Intel Corp. is hoping to bring next-generation technologies such as data analytics, tracking and image capture to the world of pro sports with the creation of a new Intel Sports Group.

The new group was announced by Intel Capital president Wendell Brooks at its Global Summit in San Diego Monday, together with investments totaling $38 million in 12 startups. Many of those startups are working on the “digitization” of sports, which Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich reckons will become the “biggest change in sports in decades.”

“Innovation is exploding as the world transforms into an increasingly smart and connected place, where billions of devices will be made even smarter by intelligence in the cloud,” Brooks said in a statement. “We’re excited to team with these visionary entrepreneurs developing breakthrough technologies to transform lives and industries.”

Intel reckons one of the fundamental technologies in that shift will be virtual reality, and a number of the companies it invested in are working on it and related technologies such as 3D audio, image capture, super-fast video and wireless sensing.

One of the most interesting is Dysonics, a startup that’s pioneering 3D audio. The company has built a multi-direction microphone with eight mics in a 360-degree container. It’s also built software that it says allows sound to move around as you move your head, creating audio that’s more realistic at live virtual reality events, as the sound will become more focused when viewing from a particular angle.

Another startup to benefit from Intel’s backing will be Paris-based Chronocam, whose product aims to mimic the human eye more closely by focusing its attention on movement. The company says it aims to create new vision sensors and systems that work much faster, and provide a more human visual experience. The company wants to be able to replicate the visceral rush of something like scoring a goal in a soccer match, without the experience feeling like a simulation.

On the data analytics front, Kinduct has created software that for sports teams and other organizations that provides insights into team performance and movement. Then there’s CubeWorks, which has built tiny sensors that can be placed under a person’s skin, which can sense pressure and movement.

If Intel can find a way to combine all of these technologies together, it would be able to capture and recreate live events in a virtual setting that are much more realistic and convincing than anything currently available.

Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested $11.7 billion in 1,458 companies worldwide, and 605 portfolio companies have gone public or been acquired.

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