Ex-footballer’s startup QMIT raises $2.4 mn in Series A

QMIT Inc., the operator of athlete management platform plco, announced Tuesday that it raised 3 billion won ($2.4 million) in Series A round funding. 

Bokwang Investment led the fresh injection of capital, with Schmidt, a subsidiary of DSC Investment; NBH Capital Finance; and Big Basin Capital joining in.

Former K League soccer star Lee Sang-gi founded QMIT in 2018. 

The company operates a platform dubbed “plco,” which collects and analyzes data on professional athletes’ level of fatigue and stress, as well as their sleep cycles and more. The compiled data and analysis are shared with the coaches to help them build the optimal training schedule customized for each player. 

The platform’s clientele includes the government-run Korea Football Association, the country’s professional soccer league, K League, the smaller Gimcheon Sangmu FC and Gyeongnam FC, among others.

The service has recently expanded its user base to include a men’s volleyball team and a women’s basketball team in South Korea.

The head of Bokwang Investment Kang Min-koo said, “There is now an environment in which sports tech startups can grow consistently, following an increase in the number of funds aiming to nurture the sports industry and the influx of talented individuals to the sector.” 

“We also took Lee’s high level of understanding in the sports industry into consideration, as well as the usability of the data and the human resources makeup to determine that the company has rapid growth potential,” Kang elaborated.

The professional athlete-turned-entrepreneur said QMIT will make a wide range of moves this year – including robust hiring across the startup and creating a testbed to take its B2C business model abroad. 

“I plan to grow the company to become a global sports tech startup that brings about positive changes to the sports culture across borders,” said Lee. 

Write to Hong Min Kang at khm@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.