Nithin Kamath's Rainmatter-backed Game Theory acquires Matchday.ai

Nithin Kamath's Rainmatter backed Game Theory has taken a step forward to bolster its core technology with a strategic acquisition of Matchday.ai (‘Matchday’), a sports analytics startup. The acquisition will be effective as of October 28, 2023. This marks Game Theory's first acquisition.

The primary objective behind this strategic move is clear: to accelerate the technology roadmap of AI capabilities and computer vision.

Game Theory’s founder, Sudeep Kulkarni, expressed his excitement, saying, “Matchday has developed incredible computer vision technology. The world’s top athletes have used it to help improve their game. Game Theory will now bring this technology to everyday players. The sheer number of data points from actual gameplay that will now feed into this tech will be game-changing. This will also help us be able to deliver tech-enabled coaching, which was so far only for pro-sports. We can now not just identify micro improvements for casual real sports players but also function as a tech-first scout for building India’s future athletes.”

The driving force behind this acquisition was Matchday.ai's tech stack, which employs computer vision and AI capabilities, already being used in pro-sports. This technology stack significantly shortens Game Theory's time to market and brings in the key talent that built it from the ground up. The shared vision and passion for making real sports more enjoyable made the partnership between Game Theory and Matchday.ai a natural fit.

Speaking about the latest development, co-founders of Matchday.AI, Ganesh Yaparla and Harsha Vardhan Komanna, said “From our initial engagement with the Game Theory team, it was striking how harmoniously our visions aligned, in wanting to make sports more engaging through the use of technology. While addressing the same challenge from distinct perspectives, we specialized in pioneering state-of-the-art technology and building world-class products that are embraced by elite athletes and organizations. Conversely, Game Theory’s proficiency in operational strategy and a robust business model resonated across a broad market landscape. Recognising our complementary strengths, we were all able to agree that working together gave us the best chance of realizing our shared vision.”

Rakesh Bordia, partner at Prequate Advisory who leads the M&A, shared his insights on the acquisition said, “This acquisition has immense significance in the largely untapped opportunity of using the current state of technology in real sports. With this acquisition, Game Theory has further bolstered its moat and can now drive an extremely sticky experience for its user-players. The acquisition underscores Sudeep and his team’s commitment to driving innovation and growth in real sports and we have one of best seats in the house to witness this growth story.”