Israel-based sports video creation software developer WSC Sports has collected $23m in a series C round led by OG Tech Ventures, an investment subsidiary of diversified conglomerate Ofer Global.
Mobile network operator NTT Docomo, sports team owner Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, chipset maker Intel and e-sports content provider Go4 also invested, through corporate venturing vehicles NTT Docomo Ventures, HSBE Ventures, Intel Capital and Go4It Capital respectively.
The round was filled out by non-profit funding body Israel Science Foundation, Maor Investments, Detroit Venture Partners, 2BAngels, iAngels and Wise Ventures, the investment office of the Wilf family, the owners of American football team Minnesota Vikings.
Founded in 2011, WSC Sports offers an artificial intelligence-powered service that automatically scans live sport broadcasts to select clips for use in short-form media in areas like highlight reels, enabling content owners to quickly compile digital programming for their audiences.
The company’s partners include US basketball league NBA and the Australian cricket association, Cricket Australia.
Cash from the series C round will be used to drive WSC’s expansion into new sports categories and regions, while also funding the development of new products. Roy Oron, managing director of OG Tech Ventures, will join its board of directors in conjunction with the round.
The round took WSC’s funding to $39m altogether, following a $12m series B round in 2016 that was led by Intel Capital and backed by the Wilf family along with the owners of baseball franchise Los Angeles Dodgers and Dan Gilbert, majority owner of basketball team Cleveland Cavaliers.
The company had received $20,000 and was offered a $100,000 convertible note for participating in Dodgers Accelerator, a partnership between LA Dodgers and ad agency R/GA, the previous month.
WSC has not confirmed details of its series A round, but the Wall Street Journal reported in 2013 that it had received $1m of seed capital from investors including Plus Ventures, and had taken part in software producer Microsoft’s Israeli Windows Azure accelerator.