St. John’s, NL, Canada – St. John’s-based, trophi.ai, has become one of only a few Canadian tech companies to be accepted into SPEEDRUN, A16Z GAMES’ startup program. The intensive 12-week program provides access to capital, expert guidance, and an influential community. The program concludes with a Demo Day, where trophi.ai will pitch to leading global investors.
“It's a tremendous moment in trophi.ai’s journey,” explains Co-Founder and CEO, Mike Winter, who launched the startup in December 2021. “The magnitude of this opportunity is difficult to describe - only 1% of applicants are accepted into the SPEEDRUN startup program.”
trophi.ai’s acceptance in the program is tied to its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven platform that provides tailored, interactive, one-to-one, coaching in real time to gamers and traditional athletes. It is turning heads in the tech world; trophi.ai estimates the software provided the equivalent volume of 125 years of elite-coaching in just 6 months.
Today, that coaching is focused on video games and simulation, but it has the potential to revolutionize the way skills are honed and goals are pursued across any field.
“Our AI-driven platform is not just an enhancement—it's a complete reinvention of the coaching experience. There is no doubt the successful application of our platform to-date was a critical factor in our acceptance into the program,” Winter added. “But we believe the biggest factor is our vision for the future – we have every intention of expanding this technology beyond virtual environments to tangible settings like real-world sports, industrial environments, and military applications.”
Winter, who moved back to St. John’s to launch trophi.ai, praises the supportive environment for tech startups in Newfoundland and Labrador as an important contributor to the company’s success to-date. trophi.ai has received funding and support from the provincial government department of Industry, Energy and Technology (IET), as well as federal government departments Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program.
More details on A16Z GAMES is available on its website. Information specific to the SPEEDRUN startup program Winter 2025 cohort is available here.
Media Contact
Sarah Fleming
sarah@covepublicaffairs.ca I 709-725-5830
About trophi.ai
trophi.ai is bringing artificial intelligence-powered elite-level coaching to gamers, traditional athletes, industrial activities and more around the world. trophi.ai estimates the volume of real-time coaching provided by the platform in a 6-month period would take over 125 years for a human coach to provide.
Headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, trophi.ai has a team of 22 experts in artificial intelligence and start-up tech, including, software programming, data science, and marketing, with a plan to double its team by the end of 2025.
About trophi.ai Co-Founders
CEO and Co-Founder, Mike Winter was born and raised in St. John’s, NL, and graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland before working in tech startups in Ontario, the United States, and Vancouver. He returned home to Newfoundland in 2021 to establish trophi.ai.
