VR startup EON Sports lands pro Japanese baseball team
March 14, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
Kansas City-based virtual reality company EON Sports snagged its first international client.
The firm has partnered with the professional Japanese baseball team Yokohama DeNA Baystars and will bring its 360 baseball training simulator to the athletes this 2017 season.
Founded in 2013, the firm developed a mobile, virtual reality platform to help football and baseball players prepare game plans for specific opponents without risk of injury. “The W.I.N. Series” platform allows for a player or coach to plug their smartphone into a virtual reality headset to enter a customizable, in-game simulation.
Already with clients such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the University of Kansas and Ole Miss University, CEO Brendan Reilly said that the partnership with the Baystars will allow the firm to collect even more athlete performance data, thus improving EON Sports’ technology
“This is big for us,” Reilly said. “With each professional team that signs up with us we are able to add a level of credibility to what we are doing.”
Baystars outfielder Takayuki Kajitani said in a release that he was impressed with the technology.
“I felt it was very realistic of what I would see in the game,” Kajitani said. “I’m going to take advantage of the experience the pitching of pitchers who I’ve never played against, and will be able to experience it before an actual match.”
EON Sports’ tech has been featured by the likes of ESPN, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, the MLB Network, Fox Business and more. In 2015, EON Sports tapped New York Yankee Jason Giambi as an advisor. Reilly said that the Baystars partnership is adding momentum to the company’s work.
“This is yet another example of the EON Sports team pushing boundaries, and innovating along the front lines of the sports industry,” Reilly said. “We’ve surrounded ourselves with a top level team that will help us continue our frantic pace of growth. 2017 is going to be an exciting year.”
The firm has a relationship with such organizations as the MLB, NPB, FIFA, PGA Tour, NFL, Premier League, Big 10, SEC, ACC, Pac 12, Big 12 and MAC. The baseball training tech also has been employed by hundreds of youth and high school teams.
To learn more about the firm, click here.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
André’s planted its flag in KC 70 years ago; chocolatier says that’s just a taste of what’s to come
Nearly 5,000 miles from Switzerland, a small group toured the inner sanctum of an iconic 70-year-old Kansas City company — a family-run brand that helped redefine accessible luxury in the Midwest, one Swiss chocolate-covered almond at a time. “What people get excited about André’s is the legacy, that we take a lot of pride in…
Here’s how ULAH’s new boutique model aims to rack success for local brands, not inventory debt
The new KC Collective consignment-based program for local brands at ULAH is a win for both the Westwood boutique and Kansas City creatives, said Joey Mendez and Buck Wimberly, announcing a fresh model to help the struggling store stay open and financially stable. “We’ve always had local brands,” said Mendez, co-founder of ULAH, explaining the…
Tiki Taco ticks up giving alongside expansion; CEO owns up to taco shop’s neighborhood impact model
A month-long campaign in the popular Kansas City-based chain offers easy add-on: joining KC GIFT’s network of donors Restaurant executive Eric Knott wants Tiki Taco’s operators to own the neighborhoods into which the popular taco shop expands, he said, but that doesn’t just mean dominating the fast-casual market in each pocket of Kansas City. “Our…