SPOIT: “Delivering the Value of Sports Through Data”

- SPOIT, founded by Jung-hyuk Kwon, leverages AI technology to create 
  customized sports highlight videos and analyze player data.
- Their core service, SCOUT BOX, uses vision AI to extract key moments from 
  matches and provide AI-based feedback to improve player performance.
- SPOIT aims to expand its services to various sports and become a leading force 
  in building a data-driven sports ecosystem in Korea.


Sports have always been about records. Statistics such as goals and passes not only prove an athlete’s present performance but also help prepare for the future. Detailed metrics play a vital role in evaluating player skills, shaping team strategies, and guiding scouting decisions. Today, even everyday sports enthusiasts want to objectively analyze their own performance.

Jung-hyuk Kwon, CEO of SPOIT / Source=IT dongA

Until now, creating such records required considerable time and manpower. Entire matches had to be replayed, highlights selected manually, and data compiled by hand. To solve this inefficiency, a startup called SPOIT emerged. Its service, SCOUT BOX, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to extract about 30 highlights from a 90-minute game and automatically generate customized highlight videos.

Beyond highlight production, SPOIT is developing a platform that leverages vision AI to record and analyze individual player data while providing AI-based feedback. Its goal is to help teams find the players they need, while guiding athletes toward teams best suited to their strengths. We spoke with CEO Jung-hyuk Kwon about SPOIT’s beginnings, its services, and its future plans.

A 30-Year Football Journey Leading to a Startup

Jung-hyuk Kwon, who spent 16 years as a professional football player and over 30 years in the sport, founded SPOIT after retiring. The idea came from his personal experiences on the pitch.

“When I was preparing to transfer to a European team, sports video services were already well established there. In Korea, however, there were no specialized services for producing professional highlight videos, so I faced difficulties creating high-quality clips,” Kwon recalled.

Motivated by this, he began offering sports video services in 2019. At first, AI was not involved. But producing a portfolio required manually reviewing and editing 10 to 15 full matches—an extremely inefficient process. This convinced him of the need to adopt AI. Since last year, SPOIT has fully integrated vision AI technology into SCOUT BOX.

AI-Powered Sports Highlights: SCOUT BOX

SPOIT SCOUT BOX / Source=SPOIT

SPOIT’s core service, SCOUT BOX, is an all-in-one highlight production system designed by both experts and AI. When a 90-minute match video is uploaded, the AI tracking system automatically identifies and extracts about 30 key moments. From goals and goalkeeper saves to other eye-catching plays, the AI compiles instant highlights.

“Thanks to our proprietary AI technology, which individually detects and tracks each player on the field, editing has become much faster than with traditional methods,” explained Kwon. In addition, a scouting video director—formerly an analyst in the K League—curates the clips into tailored reels that emphasize position-specific skills. SPOIT has already registered three patents and filed seven more in sports video processing.

SPOIT’s AI Tracking Technology / Source=SPOIT

Currently, the system focuses on full-game highlights, but next year SPOIT plans to introduce player-specific tracking. This will enable automatic extraction of data such as movement patterns, pass completion rates, work rate, and distance covered.

“By combining precise tracking, highlight videos, and layered game metrics, we aim to directly improve player performance,” Kwon emphasized. “It will allow for more objective evaluations and expand matching opportunities between teams and players.”

Because football involves 22 players constantly in motion, the technical challenges are high. SPOIT therefore started with futsal, played 6-on-6 in a simpler environment, to collect data. To support this, the company even acquired two futsal centers. “Once we refine our technology using futsal data, we plan to expand AI tracking to sports such as basketball and marathon running,” Kwon noted.

Expanding from Professionals to Everyday Players

SPOIT targets both B2B and B2C markets. On the B2B side, it serves agencies and professional teams. On the B2C side, it caters to unsigned players, amateur clubs, and youth athletes who commission personal highlight videos.

“In the past, portfolio videos were only needed for overseas transfers. Now they’ve become essential even for domestic moves,” Kwon explained. “We’re also seeing more student athletes requesting videos to keep as personal records or to use for official profiles.”

Personal Highlight Video Created with SPOIT / Source=SPOIT

In August, SPOIT launched SCOUT BOX as a mobile app. The app allows anyone to record and share their own sports videos easily. By selecting a key moment—such as a scoring play—the app automatically saves a 30-second clip before and after the action. Users can merge and share clips without separate editing software.

“We’re working on a lighter version of our AI tracking system so that highlight extraction will also be available in the app next year,” said Kwon.

Looking further ahead, SPOIT plans to provide AI-driven feedback powered by large language models (LLMs). The vision is for AI to act as a personal coach for players and a support tool for scouts. For example, AI might advise: “Your left-foot pass completion rate is low, so you should practice your left foot more.” Scouts, meanwhile, could search for players who meet specific criteria, such as “a defensive midfielder with a high pass completion rate.”

“Our goal is to become an intelligent partner that supports decision-making with objective data,” Kwon said.

Step-by-Step Growth Strategy: Targeting the Korean Market First

Jung-hyuk Kwon, CEO of SPOIT / Source=ITdongA

Now in its fifth year, SPOIT is focused on further enhancing SCOUT BOX and its mobile app. “We plan to improve key AI algorithms such as object detection, tracking, situational recognition, and automatic highlight extraction, while also broadening commercialization,” said Kwon. “Through the TIPS program run by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups last year, we strengthened our development team and are now applying vision AI to sports videos in multiple ways.”

SPOIT is also ramping up video data collection, particularly by expanding its smart futsal system, which combines cameras with AI. “The system provides players with personal videos and match stats, while also creating a new revenue model for futsal venue operators. Just as the move from dirt to artificial turf was natural, leaving behind video and data from games will also become the norm,” Kwon predicted.

The company was also selected as a partner for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). “As our organization grows, we’re exploring ways to scale smartly by focusing on key priorities. Support from Oracle Cloud and R&D funding has been invaluable, especially in securing high-performance computing resources needed for AI model training,” Kwon added.

In closing, Kwon said:
“We aim to build a system where anyone can prove their play with data. Our mission is to connect players and teams, contribute to society, and create value through sports. Ultimately, we want SPOIT to be recognized as a leading force in building a data-driven sports ecosystem in Korea.”

By Ye-ji Kim (yj@itdonga.com)

* This article was written with support from Seoul National University of Science and Technology.