
972 - Enabling Better Basketball Analytics Using Computer Vision w/ Bo Shaffer (Playswise)
From Forward Thinking Founders by Mat Sherman
November 19, 2025 · 21 min · Episode 972
About this episode
Mat Sherman interviews Bo Shaffer about her startup Playswise, which uses AI and computer vision to enhance basketball analytics.
In today’s episode of Forward Thinking Founders , Mat sits down with Bo Shaffer, founder and CEO of Playswise , a startup using computer vision and AI to unlock deep basketball analytics straight from broadcast footage. Bo played basketball at Duke, and she saw firsthand how much of the sport still relies on slow, manual film review. Playswise is her attempt to change that — bringing NBA-level insights to any team, coach, or player by automating detection, tracking, and advanced breakdowns using modern AI models. In the conversation, we get into Bo’s path from college basketball to tech, how AI can transform scouting and player development, why legacy tools like Hudl and Synergy are ripe for disruption, and what the future of automated sports analytics could look like. We also talk about AI agents, staying on top of rapid AI progress, and what it means to build an AI-native company in an industry that hasn’t kept up. If you’re interested in sports, AI, or the intersection of the two, you’ll enjoy this one. Timestamps: 00:01 – Intro + Welcoming Bo Shaffer 00:30 – What Playswise is and why it matters 01:19 – Bo’s background at Duke + how she got into AI 02:42 – Discovering tech and…
People in this episode
Guest: Bo Shaffer
Topics covered
- basketball analytics
- computer vision
- AI
- sports technology
- entrepreneurship
Keywords
- Playswise
- AI
- basketball
- scouting
- player development
- Hudl
- Synergy
- automated sports analytics
- Duke
- tech
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Hudl, Synergy, Zoom, Hudl/Synergy, Playswise
Books & works: Forward Thinking Founders, Playswise
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