After launching at the X Games last January, The Owl AI has raised an $11 million seed round as it seeks new sports and settings where it can update human-based functions like officiating and judging.

Championed by Jeremy Bloom, a tech entrepreneur and former Olympic skier who was also a onetime NFL draft pick, the company has drawn significant backing. Its seed round was led by S32, which was founded by Google Ventures creator Bill Maris, and participants also include Menlo Ventures and Susa Ventures. Bloom, who is CEO of the X Games, has installed former Google Cloud AI chief Josh Gwyther as CEO. 

“When we launched The Owl in Aspen, the mission was clear: to modernize and elevate how sports are judged, experienced, and understood, using the power of AI,” Bloom said. “What I didn’t anticipate was the immediate surge of excitement among all the stakeholders including athletes and also other leagues. It was obvious that we were on to something big and necessary.”

Gwyther’s hiring, he added, is a “major moment, not just for The Owl, but for the entire world of sports technology.”

The goal of The Owl is to bring about fairness through technology. The company says it is in active discussions with a range of leagues and rightsholders in multiple sports. Although instant replay is now commonplace, more embeddable tech solutions like the Cyclops system in tennis for automated line calls, are more in line with where the company is heading. For TV and streaming viewers, the flaws and delays of the current landscape are also a pain point (just scroll social media on the morning after the big game). Plus, the explosion of sports betting and the financial payoffs hanging in the balance offer another reason to improve officiating and judging.

The Owl also says its tools help with viewer engagement by providing localized commentary in dozens of languages.

“At S32, we invest in bold ideas led by visionary teams and Owl AI is exactly that,” said Andy Harrison, CEO & General Partner, S32. “By fusing elite athletic insight with cutting-edge AI, Jeremy and Josh are building more than just a new layer of fairness in sports – they’re reshaping how the world experiences competition.”

In 2022, MSP Sports Capital purchased a majority stake in the X Games from ESPN, which launched the event in 1995 as a way to entice younger viewers. The organization also set a deal with Roku for live streaming.

Key Takeaways

• Fitness trackers aren’t accurately reflecting the effort of people with obesity

• Differences in gait, speed and energy burn throw the trackers off

• A new algorithm achieves more than 95% accuracy

WEDNESDAY, June 25, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Fitness trackers aren’t accurately assessing the physical activity of people with obesity, a new study argues.

Differences in walking gait, speed, energy burn and other factors mean that folks with excess weight aren’t getting an accurate read from their devices, researchers wrote in the journal Scientific Reports.

“People with obesity could gain major health insights from activity trackers, but most current devices miss the mark,” senior researcher Nabil Alshurafa, an associate professor of behavioral medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said in a news release.

Alshurafa’s team has developed a new algorithm that enables smartwatches to more accurately monitor the calories burned by people with obesity, researchers said.

Lab tests show that the new algorithm achieves over 95% accuracy in real-world situations, the study says.

“Without a validated algorithm for wrist devices, we’re still in the dark about exactly how much activity and energy people with obesity really get each day — slowing our ability to tailor interventions and improve health outcomes,” Alshurafa said.

Alshurafa said he was motivated to create the algorithm after going to an exercise class with his mother-in-law, who has obesity.

“She worked harder than anyone else, yet when we glanced at the leaderboard, her numbers barely registered,” Alshurafa said. “That moment hit me: fitness shouldn’t feel like a trap for the people who need it most.”

Current algorithms used by fitness trackers were built for people without obesity, Alsurafa explains.

Hip-held trackers often misread energy burn because people with excess weight walk with a different gait and wear the devices at a tilt, researchers said. Wrist-worn devices offer better accuracy, but haven’t been rigorously tested and calibrated for people with obesity.

The team tested their new algorithm against 11 other state-of-the-art methods for estimating exertion, using research-grade fitness trackers and wearable cameras to catch every moment when wrist sensors misread calorie burn.

In one group, 27 people wore a fitness tracker and a mask that calculates energy burn based on the amount of oxygen inhaled and carbon dioxide exhaled.

In another group, 25 people wore a fitness tracker and body camera during their daily activities, the study says.

