Dutch Sport Tech Fund
invests in AI startup
Ludimos

Dutch Sport Tech Fund, the investment fund for sport tech companies, is investing in Ludimos. This Dutch startup uses AI to help cricketers train smarter. The app has around 19,000 users and counts the Dutch, Scottish, German, and Spanish cricket associations among its clients, as well as the Indian Premier League.

Madan Rajagopal is the CEO and founder of Ludimos. He came up with the idea for Ludimos while coaching cricket at Bloemendaal. “During my weekly training sessions, I realized that these trainings could be much smarter. I was working with AI and saw opportunities to use this technology for my favorite sport. Almost everyone has a smartphone and can film their game (or have it filmed). By analyzing that data, players can immediately see what can be improved. Other sports have shown how useful data can be, and in cricket there is still a world to be won in this area.”

Alexander Janssen, CEO of Dutch Sport Tech Fund: “Although cricket is not the biggest sport in the Netherlands, it has 460 million players worldwide. In India, it is the number one national sport. Ludimos therefore has enormous potential. Many clubs and associations lack the resources to set up their own IT systems, which is why Ludimos appealed to major clubs such as the Indian Royal Challengers Bangalore and nine national associations, including the KNCB. We are going to help Ludimos fully exploit the potential of technology in the cricket market.”

Ludimos is used as SaaS and as a platform to discover talent, such as in India. “Indian clubs scan more than ten thousand profiles using AI, so they can be the first to scout new top players. It gives amateurs a chance to be discovered by clubs in the biggest league. The first player has already broken through in this way and was sold to another club. That might be what we are most proud of,” says Rajagopal.

Rajagopal hopes that Ludimos will become part of every cricket team’s training equipment. “Our technology also has value for other sports. Why couldn’t the AI that helps cricketers play better also be used by hockey players, golfers, tennis players, baseball players, and badminton players? The network of Dutch Sport Tech Fund is very useful for us in this regard, as are the best practices the fund has through training software for other sports.”