From Apple to AI Soccer Cameras: Alex Krause from Trace

How do you take an idea built for elite athletes and turn it into a scalable sports tech platform? In this episode, hosts DeAndre Harakas and Grant Chapman talk with Alex Krause, Director of Hardware at Trace, about the art and complexity of building hardware that learns, adapts, and performs in real-world conditions. Alex walks through his transition from Apple and The Boring Company to leading a small, scrappy team at Trace where he’s helping reinvent how soccer is filmed and analyzed using AI and computer vision. Together, they unpack the company’s hardware-as-a-service model, the choice between edge and cloud computing, and how user experience guides every design decision. They also discuss the ripple effect of sports technology, from AI-powered analytics to applications in retail and beyond and the very real operational hurdles hardware founders face, from tariffs to supply chain chaos. Whether you’re an engineer, a founder, or just someone fascinated by how technology meets sport, this episode offers an inside look at what it takes to build hardware that scales. Special Guest: Alex Krause.