A modest tee shot away from Boeing’s airplane assembly factory in Renton, Wash., golf balls are taking flight at a sprawling new Topgolf sports and entertainment venue that opened on Friday. Topgolf Renton-Seattle is the company’s 78th location and first in Washington state, and golfers of all skill levels streamed into the place in the midst of a heat wave to smack golf balls, play games, eat, drink and take in the atmosphere. Topgolf uses Toptracer, a ball-tracing technology which powers the tech-enabled driving range experience. Each ball hit from 102 different bays on three levels is tracked by cameras… Read More
Topgolf is ready to swing into action south of Seattle at its latest tech-enabled golf facility, with an opening planned for Friday in Renton, Wash. The sports and entertainment company’s 78th venue is its first in Washington state and it will feature three levels and 102 open-air hitting bays. Topgolf is also bringing Toptracer, its ball-tracing technology which powers the high-tech driving range experience so golfers can play such games as “Angry Birds” and “Jewel Jam.” Along with a mix of food, drink and music, the location will also have indoor Swing Suite simulator bays powered by Full Swing technology,… Read More
Before you take yet another mulligan, consider that the tool to improving your golf game might not be found in your bag of clubs. The makers of an app that employs artificial intelligence and 3D motion analysis say they’ve created a revolutionary way to improve your golf swing through a video shot on your phone. Sportsbox AI is a startup that launched in 2021 out of AI Thinktank, a Bellevue, Wash.-based incubator for AI ideas founded by tech veterans Mike Kennewick and Rich Kennewick. They’re the brothers who founded Voicebox Technologies, an early leader in speech recognition and natural language tech that sold… Read More
Jeff Bezos is among the investors taking part in an $80 million funding round in Overtime, a sports media brand with plans to launch a new basketball league for elite high school players. The Amazon CEO’s investment company Bezos Expeditions took part alongside notable co-investors such as hip-hop star Drake, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, and a host of current and former NBA stars. Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Overtime calls itself “a publisher and an influencer” and has become a social media juggernaut in five years, with programming across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and more attracting 14 billion views a year. The… Read More
Here’s what we’re talking about on the GeekWire Podcast this week. The world of the COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything any of us has ever experienced. We covered three stories this week that give us a glimpse into how the virus is changing our lives: We’ll talk about the new realities of work, through the lens of a Seattle area startup that just ditched its physical office space. Then on to education, with the latest on what classes will look like at the University of Washington and other schools this fall. And finally, sports. For Seattle Mariners fans, “take me… Read More
