The Vision Behind Athlera – Where AI Sports Technology Meets Human Performance
- Roger Blikkberget
- May 16
- 4 min read
Welcome to a captivating edition of DNBN Magazine, where we dive deep into the fascinating world of sports technology and innovation. Today, we are thrilled to have an enlightening conversation with Anders Fagerli, the CEO of Athlera, a trailblazing Norwegian sports tech company.
Athlera stands at the forefront of revolutionizing the way athletes train and recover, utilizing cutting-edge artificial intelligence to transform health outcomes. Imagine having a smart assistant by your side, offering unparalleled support to personal trainers, coaches, health professionals, and athletes. Athlera is designed to do precisely that, providing insights backed by science, comprehensive data analysis, and real-time feedback.
Join us as we explore the mind behind this groundbreaking company, delving into the journey of Athlera, its impact on sports technology, and what the future holds in the realm of AI-driven athletic training and recovery. Anders Fagerli will be sharing his vision, the challenges faced, and the innovations that are setting new standards in sports science.
We invite you to sit back, relax, and get ready to be inspired by Athlera's remarkable story and its commitment to enhancing athletic performance through technological brilliance. Let's get started!
1. What problem is Athlera solving? Many people struggle with unclear training goals, inconsistent feedback, or generic advice. Health professionals spend too much time generating plans manually. Athlera solves this by automating and personalizing training, nutrition, and rehabilitation — using your own data, goals, and activity.
2. Who is Athlera built for?
We work across four main segments:
Fitness & Personal Training
Rehabilitation & Health Coaching
Sports Performance (e.g., football, handball, CrossFit)
Technology Providers & Platforms looking to embed smart coaching in their services.
3. What are the core products?
Athlera consists of four key modules:
Assistants – AI assistants that deliver tailored training or nutrition plans.
Motion – Real-time movement analysis using your camera and pose estimation.
Pulse – Connects wearables and gym equipment to bring in live data.
Compass – A smart knowledge engine that transforms documents into AI-ready insights.
4. How does Athlera actually use AI?
AI is used in two main ways:
Assistants & Agents respond to users and act behind the scenes (e.g., notify when a user hasn’t trained in a while).
Tools (like search engines, video analysis, or nutrition databases) are activated dynamically depending on the user’s question.
5. What makes Athlera’s AI different? Unlike generic AI tools, Athlera is domain-specific. That means it’s trained and fine-tuned on expert knowledge from sports science, rehab protocols, and athlete development. And it doesn’t just guess — it only answers using the actual documents or data you upload.
6. Can you give a real-world example? Let’s say a football player uploads a video of a shot on goal. Athlera analyzes the movement, detects body alignment, and provides feedback on shooting technique — all within seconds. Or, if someone wants to gain muscle, it generates a training and meal plan based on their metrics and dietary preferences.
7. Is this only for elite athletes? Not at all. One of our strengths is making advanced coaching available to everyone — from people recovering from injuries to someone starting strength training at their local gym.
8. What kind of data can Athlera use? We can connect to wearables like smartwatches, heart rate monitors, gym machines, or let users input goals manually. We also use uploaded files, like rehab logs or nutritional guides, to generate recommendations.
9. How does Athlera protect user data? Data privacy is central. We don’t store personal data unless absolutely necessary. Instead, we operate on user IDs and allow platforms to anonymize data. Sensitive information, like health metrics, stays within the client’s infrastructure if preferred.
10. How customizable is the platform? Highly. Clients can upload their own content, connect external APIs, or even create custom assistants trained on internal documentation or research. This flexibility is key for enterprise clients like fitness chains or health-tech providers.
11. How does Athlera help health professionals? Many health advisors spend hours preparing workout and meal plans. Athlera automates this — pulling from clinical notes or past sessions to build personalized recommendations. It also tracks compliance and flags patients who may need follow-up.
12. What’s the business model? It’s a SaaS model. Clients pay a setup fee and then per user per month. It’s scalable and predictable — perfect for platforms, health organizations, or sports academies.
13. What kind of results are clients seeing? We’ve seen significant time saved on admin, higher user engagement, and more accurate plans. One health provider noted how Athlera’s agents helped flag inactivity across hundreds of users — something previously done manually.
14. What makes now the right time for Athlera? AI is reaching maturity in health and sports. At the same time, consumers expect personalization and professionals demand tools that save time. We’re bringing those together — in a way that’s accessible and evidence-based.
15. Who’s behind the company? Athlera is built by a strong team of founders, engineers, and sports scientists. The board includes professionals from tech, venture capital, and the sports industry. We also have a broad and engaged shareholder base that brings experience from health, AI, and international growth.
16. What’s your biggest challenge right now? Scaling without compromising on precision. We don’t want to become “just another AI layer.” Every answer Athlera gives must be useful, clear, and backed by real knowledge.
17. What’s something most people misunderstand about AI in health? That it replaces people. Athlera is a support layer, not a replacement. Coaches, therapists, and trainers still lead — but they’re enhanced by better data, suggestions, and automation.
18. How can someone get started with Athlera? You can book a demo on our website or get in touch directly. We offer white-label integration, or you can start building with our tools through the Athlera Platform.
19. Where is Athlera headed next? We’re expanding into more sports (like padel and golf), refining our injury detection models, and building deeper integrations with wearables. But our core focus remains the same: smarter decisions, better outcomes — powered by AI.
Thank you Anders for your time to answer our questions. We at DNBN are looking forward to assist Athlera on the dutch market.
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