Peripheral Labs, a new Canadian startup, wants to change how fans experience live sports events. They’ll do it with advanced technology that was first developed for use in driverless vehicles. The company aims to make this technology affordable for sports leagues and teams, reducing the need for extensive camera setups from over 100 to as few as 32. Aside from reducing capital expenditure, this substantial reduction minimizes operational overheads for broadcasters.
Previously tech enthusiasts, including Mustafa, Cui, and Khan, to Peripheral Labs. In late December, they announced that they’d raised $3.6 million in a seed funding round led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Daybreak Capital, Entrepreneurs First, and Transpose Platform. The startup now has a staff of ten engineers. With the new funding, it expects to expand its engineering team, with an emphasis on platform development and hardware engineering.
Cui and Khan, both avid sports enthusiasts, believe that immersive, volumetric video technology will deliver the most engaging, game-day experiences to every viewer. Their deep background in technology paired with the duo’s years of experience are what will make them successful in doing so. Previously, Khan was a senior researcher at Huawei. At Teslabuilding out software for chassis systems, Cui worked on his craft as a software engineer.
Peripheral Labs has created technology that makes everything cheaper and increases system responsiveness. This breakthrough would enhance real-time 3D reconstruction resolution, providing fans a more vibrant and dynamic viewing experience.
“While we work with off-the-shelf cameras, the way we package it with our experience in robotics and ML is what gives us an edge both in terms of platforms and also scaling from small practice enclosures to big soccer and football stadiums,” – Cui
With this unique direct-to-consumer approach, partners will meaningfully respond to the ever-changing and growing needs of sports fans. Joe Ros, a partner at Entrepreneurs First, recognizes the significance of this technology.
“Their ultimate viewer is the consumer, and their demand for sports content is evergreen, not cyclical. With Peripheral, the new standard for that consumption will be immersive, volumetric video. And the work they’re doing now in sports will give them the data, tech, and deployment moat to be the only person in the market able to enable this,” – Joe Ros
When Cui looks back at the motivation behind the creation of Peripheral Labs, he talks about their mutual love for sports.
“Both Mustafa and I are huge sports fans. He has been a massive Arsenal fan, and I grew up watching the Vancouver Canucks since I was seven. When Mustafa showed me his research about 3D reconstruction, my brain said it would be cool to watch hockey like this [in a free-flowing, multi-angle way]. This is how we started on Peripheral Labs,” – Cui
Peripheral Labs’ work is about more than just saving money. Beyond that, it’s a big shift for the way fans engage with sports. By implementing fewer cameras while maintaining high-quality visuals and accessibility, the company hopes to set a new standard for live sports broadcasting.