AISpotter

AISpotter provides a cloud-based video analysis and production service, leveraging artificial intelligence to automate the creation of highlight clips from sports footage. The company emerged from a research-to-business project at the University of Oulu, which had a long history of video analysis research. This project, which began in 2016 after securing funding from Business Finland, aimed to commercialize this research by applying it to the sports industry. The company, AISpotter Oy, was officially founded in Oulu, Finland, in 2018 by Anri Kivimäki (CEO) and Sami Huttunen (CTO).

The founders' backgrounds were complementary to the venture's needs. Anri Kivimäki brought over 15 years of experience in business development and funding for small and medium-sized enterprises, having previously been part of a team that founded a telecom startup in Germany. Sami Huttunen possessed a deep technical expertise with a Ph.D. and over 15 years of experience in computer vision applications. The journey to incorporation included significant milestones such as presenting on the main stage at TechCrunch Battlefield in Berlin in 2017, which validated market interest in their solution. The company also participated in several international business accelerators, including MassChallenge, Expert Dojo, and GSD Venture Studio, to build networks and refine its business model.

AISpotter's core business revolves around a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, where clients are charged setup costs and a recurring monthly fee. The primary clients are broadcasting and streaming companies, as well as sports clubs and teams. The technology automatically analyzes live or pre-recorded video feeds from any camera to identify and pinpoint key events, such as goals or corner kicks in football. It then instantly generates production-ready highlight clips from this analysis, a process that is significantly faster than manual methods. This automated service enables broadcasters to scale their video production and helps sports teams gain greater insights into performance for coaching and analysis. The company has worked with notable clients like Yle (Finland's public broadcaster) and SVT (Sweden's public broadcaster). While initially focused on sports, particularly football, the technology is designed to be scalable for other applications, including entertainment and security.

Keywords: video analysis, sports analytics, AI-powered video, automated highlights, sports technology, broadcast technology, SaaS, computer vision, machine learning, football analytics, coaching tools, live streaming, video clipping, Oulu startup, Anri Kivimäki, Sami Huttunen, sports production, media technology, highlight generation, automated video production