A new venture from David Martell, the founder of driving data specialist Trafficmaster, has attracted equity finance of £800,000. Teepix, whose technology automatically captures golfers on camera, received the investment from Oxford Capital Partners (OCP).

A new venture from David Martell, the founder of driving data specialist Trafficmaster, has attracted equity finance of £800,000. Teepix, whose technology automatically captures golfers on camera, received the investment from Oxford Capital Partners (OCP).

The funding will enable Teepix to install its miniature cameras in around 100 golfing resorts in the US, Europe and other parts of the world over the next three years. The technology is already lauched in two resorts in Florida.

OCP invested through its Oxford Gateway Funds, which back science- and technology-focused ventures via the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). Edward Mott, chief executive of OCP, says Teepix has ‘huge potential for growth’, with over 70,000 golf courses and 80 million people who play the sport worldwide.

Teepix’s technology works by mounting several digital cameras near the tee box on one hole of each course. The sound of a golfer teeing off activates the cameras, which capture the ball in flight milliseconds after impact, according to the company.

The flotation of Trafficmaster on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 1994 allowed its venture capital backer Top Technology to generate a return of £20 million from an original investment of £2.4 million three years earlier, equivalent to an IRR of over 100 per cent. Plans for a public flotation of Teepix have already been mooted.