MLS Innovation Lab selects 2026 cohort

MLS has selected the third cohort for its MLS Innovation Lab program that trials promising athlete and business technologies across the North American soccer ecosystem.

Three of the companies -- Orreco, Springbok Analytics and Fit:match -- are working in athlete performance and talent development. Two others, AIR and WMT Digital, will be utilized for projects in fan experience on broadcast and ticketing, respectively.

“Every one of these companies is a very specific, niche use case where it’s deploying AI in service of something,” said MLS SVP/Emerging Ventures Chris Schlosser. “Especially in the sports world, it’s not necessarily going to be the massive LLM that’s going to come and change the world.”

Schlosser noted that the league’s enterprise use of ChatGPT has been widely beneficial, but these more focused implementations are important for new breakthroughs. However they need to be rigorously tested on site.

“The reason we love this program so much is because it gives us real hands-on ability to take unbelievable young technology and put it in real world use cases,” Schlosser said. “How will it operate in game time conditions on youth fields or MLS fields?”

MLS retains the option to take equity in the five companies at the completion of the Innovation Lab program, which will include two days in the new league office next month for meetings with Commissioner Don Garber and other top executives (this is in lieu of an All-Star Game demo).

Here’s more detail on this year’s cohort:

• Springbok Analytics applies AI to MRI scans to create 3D muscle analysis. MLS will compile an anonymized database of its players for teams to have benchmarks that can be sorted by position, age, etc.
• Orreco will supply its AI-powered Motion Signal product, which uses tracking data to identify injury risk, to team personnel.
• Fit:match, which counts former USMNT star Jozy Altidore as an investor, uses a smartphone to create 3D scans of an athlete. It can track long-term player development and will help MLS Next measure youth players for placement at the right level. MLS partner Apple will assist with R&D.
• AIR automates the operation of a 4K robotic camera for broadcast production. Two other cameras create a light tracking system to assist with its focus. Other AI camera solutions use a panoramic lens and crop the image; this is a higher-quality production driven by AI to follow the action. It’s had success in indoor sports, but MLS will investigate applications for soccer -- typically played in varied light outside and on a larger field.
• WMT Digital, through its ticketing business formerly known as Tillion, will ingest MLS ticketing data for AI ticket pricing and distribution.

Note: Orreco and Springbok have both won an SBA: Tech for Best in Athlete Performance while also being honored as a SBJ 10 Most Innovative company.

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