Interview with Mohammad Ali Abbaspour, the Founder and CEO of Sponix.
– What did you do after University?
After my university education, I had already started my first startup which was about sports and technology. At that moment, we produced and developed a technology that was unique, much like what we do now in Sponix. The difference is that what we do in Sponix is unique worldwide while this was unique in the MENA regionon that moemnt. Back then, in 2012, we developed a very interesting solution related to sports and technology and it was a good experience that marked the start of a real career involving starting, building, and growing a startup. Right now when I look back, I know that if I had the experience I had now back then, that startup would have been more successful. Interestingly, what we developed in 2012, right now, in some way, is a trend in the industry. The interesting thing is that some technologies are birthed years before the industry can catch up. And so, it would be realized three or four years later. The concept of the startup was to have a personal trainer and coach for everyone at home which can also double as a medium of entertainment. We developed a device which was an infrared camera that can be connected to the computer. We developed four software for that setup to be connected to the PCs allowing the users to interact with themselves and also take part in activities in the system. This is quite similar to Microsoft Kinect but back then, Microsoft Kinect was working on Xbox and 360. The point is that we introduced that solution at that time, designing the camera ourselves while bringing new solutions to PCs and laptops. It was a solution that was more accurate than the other technologies available in the market at that time. For the main software that involved the personal trainer, we recorded different exercises from different angles, we also recorded from one of the professional coaches of the fitness clubs, and then we brought the model of the coach to the system. For a user, the model of the coach will appear facing their model on the system. The user’s model was outfitted with lights in each joint indicating the level of accuracy of the user’s moves to that of the trainer on the system ranging from green which would be a high-level accuracy to yellow to orange to red. We provided real-time feedback for each user while they copied the different exercises of the coach. There were different programs for different sex, and age based on the preference of each user. Though it’s been over 10 years, you would think it would be obsolete, but it still is interesting. And when we came to Qatar, we had some meetings with Aspire managers who were more interested in this topic than what we did in Sponix when we started. When we started in Sponix, no one believed in what we were doing even in the MENA region. It was so unique that some couldn’t understand how we would create value for the sporting industry through it. But because we had a plan for what we were doing, we focused on it. As I mentioned, some of the mentors with which we discussed motivated us to continue what we had for this personal training solution.
– You said that was your first startup, what was the second one?
The second one was Sponix. The first startup started from 2012 until 2016 and from 2016 to 2018, I was very engaged in Esports, and also I was a board member of the Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF) in UAE. Again, though I loved ESports and was a gamer myself (not professional), I was more involved in the technological aspects of it. After starting Sponix, I left AESF and focused solely on Sponix.
– What was your main goal for starting up Sponix?
My thoughts and hope were to start something that would bring value to the industry not just for my region, but globally. Then I began to review and follow the trends in the industry regarding sport and technology which was my passion. I was very curious about Intel, the famous US company: and what they were doing in football and other sports like basketball but their main focus was more on basketball and American football. But for the first time, they brought immersive technology to LaLiga and I remember being captivated when they launched the technology at an El Clasico match. Before that time, I already knew about Intel’s activities in other sports but I didn’t know they developed technology for football. So me with my amazing team triedto achieve the same output without having to put multiple setups in different stadiums. I thought that having that kind of technology would be immensely valuable to all football leagues. And that was the revelation that led to the start of Sponix.
– How were you able to develop these?
In my opinion, no startup can thrive without a team and I have an amazing team and without them, none of it would be possible. After we got that idea, a few months later, we prepared the first version of our technology that was implemented for the first time at the Super Cup of UAE Pro League. It was a very big moment for us and big news for the industry. After that, we started to work with some European clients which set us on our way to progress. The point is that, even when we had progress with our first technology, I had the insight that Sponix should not only be a company that provides immersive replay technology. We had more to offer and so we started to work on the second technology right then and for two years, we worked relentlessly on the second technology –our virtual advertising solution- that is to launch this September.
– Are all your team stationed in Qatar?
The majority of my team is here in Qatar but we have others who live in some other countries like US andGermany as well. Right now, we are a team of 30 because we have different things to do technically and commercially.
– As you know, partaking in the World Cup is a dream come true for every vendor, how were you able to get the contacts and the contracts?
Though one of the reasons we moved to Doha was because of the World Cup, more than that I really like Doha, and the people. The vision of the country about technology and sport is amazing. It’s amazing for such a small country to be organized enough to be hosting the World Cup. In the coming years, they will be hosting a lot of sporting tournaments and they keep enlarging their infrastructure to do so. I think the most important thing for me is their passion for sports.
– Who are your main clients now?
Our clients are the right-holders,organizers, leagues, clubs, and broadcasters.. One of our most important clients is UEFA. We have a contract with them and we are technology providers for them. Also, we worked with ATP in tennis. We are trying to finalize a contract with FIFA before the World Cup but if not, surely after the World Cup. Our technology was used during the Arab Cup at the end of 2021. We had big plans to work with FIFA as well but if I were to mention our major clients, I would say UEFA, MediaPro, beIN Sports, RMC Sport, and UAE Pro League. 95% of our clients are based in Europe and in total, we have about 10 clients and are currently in the process of working on a deal with Sky Sports Germany. We had several successful live tests with LaLiga but we are yet to have a contract with them The unique thing about our new technology is that it is a total game changer for the industry. For the first time, we are implementing the Virtual advertising concept just with the use of a program feed. It comes without installations, billboards nor any form of integration with the cameras or production team yet we are able to receive program feed and are capable of sending 20 different feeds for 20 different markets. It’s a big game changer because most of our competitors need to set up and install billboards. Our other more advanced competitors don’t need this setup and installation; however, they still need to have access to the SDI format of the main camera feed or some sort of engagement with a production process. And why ours is unique is that we can stay downstream without any engagement with the production site. We’ve worked so hard for this for more than 2 years and it is almost unbelievable that a startup company like ours would achieve this sort of stride. Alhamdulillah! Hopefully, we’ll launch this in 8 days and it would be big news in the industry.
