from each game, autonomously generating clips and personalized highlight packages for partners. At its core, Fusion Feed powers Tempus Ex's flagship product, Match View X (MVX), which can be harnessed to deliver personalized broadcasts, complete with customizable graphical overlays, real-time statistics, play-by-play match events, player tracking, and instant highlights.
TGL views technology as a cornerstone of its strategy, aiming to leverage its unique, condensed format along with the participation of top-tier players in the golf world to capture a broader audience. Full Swing is onboard to drive the gameplay facet of the competition, while Next League will spearhead fan engagement initiatives.
The inaugural edition of TGL's team-based events, totaling 15, is scheduled for January 2024. The event will showcase some of the PGA Tour's prominent players in a purpose-built facility in Florida.
Andrew Macaulay, Chief Technology Officer of TMRW Sports, emphasized the significance of data in AI models, stating, "AI models can only be as effective as the data inputs you have feeding into them. Because Tempus Ex’s FusionFeed technology is designed to synchronise every piece of data produced at a sporting event, they are uniquely positioned to ingest the vast amount of data and video that we will capture at TGL matches, optimising our ability to create new experiences for fans."
Sid Rao, Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships and Revenue at Infinite Athlete, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration's potential, noting, "By partnering with a league that is strategically building its technology stack from the ground up, we are able to unlock dynamic revenue-generating and enhance fan experience opportunities for them as it continues to grow."
Tempus Ex, a part of SportsPro's prestigious class of 2023 sports technology ideas to invest in, boasts collaborations with entities like the Premier League's Chelsea, the National Football League's (NFL) San Francisco 49ers, and the Pac-12 college sports conference. The company's reputation and impact in the sports technology arena have been recognised through a Series B funding round led by private equity firm Silver Lake and Endeavor, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Under its new identity as Infinite Athlete, post the acquisition of Biocore, the company has also secured a noteworthy position as the reported new shirt sponsor for Chelsea, sealing a deal valued at least at UK£40 million (US$50.9 million) annually.