Education finance and services provider Nelnet and venture capital firm Accel Partners have co-led a $72.5m series A round for US-based sports video analysis software developer Hudl.
Angel investor Jeff Raikes, chief executive of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, also took part in the round. Hudl had previously raised approximately $2.6m in seed funding between 2007 and 2010, according to regulatory filings.
Hudl has created a toolkit that includes video recording, editing, distribution and analytics for trainers, athletes and recruiters. The videos can be annotated and shared with other users via smartphone apps.
The company has grown to a customer base of 3.5 million professional, university and amateur athletes across 40 countries who have built a catalogue of around one billion videos. It will use the funding to build its team and pursue acquisitions to boost its product’s capabilities.
Mike Dunlap, executive chairman of Nelnet, said: “With tens of thousands of youth, high school, college and professional teams, millions of viewers, and millions of hours of content, the team at Hudl has built an easy-to-use platform that is the standard across all sports.
“We are excited to continue our support of a tremendous Nebraska company as it continues to expand its offering and build a world-class team.”