[Love sports and technology? Sign up for our sports tech newsletter to receive this rundown from GeekWire’s Taylor Soper via email every week.] TAYLOR’S TAKE ON THE WEEK IN SPORTS TECH: Vicis, the high-tech football helmet maker based in Seattle, had several key developments this week. The company announced an additional $7 million in funding, and has now raised nearly $50 million since spinning out of the University of Washington in 2014. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson participated in the funding round — Wilson, who also just launched his own media startup, is among a group of players from more than 15 NFL teams and 20… Read More
If baseball is a numbers game, who better to have on your team than a true data geek? For the first time in team history, the Seattle Mariners have hired a Director of High Performance. For Lorena Martin, it’s the next step in a life and career rooted in sports and understanding the physical and mental connections necessary to perform at an elite level. Martin, our latest Geek of the Week, joined the Mariners this offseason after spending a year as the Director of Sports Performance Analytics with the Los Angeles Lakers. She will be in charge of all aspects of… Read More
Vicis is adding another big name to its investor list as the startup gears up to make its high-tech football helmet available to high school athletes. The Seattle-based company today announced that NFL star quarterback Russell Wilson participated in a $7 million round led by The Peregrine Group. Total funding in Vicis is now close to $50 million. Founded in 2014 and spun out of the University of Washington, Vicis has developed a $1,500 football helmet designed to mitigate the forces thought to cause concussions. This season, players from more than 15 NFL teams and 20 NCAA programs are wearing… Read More
PALM DESERT, Calif.— Tennis legend Billie Jean King — who blazed a trail for equality and ushered in a new era for women’s sports in the 1970s — never perceived herself as a great athlete. “I never thought I was good enough,” said King, who spoke Thursday here at the EY Strategic Growth Forum. “I always wanted to be better than I was in the last match.” It was that drive for excellence that made King — who won 39 Grand Slam events and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 — a champion. King offered a few insights… Read More
[Love sports and technology? Sign up for our sports tech newsletter to receive this rundown from GeekWire’s Taylor Soper via email every week.] TAYLOR’S TAKE ON THE WEEK IN SPORTS TECH: The NBA has tapped a Seattle startup to lower the cost of its travel expenses. Founded in 2007, Yapta’s technology helps corporate travelers snag cheaper airfare and hotel rates. The startup has raised $25 million to date and was just named to Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 list. One of the company’s 6,500 customers is the NBA, which uses Yapta to save travel costs for both employees across its 13 offices worldwide, and for players… Read More