Alshurafa also had people perform standard exercises modified to take their weight into account — for example, wall pushups as opposed to floor pushups.

“Many couldn’t drop to the floor, but each one crushed wall-pushups, their arms shaking with effort,” Alshurafa said, “We celebrate ‘standard’ workouts as the ultimate test, but those standards leave out so many people. These experiences showed me we must rethink how gyms, trackers and exercise programs measure success — so no one’s hard work goes unseen.”

The next step is to deploy an activity-monitoring app that uses the new algorithm for Apple- and Android-powered smartwatches, researchers said.

The algorithm is open-source, and other researchers are encouraged to test it and build upon it.

“To date, many works have examined the validity of proprietary algorithms from commercial activity monitors,” the research team wrote in their paper. “However, to the best of our knowledge, none of them have published an open-source algorithm that others can replicate using raw data obtained from commercially available wrist-worn sensing devices.”

More information

Harvard Medical School has more on the usefulness of fitness trackers.

SOURCES: Northwestern University, news release, June 19, 2025; Scientific Reports, June 19, 2025

What This Means For You

People with obesity might soon have more accurate fitness trackers to help them lose weight and improve their health.

Yokneam Illit, Israel, June 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Wearable Devices Ltd. (the “Company” or “Wearable Devices”) (Nasdaq: WLDS, WLDSW), a technology growth company specializing in artificial intelligence (“AI”)-powered touchless sensing wearables, recently announced the expansion of its Large Motor Unit Action Potential Model (“LMM”) into new potential markets, such as predictive health monitoring and cognitive state analytics. This development will enable the broadening of bio-signal intelligence applications beyond wearables and will offer businesses and healthcare providers access to real-time physiological insights for monitoring health and wellness conditions.

This strategic expansion into predictive health monitoring aligns with the rising interest in personalized wellness devices. This interest is now demonstrated at the federal level. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has recently advocated for wearable devices to enhance health monitoring and cognitive well-being, underscoring the public and institutional momentum toward real-time data-driven care.

This announcement follows Wearable Devices’ recent introduction of LMM as a groundbreaking AI-driven bio-signal platform focused on gesture-based control in extended reality (“XR”) and neural interaction with digital devices. The Company’s LMM approach to analyzing muscle activity signals will support the expansion into the field of health monitoring, enabling users to enhance their performance across various domains.

From Passive Monitoring to Proactive Intelligence

Unlike traditional bio-sensors that collect data passively, LMM continuously learns and adapts, turning muscle activity signals from the wrist into actionable insights. The technology is now being evaluated in controlled environments for real-world applications, including:

A Platform for Innovation: Opening LMM to Business Partners

Recognizing the transformative potential of bio-signal intelligence, Wearable Devices is intending to make LMM available to enterprises, researchers, and developers. The Company’s AI-powered bio-signal data platform is expected to enable businesses to:

Following the initial evaluation phase, Wearable Devices aims to accelerate commercialization and strategic partnerships across the health sector, reinforcing its position as a pioneer in bio-signal intelligence and neural interface technology.

About Wearable Devices Ltd.

Wearable Devices Ltd. is a pioneering growth company revolutionizing human-computer interaction through its AI-powered neural input technology for both consumer and business markets. Leveraging proprietary sensors, software, and advanced AI algorithms, the Company’s innovative products, including the Mudra Band for iOS and Mudra Link for Android, enable seamless, touch-free interaction by transforming subtle finger and wrist movements into intuitive controls. These groundbreaking solutions enhance gaming, and the rapidly expanding AR/VR/XR landscapes. The Company offers a dual-channel business model: direct-to-consumer sales and enterprise licensing. Its flagship Mudra Band integrates functional and stylish design with cutting-edge AI to empower consumers, while its enterprise solutions provide businesses with the tools to deliver immersive and interactive experiences. By setting the input standard for the XR market, Wearable Devices is redefining user experiences and driving innovation in one of the fastest-growing tech sectors. Wearable Devices’ ordinary shares and warrants trade on the Nasdaq under the symbols “WLDS” and “WLDSW,” respectively.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “estimate,” “anticipate” or other comparable terms. For example, we are using forward-looking statements when we discuss the benefits and advantages of our devices and technology, including the potential of LMMs, the potential to accelerate commercialization and strategic partnerships across the health sector, the rising interest in personalized wellness devices and entering markets that need real-time physiological insights. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding our strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: the trading of our ordinary shares or warrants and the development of a liquid trading market; our ability to successfully market our products and services; the acceptance of our products and services by customers; our continued ability to pay operating costs and ability to meet demand for our products and services; the amount and nature of competition from other security and telecom products and services; the effects of changes in the cybersecurity and telecom markets; our ability to successfully develop new products and services; our success establishing and maintaining collaborative, strategic alliance agreements, licensing and supplier arrangements; our ability to comply with applicable regulations; and the other risks and uncertainties described in our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed on March 20, 2025 and our other filings with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact
Michal Efraty
IR@wearabledevices.co.il

