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Sony acquires Boca-based sportstech KinaTrax, a leader in biomechanics and player performance

Nancy Dahlberg
Nancy Dahlberg
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By Nancy Dahlberg

KinaTrax, a leader in markerless motion capture technology that tracks in-game biomechanical performance data for athletes, has been acquired by Sony Corporation and will be incorporated into Sony’s sports businesses. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Boca Raton-based company will be partnering with Hawk-Eye Innovations Limited, a part of Sony’s sports businesses that also includes Beyond Sports and Pulselive, and bringing its biomechanical expertise and its markerless motion capture technology to Sony’s portfolio, creating synergy to maximize the use of sports data for athletes, teams, leagues and fans alike, Sony said in its announcement. KinaTrax also bolsters Sony’s capability to serve important use cases for sports data, such as analysis and biomechanics for coaching, scouting and athletes’ performance.

Steven Cadavid, Founder and President of Kinatrax.

Steven Cadavid, founder and president of Kinatrax, will be Head of Biomechanics as part of Sony’s sports businesses.  “Everybody staying,  the leadership stays intact, the entire company is staying intact,” Cadavid said about KinaTrax’s 50-employee team.

The future of sports is in deeper data tracking and the creation of smarter insights through innovative technology, said Cadavid. The end-to-end solution KinaTrax developed consists of high-speed video capture, precise skeletal tracking, and comprehensive data analysis, allowing teams to deliver immediate feedback and make quick adjustments during a game or training. It also enables coaches to create tailored training programs and drills based on individual player performance, and prevents injuries by identifying potential risk factors.

“With Sony, by enhancing KinaTrax’s expertise in capturing and delivering biomechanical performance data, we aim to contribute to provide sports leagues, teams and players with the best insights to improve performance and pursue success,” he said.

Cadavid, born and raised in South Florida, founded KinaTrax in 2016 with the mission of delivering cutting-edge in-game markerless motion capture technology for Major League Baseball teams. Since then, the company has expanded to over 100 stadiums and labs, spanning many of the MLB clubs, NBA teams, many of the top college programs, and clinical centers.  Cadavid, who holds an engineering  Ph.D. from the University of Miami, is also the principal developer of KinaTrax’s markerless motion capture system.

“We’re just incredibly excited for partnering with Hawkeye, being able to further unify our respective technologies,” Cadavid told Refresh Miami. “We will be improving on our products for baseball, first and foremost, which is our core customer base, and then expand into new initiatives. We’re working initially toward basketball – NBA, college, etc., and then expanding into hockey and cricket shortly thereafter. We will become the biomechanics arm of Hawkeye, if you will.”

Kinatrax is an alum of Florida Atlantic University’s Global Ventures program based at the Research Park at FAU, where the company still has a virtual office. Launching and growing the company in Boca Raton has played an important role in its success, particularly because of FAU and the wealth of sports in the area, Cadavid said. “There’s a lot of baseball teams in the area that’s really helped us stay local with the customer.  I wanted to keep it local, and it’s been very beneficial to us.”

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