Austin-based Trace, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to produce youth sports video highlights, has raised a fresh $47 million.
The series C round, led by Pelion Venture Partners, brings the company’s total funding to $65.2 million since it was founded in 2011. Lakestar, Toba Capital and Next VP also invested.
Trace, which operates legally as AlpineReplay Inc., frames its platform as a tool for do-it-yourself parents looking to capture their child’s latest highlights on the sports field. Trace boasts the ability to record and deliver personalized highlights within hours of the completion of a sporting event, using “wide-angle cameras and proprietary GPS sensors,” according to the April 12 announcement.
Trace’s funding round is a testament to both the strength of the Austin startup scene and the value of the youth sports industry, which has undeniably turned into big business in the United States. A 2019 report by Research and Markets estimated the size of the U.S. youth sports market at $19.2 billion, with the worldwide market expected to hit $77.6 billion by 2026.
Just outside of Austin in Cedar Park, for instance, baseball and softball scouting company Perfect Game Inc. is investing millions into a headquarters complex with 15 tournament-style baseball and softball fields — along with a hotel and restaurants on-site.
Trace has revenue in the “double-digit millions,” according to co-founder and CEO David Lokshin, and grew revenue 300% in 2021. The company offices out of a 15,000-square-foot headquarters at 200 Academy Dr., just off South Congress Avenue.
Trace’s software currently supports youth soccer, baseball and softball. The new funding will allow it to expand into more sports soon. The startup has 44 Austin-based employees and is expecting to hire at least 40 more before the end of the year.
The company currently lists at least a dozen jobs on its careers page, including roles in sales, customer success, human resources and product. It’s also looking for a vice president of marketing.
Trace’s target market is youth athletes; roughly 55% to 60% of its users are high schoolers, while approximately 40% of its users are 13 and under.
“We have parents of 6-year-olds who use Trace,” Lokshin said. “They want memories of their little kids, and they pay a lot of money for their son or their daughter to be in club soccer.”
Whether a young athlete has aspirations to play at the collegiate level or simply enjoys a competitive outlet with friends, “you still love your kids the same,” Lokshin said.
High school athletes may want to send their game tape to Division II or Division III coaches without the budget to make an in-person visit. Or maybe they play on a club team and simply want to share their athletic exploits on TikTok.
A subscription to Trace isn’t purchased on an individual basis — the subscription model is purchased by an entire team, and then every player gets a highlight package of their own moments. The price of the platform “turns out to something like $180 a year, per family," Lokshin said.
Once the subscription is purchased, there is no limit to how often it can be used.
“We’re really the first to think about video that way, where a single camera is delivering a different experience to everyone,” Lokshin said. “It’s a custom experience to every family and every player on the team.”
The customizable approach extends to the user experience, Lokshin said.
“It looks different for a parent than it does for a player. Because the parent and the player want different things,” he said. “If you log in as a coach, we zoom out. If you log in as a player, we zoom in. A coach wants to see what the team is doing; a parent wants to see what their kid is doing.”
The goal from the start was to create a product that Lokshin’s mom, who is not technically savvy, could operate with ease. The Trace tripod is seven pounds, and the camera has a single button a user can press to start the recording. Once the game is over, users plug the camera into an ethernet cable and the software takes over from there.
“A lot of the reason why parents don’t film their kid is because it’s really hard,” Lokshin said. “It’s intimidating, and that’s something that we set out to break.”
