By: Brian Heater
Apr. 16, 2018 (PALO ALTO, CA) Sparta Science started the year off with a bang. In January, the sports health company announced a $7 million Series A, bringing its total funding up to $9.7 million. The round, led by Playground Global, also found the Bay Area company increasing its headcount from 12 to 32 employees.
In spite of a still lean staff, the startup has also racked up a number of high-profile partnerships in the pro sports world, including the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Cavaliers and Colorado Rockies. The latter team began implementing Sparta’s platform in 2012, and believes it’s helped contribute to the lower incidence of Tommy John surgeries among its pitchers.
The company offered us a demo during our recent trip to Playground’s Palo Alto headquarters. The whole thing revolves around a force plate, requiring participants to jump on the platform to gauge movement.
“The force plate measures how much how much force is put into the ground in different directions,” CEO Phil Wagner tells TechCrunch. “From that pattern, we’ve been able to identify and predict and subsequently reduce injuries in athletes.”
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