R&D partnership with Gerford AI

RNS Number : 1334T

Guild Esports PLC

16 March 2023

 

Press release

16 March 2023

Guild Esports PLC

("Guild Esports", "Guild", or "the Company")

R&D partnership with Gerford AI

Guild Esports PLC (LSE: GILD), a global teams organisation and lifestyle brand, is pleased to announce it has entered into a research and development partnership with Gerford AI ("Gerford"), an artificial intelligence and data analytics company, to utilise Artificial Intelligence technologies for the discovery and development of professional esports players.

Gerford AI is an Australian-based developer of AI, machine learning and computer vision technologies to improve athletic performance. It specialises in emerging sports, predominantly table tennis and swimming. Gerford is partnering with Guild to leverage its technologies in gaming and establish a first  mover advantage for both companies in esports.

The partnership will focus on the development of AI-driven technologies to provide accurate, time-saving data analysis, track individual athletes' performances and optimise pre-game preparation. Data driven performance analysis is vital to the scouting and the development of players, and AI technology has the ability to assess players without the subjective opinions of coaches.

Additionally, Guild and Gerford's R&D partnership will explore the development of an esports-focused online censoring tool, designed to address anti-social behaviour online more effectively by automatically filtering harmful language in game. The creation of AI-driven technology to combat potential online harms in esports will enhance the ability of organisations in the sector to provide safe spaces for pro-players to practice and compete. This focus is in-line with the Company's ongoing strategy to make esports more welcoming to all, with a particular focus on providing opportunities for women.

Guild anticipates that the resulting innovations from the R&D can be leveraged to create revenue-generation opportunities for the Company. The Company also sees long-term potential to use the technology to develop professional and educational curriculums for licensing and sale, servicing the wider esports industry from teams to everyday gamers.

Jasmine Skee, CEO of Guild Esports, commented: "Esports, like any modern sport, is a numbers game. The more information that is available to teams, the more they can improve both their training and in-game performance. However, the vast amounts of data available make it exceptionally difficult for coaches to extract key information from the data generated or comprehend this information in real time. By partnering with Gerford, we'll be able to utilise their AI technologies to improve teams' performance, and give players greater protection online, ensuring they can focus on gaming in an abuse-free environment. These AI-driven solutions show great promise for Guild, and the entire esports industry."

Iggy Jovanovic, Founder and CEO of Gerford AI, said: "We've seen great success in using our artificial intelligence technologies to improve performance across emerging sports, particularly table tennis and swimming. By partnering with Guild, we can leverage our proprietary technology in the esports space for the first time. We see great technological development opportunities by working with Guild's world-class athletes, working to optimise their preparation and improve coaches' access to data in real-time competitions. We're looking forward to working with Guild as we look to create a new dawn for esports coaching."

For further information please contact:

Guild Esports
Jasmine Skee Chief Executive Neil Thapar Investor Relations	via Tancredi [phone] [phone]
Tennyson Securities
Corporate Broker Peter Krens	[phone]
Tancredi Intelligent Communication Media Relations
Helen Humphrey Charlie Hobbs Maddy Newman [e-mail]	+ 44 7449 226 720 [phone] [phone]

About Guild Esports:

Guild Esports PLC is a global fan-focused team organisation and lifestyle brand that fields professional players in gaming competitions under the Guild banner. Our in-house training academy aims to attract and nurture the best esports talent, and our goal is to provide the ultimate entertainment experience alongside a distinctive lifestyle brand authentic to the esports community worldwide. Guild is led by an experienced management team of esports veterans and co-owned by David Beckham. The Company is headquartered in the UK and its shares are listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (ticker: GILD) and on the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States (ticker: GULDF). Please visit www.guildesports.com for more information.

About Gerford AI

An Australian sports tech company using AI technology and data analytics for performance analysis of athletes in Emerging Sports. Gerford AI provides insights and data analytics via computer vision through their proprietary AI technology. Working with Emerging Sports globally such as table tennis, beach volleyball, swimming and winter sports. Recipients of their technology, data and insights include coaches, athletes, broadcasters and other media partners. 2022 highlights for Gerford AI included: Beijing Olympics Gold medal - Women's Mogul Skiing, Commonwealth Games Birmingham - Gold, Silver & Bronze medals in table tennis for Team England. www.gerford.com

 

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