– For such a young age, you’ve been able to achieve a lot. Can you tell us what you believe is your greatest professional achievement?
My greatest achievement will be building up a startup that is doing something unique enough to make top-tier brands and names in the industry such as UEFA to be interested in our solutions. And we are hoping to expand our market to South and North America and the East of Asia but the point is that we need the capacity to cover and serve many companies at once. Because in the last two weeks, we had to let two contracts go because we were unable to serve them. We are making plans to expand our team to be able to serve these companies at the same time. Right now, our solutions are ready for Football, Basketball, Tennis, Handball, and Ice Hockey and we are receiving many new approaches from new sports like Cricket and Baseball. Recently, we were awarded by the US embassy as the best startup in Qatar based on merit, the best startup in Asia by Microsoft last year, and the startup of the year in Sporttechnology Award in London. We have huge potential and so this is why we had investment proposal fromvarious strategic investors. And now we have Andrea Radrizzani and Aser Ventures as a shareholder. It is important that we have very strategic and valuable shareholders on board because apart from the cash that they inject into the company, more importantly, we need a strategic partner that would invest their expertise and experience for our growth. Andrea Radrizzani was one of the people I had admired and followed business-wise from the onset of Sponix. I had always dreamed to be in touch with him because I liked what he did in the industry and so when he came to Qatar for a conference, I had the opportunity to speak with him. It was a private function and I gave an elevator pitch of the potential of what we had.
– Sponix has the potential to solve some of the problems facing Virtual Reality and personal targeted advertising. Have you ever thought of venturing into this area?
Right now, what we are doing is totally remote. From our office in Doha, we are serving the top leagues worldwide so everything we do is remote. Regarding the personally targeted advertising, technically, we can achieve that right now because by sitting downstream as earlier mentioned, this means that we can produce –provided we have enough cloud machines on our cloud server- one million feeds. But realistically, with the available cloud servers we can have, we are to produce 20-30 feeds and if we know for instance that a range of IPs is for girls between the age of 15-20 years watching the Champions League, we can produce one feed with that range of IP coupled with some related sponsors that they will find interesting. This can be achieved firstly if we have data about the range of IP, and secondly, we need to have the commercial rights from the rights-holder in question. So technically, it is possible for us.
– Can you tell us how you develop solutions for immersive technology and what their key advantages are?
The main reason we have fast growth in the industry is that we are eliminating any need for hardware. It helps us to implement our solution in any stadium and it is very scalable as well. This means that we can work for different tournaments and competitions without any need for logistics and setups. Another important factor about our solutions is that they are totally green and environmentally friendly because we are eliminating the need for different things that harm the environment. This is our main advantage. Obviously, we have our algorithms and procedures for producing these technologies and outputs and though we can say that right now both solutions are unique in the industry, frankly, like all technology, we don’t know about tomorrow. Currently, we are the only active company in the industry to have this kind of output by just using program feed in downstream.
– You have been able to develop unique technologies in computer vision, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. What can you tell us about this and the main features that you enable to broadcast with this?
These technologies you mentioned are the main reasons we are considered scalable. Another advantage that we have is that we are not dependent on a specific cloud setup. So for instance, in 24 hours, we can move from AWS to Microsoft Azure. During one of our live tests, we had an issue with the availability of cloud servers before the match but we did the work using another server from another brand. Right now, our main cloud service provider is Google. We have a good relationship with them and hope to expand our cooperation with them. At the same time, we work with AWS as well. This shows that we can work with any standard available cloud server without being dependent on cloud-specific performances.
– Do you develop any hardware technologies or plan to do so in the nearest future?
We haven’t any hardware solutions. All of our solutions are purely software. Maybe in the future, we may venture into producing hardware. Currently, we are positioning ourselves as a remote production and software-based technology provider because this is our main advantage as we do everything from our headquarters office.
– Are you in collaboration with any third-party integrators and can you tell us about the interoperability of your products?
Yes. Right now, we make use of some third-party infrastructures. One of our main partners is Google and we are hoping to expand our partnership with them. Another one of our partners is Tata Communications. They are immensely supportive of us by providing very reliable infrastructures that promote a suitable implementation of our technologies. Because working with beIN sports or UEFA means that millions of fans are watching that particular output which means that our infrastructures have to be completely stable and reliable.
– Can you outline your company’s plans and top priorities for the future?
As I mentioned earlier, the official launch of our second technology, which is a virtual advertising technology is in 10 days and we plan to implement both of our technologies in more competitions, especially in football. Apart from the fact that my team and I love football, it is also more rewarding in terms of revenue than any other sport in the industry. However, we are receiving many approaches from different sports that we should customize and prepare our solutions for their sports as well. But our main target for the next few years is to produce forty-eight different signals for forty-eight different countries in World Cup 2026. We also have some other crazy ideas of showing the matches through the eyes of the players in real-time and not just immersive replays as a fixed frame for the viewers. We have some proof of concept that we can achieve this in the next two to three years.