Recognized for revolutionizing large file transfer and management workflows in sports, news, and high-volume media production

OTTAWA, ON / ACCESS Newswire / June 25, 2025 / MASV (massive.io), the fastest and most reliable large file transfer platform for media professionals, has been named an IDC Innovator in the IDC Innovators: Media and Entertainment, 2025 report (doc #US52275525, May 2025).

“In today’s market, delivering high-value workflow efficiencies and measurable ROI is essential,” said Alex Holtz, Research Director, Worldwide Media & Entertainment Digital Strategies at IDC. “MASV offers a unique combination of deep cloud and tool integrations, exceptional ease of use, and faster implementation with minimal setup complexity. Their flexible pricing model and ability to work within existing infrastructures further reduce customer risk-making MASV an IDC Innovator in the space.“

According to the report, “MASV serves modern media and entertainment companies with data-intensive applications such as sports and news. Sports demands quick and reliable delivery of high-quality video content from live event footage to highlight reels. Benefits include real-time delivery, efficient remote uploads, and reliability. News agencies constantly operate under immense time constraints, needing to gather and organize breaking stories at lightning speed. Journalists can efficiently upload footage from the field, which MASV automatically categorizes for streamlined newsroom workflows. Reporters with minimal technical expertise can transfer files quickly using drag-and-drop functionality, avoiding technical delays. Automated workflows, such as integrations with Amazon S3 and Slack notifications, ensure that producers and editors access content instantly, accelerating broadcast readiness for time-sensitive stories. MASV simplifies, manages, and supports the transfer of entire archives, individual files up to 15TB, or multi-petabyte data sets such as historical footage or production backups. MASV offers cloud-based scalability with platforms that enable seamless ingestion and distribution of petabyte-scale data directly into storage systems and provides secure, reliable transfers.”

“We’re honored to be recognized as an IDC Innovator in media and entertainment,” said MASV CTO and interim CEO Majed Alhajry. “We’ve built MASV to solve the real problems media teams face today, from shrinking timelines to distributed production teams, and this recognition validates the mission we’re on.”

Download the IDC Innovators Excerpt
To view the MASV excerpt from the IDC Innovators: Media and Entertainment, 2025 report, visit https://massive.io/masv-idc-innovator.

About IDC Innovators:

An IDC Innovators report presents a set of vendors – under $100M in annual revenue at the time of selection – chosen by an IDC analyst within a specific market that offer a new technology, a groundbreaking solution to an existing issue, and/or an innovative business model. It is not an exhaustive evaluation or a comparative ranking of all companies, but rather a document that highlights innovative companies in a specific market segment. IDC INNOVATOR and IDC INNOVATORS are trademarks of International Data Group, Inc.

About MASV

MASV is a cloud-based large file transfer platform designed to orchestrate and secure file movement worldwide to meet fast-paced and nimble workflows. Global media organizations rely on MASV to automatically deliver their large files without any restrictions, allowing them to concentrate on their next big deliverable. To learn more and try MASV for free, visit massive.io or contact team@masv.io.

MASV Press Contact:

Melissa Harding
Grithaus Agency
(e) melissa@grithaus.agency

###

SOURCE: MASV

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

By Dean Murray

A pioneering team at the University of Cambridge has showcased today, June 25, work that is revolutionizing biological research with state-of-the-art microscope technologies.

