Miro

Miro AI, established in 2017 by co-founders Taylor Host, Jamie Wilde, and Evan Kroft, carved a specific niche within the sports technology market by applying artificial intelligence to visual content. The company developed proprietary machine learning models designed to analyze photos and videos from sporting events, delivering detailed insights. Its technology moved beyond standard facial recognition to perform contextual analysis, capable of identifying athletes even when their faces were obscured by helmets or other gear. This allowed for the automated tagging and categorization of vast quantities of digital media.

The firm's business model centered on providing its AI-powered analysis as a service to various clients within the sports ecosystem. Key customers included sports photography firms, marathon organizers, and major athletic brands. For mass participation events like marathons, Miro AI's technology could automatically identify individual runners by their bib numbers, enabling the instant delivery of personalized event photos. This service was also offered through a subsidiary product named RunnerTag. For brands, the platform provided actionable consumer data by identifying specific gear and apparel in images, helping to measure brand presence and inform marketing strategies. This data allowed brands to better understand their competitive landscape and activate sponsorships more effectively.

The company's trajectory culminated in a multimillion-dollar acquisition by Greenfly in July 2023. Greenfly, a software provider for real-time digital media orchestration used by major leagues like the MLB, PGA Tour, and the NHL, was already a customer of Miro AI. The acquisition was a strategic move for Greenfly to vertically integrate Miro's powerful AI capabilities into its own platform, which manages the collection and distribution of short-form content for teams, leagues, and sponsors. By incorporating Miro's algorithms, Greenfly aimed to enhance the searchability and curation of its massive content library, streamlining the process of delivering relevant media to athletes, partners, and broadcasters in real-time. Following the acquisition, key members of the Miro AI team, including co-founders Jamie Wilde and Evan Kroft, were integrated into Greenfly's engineering and business operations to ensure a seamless transition and continued development of the technology.

Keywords: computer vision, sports media analysis, AI content recognition, digital asset management, sports technology, athlete identification, brand recognition, logo detection, sports video analysis, machine learning, visual data, content as a service, CaaS, runner bib recognition, Greenfly, RunnerTag, sports analytics, short-form video, media orchestration, sponsorship activation