In the vibrant milieu of the Squash World Cup held in Chennai just a couple of years back, twin PhD researchers Shyam and Shankar Sivaramakrishnan embarked on an extraordinary quest. They transformed the traditional broadcast landscape, melding captivating motion graphics with real-time analytics to reveal vital statistics such as shot types, error rates, and player hand usage in a manner heretofore unseen in professional squash.
Post-event, a cascade of inquiries flooded in from broadcasters and event organizers, all eager to apply this innovative visual storytelling and data analytical prowess to the realm of smaller sporting events—yet, at a fraction of the cost.
In the adrenaline-fueled arena of competitive sports, data serves as an invaluable treasure trove. Yet, the challenge lies in the sluggish, labor-intensive methods currently employed for data gathering and analysis, often laden with outdated tools. Athletes, teams, and training academies find themselves hampered by insufficient access to high-quality data – a roadblock they strive to break through.
Recognizing this dire need for modernization, the dynamic duo, Shyam and Shankar, established BanyanBoard—a venture dedicated to revolutionizing sports analytics and broadcasting through accessible and affordable software solutions.
From Lab to the Game: A Journey to Sports Tech
Before the entrepreneurial leap, Shankar earned his PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign following a bachelor’s in materials science at IIT Madras, later distinguishing himself as an award-winning researcher at GE’s Global Research Center. His journey included roles in the accelerated leadership program before his return to India, ultimately spearheading an AI research team at Aditya Birla.
Meanwhile, Shyam traversed a similar academic trajectory at the University of Minnesota, after which he too made his mark at GE before shifting focus to program and technical management roles, ultimately leading an AI team at a Silicon Valley energy storage startup.
In 2021, the brothers founded BanyanBoard, initially concentrated on R&D in industrial and edtech sectors. But it was their enlightening experience at the Squash World Cup in 2023 that pivoted their focus towards sports technology, fueled by insights from industry veterans and their shared passion for sports.
“We’ve always been athletes, having participated and led competitive teams across various sports. The inspiration hit us when Shankar took the initiative to engage sports academies directly to gauge the practicality of our tools for coaches and athletes,” recounts Shyam.
Today, their Bengaluru-based startup has blossomed into a six-member powerhouse innovating software designed specifically for the sports realm, ranging from analytics to broadcast graphics.
BanyanBoard’s Unique Offerings
At the heart of their offerings lies SPAN (SPorts Analysis), a cloud-based platform engineered to streamline the intricacies of sports analysis.
This Software as a Service (SaaS) powerhouse revitalizes data collection and video analysis, boasting features such as ‘video tagging’ which empowers users to dissect pivotal moments in sports footage. With AI-driven insights, athletes and coaches can unearth opportunities for performance elevation.
Shyam likens SPAN to an ERP system—configurable for an array of functionalities. It facilitates the creation of custom data collection templates, coding windows, user interfaces, scoring recipes, charts, and dashboards, enabling academies and teams to cultivate a robust analysis practice akin to establishing an ERP system.
What sets SPAN apart is its sport-agnostic approach, serving diverse team sports and racquet games without being tethered to a single sport’s pre-configured settings. Currently, its capabilities extend to analyzing footage from football, hockey, badminton, and, of course, squash.
Training academies, competitive teams, sports leagues, national federations, and aspiring individual athletes have found SPAN indispensable. While commercial sales are aimed at businesses, BanyanBoard generously offers it for free to emerging analysts craving to learn.
Moreover, BanyanBoard also unveiled EvoFX—a groundbreaking graphics platform designed for real-time data visualization in sports broadcasting, integrating graphics with dynamic data sources such as scoring applications and APIs. This browser-based marvel allows multiple remote operators to manage graphics, significantly expediting real-time operations while cutting travel costs for event organizers.
In a bid to cater to smaller broadcasters and independent streamers, the startup has launched EZGrafix, a user-friendly, pay-as-you-go version of EvoFX, offering a treasure trove of professional-grade graphic templates adapted for live sports broadcasts.
“Alongside our mainstay SPAN and EvoFX, we are excited to introduce EZSquash—a service tailored for squash aficionados providing in-depth analysis,” adds Shankar. “New functionalities such as live tagging and mobile scoring capabilities are also in the pipeline, enhancing our offering to better address the diverse visualization needs of analysis teams.”
Strategic Model and Trailblazing Growth
BanyanBoard’s tech solutions are rapidly gaining traction for live data collection, broadcast graphics, and AI-enhanced sports analysis across an array of sports including cricket, kabaddi, and various racquet games.
Their business model encompasses both B2B solutions—serving organizations invested in advanced analytics—and B2C offerings, targeting individual streamers and smaller broadcasters. Esteemed clients range from Khelo India to FC Madras—a premier football academy—and extend to national athletes and sporting federations.
Illustrating their impact, Shankar notes, “When we replaced a leading international solution at a football academy, our client saved over 50% on their annual software costs—our offerings are generally 40-50% cheaper in both analysis and broadcasting sectors.”
As a bootstrapped startup, BanyanBoard’s current revenue largely derives from Indian clients. Competing against global leaders such as Hudl and Vizrt in the sports analysis and broadcast graphics domains, they have now set their sights on scaling up to accommodate larger sporting events, fueled by burgeoning international interest and a vision to expand their global footprint.
