AUSTIN, Texas, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WIN Reality, a virtual reality training and assessment platform for elite athletes, today announced that it has received a $45 million growth equity investment from Spectrum Equity, a leading growth equity firm focused on internet and software companies. The investment comes on the heels of a year of tremendous growth for WIN. In 2021, the company more than tripled both revenue and customer count, gaining momentum among athletes of all levels. The investment will be used to accelerate WIN's product innovation and support the company's mission of broadening access to the premier performance training tools used by professional athletes.
WIN Reality's virtual reality platform is used by thousands of youth players and hundreds of professional and collegiate baseball athletes, including a majority of Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises and more than 100 NCAA baseball and softball teams. Delivered through the Meta Quest headset, the company provides users with a library of over 7,000 real-life pitchers they can face off against and nearly two million pitches, allowing them to train for every potential pitch they might see in play. Furthermore, users can participate in various hitting drills and pitching simulations to receive real-time data-driven insights to improve pitch-recognition abilities and swing attributes. MLB players who used WIN as a game-prep tool exhibited 19% higher batting averages, 12% higher on-base percentages, and an 18% better plate-discipline ratio, according to a joint WIN-MLB study. Within the last year, players have faced nearly 40 million pitches on the WIN platform.
"While athletes and their families invest a lot of time and money into training, the best-in-class coaching and training tools used by professionals are still out of reach for the majority of people," said Chris O'Dowd, CEO of WIN Reality. "WIN lowers the many barriers to access, giving athletes of all ages and levels the chance to use the same top-notch training tools the professionals use. It's been incredibly gratifying to see young athletes gravitate toward WIN, and we're looking forward to working closely with Spectrum Equity to enhance the platform and to continue delivering high-quality training and practice tools to more people."
"We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with Chris and the WIN Reality team," said John Connolly, Managing Director at Spectrum Equity. "The company has achieved significant scale and cultivated an engaged customer base and community and did so on VR, a platform that is still early in its adoption curve. WIN's success demonstrates the incredible potential of VR and we're looking forward to supporting the company's continued growth trajectory."
In conjunction with the transaction, John Connolly of Spectrum Equity will join WIN Reality's board of directors.
About WIN Reality
WIN Reality is a virtual reality-based training tool designed to offer athlete evaluation and development. The company's software solution allows baseball and softball players to step into a virtual ballpark and take game-speed pitches that move as they would in a live environment. This empowers each customer to achieve their peak potential faster than they ever could with traditional training methods. Learn more at www.winreality.com.
About Spectrum Equity
Spectrum Equity is a leading growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support to innovative companies in the information economy. For over 25 years, the firm has partnered with exceptional entrepreneurs and management teams to build long-term value in market-leading internet-enabled software and data services companies. Representative investments include AllTrails, Ancestry, GoodRx, Grubhub, Headspace Health, Kajabi, Lucid Software, Lynda.com, and SurveyMonkey. For more information, including a complete list of portfolio investments, visit www.spectrumequity.com.
Media Contacts:
WIN Reality:
Emma Manning
956-244-6441
emma.manning@winreality.com
Spectrum Equity:
Lucy Byrd
617-464-5995
lbyrd@spectrumequity.com
Related Images
Image 1: WIN Reality
Baseball player hitting a pitch
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