Several Seattle Seahawks players, including stars like Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman, are wearing the new Vicis helmet during games. Embed from Getty Images The Seahawks had their preseason home opener on Friday, beating Minnesota 20-13 at CenturyLink Field, and a handful of players sported the high-tech helmet that is being used during actual games for the first time. In the Zone. : @DjMogg @West2EastEmpire pic.twitter.com/oxQZNjGz27 — Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) August 19, 2017 During Seattle’s second preseason game, you could recognize the helmet from its triangular air pockets on the front. Star wide receiver Doug Baldwin, also an investor in Vicis,… Read More
STRIVR made a name for itself in the sports world as one of the top startups using virtual reality to help professional and college teams train their players. But in the past few months, the business opportunity for STRIVR has skyrocketed beyond sports — that’s what happens when a giant like Walmart comes knocking on the door. Founded in 2015 by former Stanford football kicker Derek Belch and Stanford associate professor Jeremy Bailenson, STRIVR has developed a virtual reality platform used by teams across all the big sports leagues. Players strap on a headset and use STRIVR’s software to watch immersive, 360-degree video… Read More
Seattle-based Esports betting startup Unikrn today announced that it will look to sell $100 million in cryptocurrency “tokens” as part of an initial coin offering, or ICO. On Sept. 22, the company will sell virtual tokens called UnikoinGold that can be used on its platform to bet on Esports matches. Those tokens can be exchanged for other major cryptocurrencies, such as ethereum and bitcoin, which can then be exchanged for U.S. dollars. Unikrn is partnering with CoinCircle for the ICO and will use the proceeds to help fund the growth of its business. The company previously raised $10 million in venture funding from… Read More
This isn’t your kid’s Christmas-present drone, floating over the backyard to snap an aerial picture of the family picnic. The Pro Aerial League is high-speed action featuring teams competing with state-of-the-art equipment and it kicks off with an event this Saturday in Everett, Wash. Pro Aerial League is the first team-based drone racing organization in the United States. Other organizations are up and running, including the Drone Racing League, but PAL will feature indoor events and cater more intently on the spectator experience. It starts Saturday with an inaugural event at Xfinity Arena where teams will go head to head.… Read More
The Dota 2 esports tournament in Seattle, known as The International, demonstrates how video games have become hugely popular team sports — and today alpha geek Elon Musk took the occasion to tout a different kind of team effort. Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is also a big supporter of OpenAI, a nonprofit research company aimed at boosting artificial intelligence architectures and applications that benefit humanity. Today, OpenAI showed off an AI bot that vanquished Danylo “Dendi” Ishutin, one of the world’s top Dota 2 players, in a one-vs.-one demonstration match. “OK, this guy is scary,” Ishutin said as he… Read More
