Monarc

What Monarc does

Monarc Inc. (DBA Monarc Sport) is a Chicago-based sports robotics company that builds The Seeker, described as the world's first robotic quarterback. The Seeker is a mobile robotic training partner capable of emulating game-like passes, punts, and kicks at speeds up to 75 mph and distances up to 75 yards, with a 6-ball magazine and both manual and autonomous tracking modes. The system pairs with Pulse, a wearable hip-mounted tracking tag that allows the robot to follow athlete movement in real time, and with Portal, a cloud-connected web platform on which coaches can program route trees, monitor every rep, and view usage metrics over time. The underlying technology stack is built on Microsoft Windows IoT and Azure, and the company holds three granted U.S. patents covering the robotic quarterback architecture.

Monarc sells The Seeker as an all-inclusive, multi-year subscription that bundles hardware, onboard software, the Portal web platform, service, support, and hardware/software upgrades throughout the contract term. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market is direct enterprise sales targeting college football programs (primarily FBS and Power 4 conference schools) and NFL teams, supplemented by extensive earned-media coverage in outlets such as The Athletic, ESPN, Forbes, and Sports Illustrated. The company monetizes through a single primary product line rather than tiered SaaS pricing, with customers including Oregon, Ohio State, Notre Dame, LSU, Tennessee, TCU, Penn State, the Green Bay Packers, and individual NFL players such as George Kittle.

Customer adoption has expanded to nearly half of Power 4 conference teams and 11 of 12 College Football Playoff teams in 2024, with a PFF-validated data study documenting substantial performance improvements among customer programs. The company was co-founded in 2015 by Bhargav Maganti and Igor Karlicic (Northwestern University mechanical engineering graduates with prior experience at Boeing and PMI Kyoto, respectively), originally in Dallas before relocating to Chicago. Reported headcount is 1-10, total disclosed funding is approximately $1.65M across three rounds, and the company operates exclusively in North America.

Name

Monarc

Legal name

Monarc Inc.

Website

https://monarcsport.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Monarc builds The Seeker, the world's first robotic quarterback, sold as an all-inclusive subscription to college football programs and NFL teams. The system enables unlimited autonomous pass, punt, and kick reps for skill players, with Pulse tracking and a Portal coaching platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Robotics / Athletic Training Equipment

NAICS

Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949)

akta.pro primary industry

Robot Hardware, Actuators & Components (sensors, grippers, motors) (HDAAAIAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Robot Software, Autonomy Stacks & Simulation (ROS, digital twins) (HDAAAIAK)

Keywords

• Robotic quarterback system
• Football practice automation
• Athletic training robot
• Sports robotics hardware
• Football skill development

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. All-Inclusive Seeker Subscription: The Seeker is sold as an all-inclusive subscription covering hardware, software (onboard and web-based Portal), service, support, and hardware upgrades and software updates throughout the contract term. Subscription cost varies by term length and applicable discounts. No separate pricing tiers are publicly disclosed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Monarc designs, manufactures, and sells The Seeker, a robotic quarterback system that automates football practice by delivering game-like passes, punts, and kicks to athletes without requiring a human thrower. The hardware-based system is sold as an all-inclusive multi-year subscription that bundles the robot, the Pulse wearable tracking tag, the onboard software interface, the Portal web platform for coaches, service, support, and hardware/software upgrades throughout the contract term.

Product overview

Monarc offers The Seeker, a robotic quarterback system for football training. The system comprises: The Seeker (the main robotic hardware device), Pulse (a wearable tracking tag for athlete-following functionality), The Interface (built-in touchscreen control software), and Portal (a web-based coach dashboard). The Seeker hardware is sold via an all-inclusive subscription that bundles hardware, software updates, support, and servicing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Seeker: Intelligent robotic training partner that emulates game-like passes, kicks, and punts for football training. Includes hardware (the robot), software (touchscreen interface), Portal (web platform for coaches), and support services.
• Pulse
• Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Monarc teams win 35.3% more games on average than competition (PFF 2024 data)
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Pro-Football Focus (PFF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMonarc collaborated with PFF to conduct a comprehensive data study measuring the performance impact of The Seeker on college football teams. PFF provided independent data analysis documenting 35.3% more wins, 26x higher EPA/Play, and significant increases in receiving TDs and explosive plays for Monarc customer teams. Tyler Phillips (PFF Business Development Lead) endorsed the findings publicly.
• Microsoft (Windows IoT, Azure)coreTechnology or IntegrationMonarc built The Seeker using Microsoft Windows and Azure ecosystems. Windows IoT powers the onboard robot system; Azure provides cloud infrastructure. Featured as a Microsoft customer story showcasing how the ecosystem enabled faster time to market.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• PlaySight Interactive: PlaySight sells AI-driven video and analytics courtside systems to college and high school athletic programs. While not a robotic competitor, it targets the same head coach and athletic director budgets with subscription-based sports technology.
• VALD Performance: VALD makes hardware (force plates, dynamometers, NordBord) plus software for measuring athlete strength and performance, sold primarily to professional sports teams and physical therapy clinics. It shares Monarc's subscription-plus-hardware model and elite-team customer profile.
• ShotTracker: ShotTracker provides sensor-based basketball shot tracking and analytics to teams and individual players. It is a sports-specific training technology peer with a similar enterprise subscription motion to college and pro programs, though in a different sport.
• KinaTrax: KinaTrax provides markerless 3D motion capture for sports biomechanics, including MLB and NCAA baseball and football programs. It competes for the same elite-team training technology budget as Monarc but addresses throwing mechanics rather than ball delivery.
• Full Swing: Full Swing builds indoor golf simulators and launch monitors sold to elite training facilities, coaches, and consumers. Like Monarc, it sells premium sports training hardware with software subscriptions to serious athletes and performance-driven buyers.

Broad incumbents

• Catapult Sports: Catapult is a publicly traded leader in GPS wearables and athlete monitoring software used by professional and elite college teams worldwide. It serves a broader portfolio of sports and offers analytics rather than physical ball delivery, making it a complementary incumbent in elite team performance technology rather than a direct robotic competitor.
• Hawk-Eye Innovations: Hawk-Eye (a Sony group company) provides ball-tracking and officiating technology across tennis, baseball, soccer, and other sports. It is an incumbent in sport-specific tracking technology with enterprise relationships at the highest levels of competition, comparable in customer profile to Monarc's elite programs.
• Trackman: Trackman provides radar-based launch monitors, simulation, and performance tracking primarily for golf and baseball. It shares Monarc's DNA of sport-specific hardware-plus-software subscriptions sold to elite programs, training facilities, and individual athletes.

Direct peers

• Rapsodo: Rapsodo sells data-driven sports performance hardware/software (launch monitors, hitting/ pitching analytics) to elite baseball, softball, and golf programs and athletes. Like Monarc, it uses an enterprise B2B subscription model with elite-program adoption as its primary go-to-market motion, and it has expanded into adjacent sports training use cases.

Others

• Teamworks: Teamworks is the leading operations and athlete engagement platform for college and professional sports organizations. It is an ecosystem peer rather than a competitor: Mitch Heath, Monarc advisor and board member, co-founded Teamworks, signaling potential strategic alignment in the elite-team software stack.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/monarcsport

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Monarc