Sacramento Kings Invest in AR Tech Startup Xperiel As Part of $7M in Series A Funding

The Sacramento Kings have investmented in tech start-up, Xperiel, led by former Google executives Alex and Philipp Hertel. Xperiel’s Real World Web platform creates an enhanced and augmented reality experience for the Sacramento Kings through the team’s dual-mode mobile app. The Kings commitment is part of the announced $7 million in Series A funding Xperiel announced this week, which also includes new investments from Scott Cook, Co-Founder of Intuit, Cyan Banister of Founders Fund.

“The enhanced experience at Golden 1 Center extends off the court and into the hands of our guests through their devices,” said Kings Chief Technology Officer Ryan Montoya. “Xperiel’s advancement in linking next-generation technology with real-time data, an array of sensors and beacons in a device-agnostic platform represents the future of customer engagement and we’re thrilled to be a part of their growth beyond sports.”

Inside of the Kings + Golden 1 Center app, Xperiel has developed two unique activations for guests to interact with the world’s most technologically advanced arena. Through the Call the Shot game, fans can make predictions about what will happen during the game and collect points based on their wagers, whether they are attending the game or watching from around the world. The Photo in the Plaza function lets fans share their photos to be displayed on the arena’s custom 25-foot vertical video screens at the Grand Entrance as guests arrive on game night.

“From day one, the Sacramento Kings understood the true impact a mixed reality experience could have on their customer engagement. Extending our relationship to include investment allows us to continue to grow Xperiel’s offering and bring exciting new ways to engage their guests, while also expanding into new markets,” said Xperiel CEO and co-founder Alex Hertel.

In the coming months, the Kings and Xperiel will roll out additional features in the Kings + Golden 1 Center app that allow arena guests to take advantage of the sports industry’s most powerful network of beacons, Wi-Fi access points, and connected point of sale systems, powered by a tier 4 data center and a 2 x 100 GBPS internet connection.