BELLEVUE, Wash. – Yale Golfers Jeehae Lee '06 and Stephanie Wei '05 helped the Bulldogs win three Ivy League Championships before distinguishing themselves at the highest levels of the sport.

Lee became the second Yale women's player to qualify for the LPGA Tour and then joined Topgolf's executive team, while Wei's perspective on the pro game was sought by many through her broadcasting, writing and blogging.
 

Now, the former Yale mates are back on the same team as co-founders of Sportsbox AI, helping aspiring elite athletes through 3D Motion Capture Systems.

Founded in 2020, Sportsbox AI is an AI-powered technology company that develops AI Coach mobile applications in sports and fitness, using patent-pending 3D Motion Analysis and Kinematic AI technology. Through technology that captures, measures and analyzes complex athletic motions in 3D, combined with the knowledge and experience of top professional instructors in each sport, Sportsbox AI provides real-time corrective feedback to help users achieve their goals in sports and fitness using mobile devices in an efficient manner.
The first product, a golf app for game improvement, is scheduled for a soft launch in July. 

"We plan to expand to fitness and other swing sports in the near future, and then we will also look at basically any and all other activities that require movement. There are so many applications for our technology that are possible beyond sports," said Wei. 

Consumers will download the golf app from the Apple/Google Play stores on their phones. A brief setup is required, but it is much faster than current 3D Motion Capture systems on the market. Golfers can take a regular video of their swing for the Sportsbox AI team to analyze and produce a 3D avatar with hundreds of kinematic variables and biomechanical measurements that are relevant to the motion. Then they can compare their swings to model ones based on each person's biodata, which the company captures during the registration process. 
 
"We have a feature called "Swing Genius," and our AI Coach will provide analysis based on the golfer's desired outcomes, like fixing a slice or increasing distance. It also includes guided drills and practice to achieve their goals," Wei said. 
 
Wei, in New York, and Lee, who lives in San Francisco, work remotely but have gathered once a month this past year. The two Bulldogs were at the PGA Byron Nelson event in Dallas this month to demonstrate their technology to high-profile players who were impressed with the tech. They have also had great interest from top coaches who have been beta-testing the app. 
 
Lee, an Ivy League Champion in 2003 and 2006 who earned her LPGA status after a rare, one attempt at qualifying, enjoyed her pro playing career, which was guided by another Bulldog.

"It was an incredibly valuable experience, and I had a lot of fun traveling the world and made some great friends along the way. I learned how to manage the ups and downs that are built into any endeavor worth pursuing," said Lee, who credits some of her success to former Yale golfer and coach Heather Daly-Donofrio '91, who currently works on the LPGA Tour. "I really do believe in the value of focusing on the process (the things under your control) and not get too wrapped up in the results (things you can't control). Heather had a huge impact on my career. To have her as a role model and a mentor - not just in golf but in my career in the industry - has been invaluable."

Lee, the CEO of the new endeavor, got her BA in Economics from Yale (Morse College) and an MBA from The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania. She led strategy and new business development for various divisions at Topgolf, including Toptracer, prior to the startup.

Wei, the CMO of Sportsbox AI, captained the 2003-04 Bulldogs and then made her mark on the golf industry as a pioneer in social media. Her dynamic voice and opinions provided a distinct perspective to her coverage at golf's biggest events around the globe.

While working as a reporter and correspondent for Fox Sports Asia, Wall Street Journal and Golf.com, among others, Wei, a history major in Yale's Trumbull College, also maintained her website, "Wei Under Par," founded in 2009, which was one of the leading golf sites in the industry.

"As a journalist, I had to synthesize a lot of information and then digest and communicate it in a way that grabs a reader's attention. Marketing has been a popular field for former journalists to go into because of the many parallels. I also had to market myself and my website and provide analytics to sponsors and businesses that I worked and partnered with," said Wei, an Ivy League Champion in 2002 and 2003. 
 
Wei said Sportsbox AI is an exciting opportunity to transition into tech while remaining in the golf industry. "It was also a great chance to get into the business world, but in a less traditional, corporate environment since we're a startup -- and one that was founded during a very strange time."
 
Yale College helped Wei to be more confident and pushed her out of her comfort zone.

"First thing that we had to do during freshman orientation was go to a bunch of gatherings where we were forced to talk to strangers in somewhat awkward settings, which used to be my worst nightmare. I learned to thrive in those situations, thanks to Yale, and those networking skills are vital in the professional world. And playing golf at Yale was a great lesson for time management." 

Two Bulldogs who helped ignite a program during its most prolific era should have a similar effect on Sportsbox AI.