New Delhi, June 11 -- Venture capital firm Sixth Sense Ventures has acquired a minority stake in sports presentation technology company InFieldSports Technology Pvt Ltd.
According to a person familiar with the matter, Sixth Sense is likely to have acquired a 30% stake in the company. However, Sixth Sense founder and chief executive officer Nikhil Vora and InFieldSports founder Muralidharan Srinivasan declined to disclose financial details of the transaction.
Founded in 1996 by Srinivasan, Chennai-based InFieldSports (formerly Techfront) provides perimeter systems, ribbon boards, scoreboards, display infrastructure, and software solutions for major sporting events worldwide.
According to the company's website, it has worked with global sports federations, broadcasters, and event organizers, and is compliant with standards set by UEFA and FIFA. The company has experience across international sporting events in cricket, football, rugby, athletics, and motorsport.
It is currently involved in several sporting events across the US, UK, and Europe, including indoor and outdoor World Athletic events, Premier League championships, football and rugby club competitions in the UK, and events organized by the UAE Football Association and the Qatar Football Association. Around 70% of its revenue comes from international events, with the remaining 30% generated from India.
"Sixth Sense's journey is to see that over the next two-three years, we become an AI-driven company reaching out to some of the biggest sports in North America, apart from the UK and Europe. That's going to be their predominant focus," Srinivasan told VCCircle.
He added that the company is also evaluating opportunities to convert viewers and fans into consumers but declined to share further details.
The firm has developed proprietary platforms that help stakeholders manage, measure and monetize venue assets. It also uses software tools for visibility measurement, audience analytics, and return-on-investing tracking.
InFieldSports is believed to generate annual revenues of over Rs 100 crore ($10 million).
In a previous avatar, the business had private equity investors including ADV Partners and KKR, with revenues peaking at $250 million. However, revenue was hit during the pandemic as live sporting events came to a halt. Srinivasan now holds a majority stake in the company.
Sixth Sense's Vora said, "In India and globally, the biggest spends are now happening in live events. The presentation of live events and the entire ecosystem has undergone a drastic change, making fan engagement a big thing. That is what InFieldSports is very good at."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.