Inside the Vision: Jason Syversen’s Journey

Ballers. 

In this special edition of The Lens, we’re stepping off the court and into the mind behind SportsVisio—the man whose vision is changing how basketball is analyzed and experienced. This is the story of our Founder and CEO Jason Syversen and of how SportsVisio came to be.

A Love for the Game, A Drive for Data

Jason’s story starts like so many of us—on the basketball court shooting jumpers. He’s played in empty driveways, and sweaty gyms constantly pushing himself, always analyzing his game. But while most of us review stats on paper or in our heads, Jason’s mind works differently. His analytical eye was drawn to the possibilities of capturing the nuance of the game and making stats and highlights more accessible for the average player. For anyone who’s played with him or against him, you’ll quickly realize just how efficient of a player he is.

His passion for basketball and data ultimately became inseparable. Jason saw the potential to bring the two together, blending his love for competition with a keen interest in the patterns and numbers behind performance.

From Top Secret Clearance to the Hardwood

Before SportsVisio, Jason led teams at DARPA and went on to build Siege Technologies, where cutting-edge technology wasn’t a future goal—it was the present reality. His experience as a hacker during those years laid the foundation for a vision far beyond secret projects and military tech. Jason began imagining how computer vision could track movements and performance on the court. 

In 2020, after a successful exit at Siege Technologies, and having donated over $8M to charities, and completing over 35 tech investments via his Angel fund 10x Venture Partners, he was ready for his next professional mountain, and one that would enable him to drive additional capital into these charities.

The Ah-Ha Moments

Every entrepreneur has these moments. Sometimes they happen in a flash and it all makes sense. Sometimes they happen across a few moments and then it clicks.

Jason was coming off the basketball court at a local gym and felt quite pleased with how he played, but also unfulfilled because he had no way of sharing his experience with his family or friends.  Would they believe that he scored 20 points, and that he was shooting over 40% from 3? Maybe. Either way, he had no way to prove it.

Jason has coached both basketball and soccer teams at all levels, from kindergarten age to high school age. With six kids, he spends a lot of time in gyms and on the sidelines. Around the same time, at one of his daughters' games, he observed that playing time wasn’t being distributed based on efficiency, but rather on flashiness and he longed for video based evidence he could share with the coaches to help the team be more successful.  

The question behind SportsVisio clicked in his mind: with basic video inputs, could computer vision and machine learning be applied to deliver accurate basketball statistics that would enable BOTH players and coaches to get more from the game?

Bringing the Vision to Life

He started SportsVisio with a clear goal: to deliver additional capital to the charities he supports by bringing professional-level tools enabled by computer vision to every level of the game across multiple sports. It is not about creating another stat-tracking app—it’s about democratizing performance analysis and empowering players and coaches with insights that were previously available only to the pros with big budgets.

One of the things he loves most about SportsVisio is that he can talk about it with everyone, from his kids to his teammates to the business community. He’s an avid user of the app, and his team, the SportsVisio Snipers has been thriving in the Capital City Sports and Fitness League in Concord, New Hampshire. 

He also currently shares a career 3P% of 39% with our Strategic Advisor, Duncan Robinson. We see some friendly wager in the future here, Duncan!

It’s no surprise that Jason’s love for both basketball and deep tech has led to SportsVisio’s basketball product powering nearly 100 leagues around the world in 2024. The challenge of blending fast-paced, fluid basketball action with highly precise computer vision algorithms was not an easy one. Through persistence and creativity, the team is building a product that gets smarter with every game played.

The Vision Ahead: A Note to Our Players 

As Jason often says, "The game isn't just what happens on the court, it's how you understand it." For all of you who are pushing yourselves in practice, reviewing stats after a tough game, or striving to become your best on the court, know that SportsVisio was built for you—with the goal of helping you enjoy the game in a whole new way.

Ever an engineer and hacker, Jason’s personal philosophy on data driven decision making has come to life for hundreds of teams across the globe. His commitment to making the world around him a better place also comes to life through SportsVisio’s commitment to deliver 10% of profits to charities. 

We’re excited to continue this journey alongside you, as we bring this vision to life, one box score and highlight reel at a time.