The team’s efforts are helping to unlock breakthroughs in topics ranging from cancer to coral reefs.

Dr. Lisa-Maria Needham leads the Microscopy Bioscience Platform, a hub uniting advanced imaging facilities across seven departments.

The platform supports researchers with powerful electron and light microscopes, custom-built tools like ‘optical tweezers’—which use focused light to manipulate cells—and a dedicated arm for developing new technologies.

Recent breakthroughs include using live 3D time-lapse microscopy to reveal how animal embryos develop, deploying nanorobots to investigate how cells sense their environment and become cancerous, and studying coral-algae relationships to predict coral bleaching.

Researchers are also uncovering how new fish species emerge through advanced imaging and genetics, and identifying how pancreatic cancer cells survive in harsh conditions to inform new treatments.

Dr. Needham said: “We’re developing microscopes that don’t exist anywhere in the world.

“I believe that advances in microscope technology go hand in hand with biological discovery.

“Scientists get to a certain point in their research where they know there’s something going on, but nothing exists to help them see it.

“That’s driving technological innovation.”

Dr. Needham wants the platform to become a hub for collaboration, allowing researchers to connect with others across the University and beyond to advance their work.

Some of the technologies developed have already been transferred to commercial use, through spin-out companies and industrial collaboration.

X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom is spinning out the property’s multifaceted AI platform, The Owl AI, into a standalone company backed by $11M in seed funding. The seed round was led by S32 (founded by Google Ventures creator Bill Maris) with participation from Menlo Ventures and Susa Ventures.

“All three groups I’ve known for 10-plus years,” Bloom told SBJ. “It’s three incredible firms, certainly tier one venture capitalists that I think will be additive as we scale the business.

“It’s a relatively big seed round. We weren’t anticipating raising quite that much but we were delighted of the interest. We could’ve raised double that if we wanted to. Now the fun begins.”

Josh Gwyther, Google’s former Head of AI Solutions Architecture, left Google to become CEO of The Owl AI, where he started last Monday and reports to a BOD that includes Bloom, one S32 representative and Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moorad of MSP Sports Capital (which owns X Games and is on The Owl AI cap table).

The seed funding, according to Bloom, will be channeled into research-and-development, scaling and proof-of-concepting with potential sports league clients. The Owl AI currently has three full-time employees — Gwyther, a CTO and a VP/Finance — and, although Bloom said they will hire some humans in “strategic areas,” the company is experimenting with AI agents that can fill other business functions.

“Based on my background and based on what’s happening in the industry, before we make any hires, we’re going to figure out what can be done with artificial intelligence versus having to scale the team,” Gwyther said. “We really want to take not just the technology to the bleeding edge for our customer base, we’re really going to push the envelope of what the technology can do in building a company as well.”

The Owl AI platform has several core capabilities. Its multimodal AI models use competition footage to produce objective scores and predictions; deliver insights for coaching use; and even provide language translations for alternate streams. Needless to say, what started as a judge’s aid developed in partnership with Google Cloud has grown into much more.

“Instead of a traditional vision model, where you have to be very rigid and you have to give it a ton of training data for a specific movement — and only that specific movement will it know — this changes the paradigm of being able to take a PhD level artificial intelligence model and put it behind the camera,” Gwyther said. “It’s a combination of additional tuning of the general model — the general model is getting smarter and smarter every day — but there’s lots of nuances as these sports continue to evolve.

“The superpower is we can provide [the models] with tools with an infinite amount of data to pull historically from.”

For its event in Salt Lake City this week, X Games will use The Owl AI to offer YouTube streams in Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese and Spanish as a supplement to its English broadcast. The Owl AI’s judging capabilities are still in beta, but its models will also power broadcast elements including predictions and analytical segments that break down the physics of the competition.

While declining to disclose specifics, Bloom said there has been “great interest” from other sports properties about using The Owl AI. He envisions a B2B2C model that serves institutions and athletes.

“We’re having some really interesting conversations,” he said. “We’re not quite ready to talk in specifics about who those leagues are and what we’re doing, but I think we’ll be able to do that in the next couple of months.”