ChessUp on 'Shark Tank': What is the cost, who are the founders, and all about the AI-enabled smart chess board

What is ChessUp?

ChessUp is a revolutionary smart chess board with a built-in chess engine and chess instructor. It makes learning chess and improving faster and easier for all skill levels by lighting up all possible moves according to strength. 

Technical Specifications
Dimensions: 15.75" x 14.12" x 1" (400mm x 359mm x 25.4mm)
Board Weight: 3.7 lbs
Battery Life: 8 hours (2 hours charging time)
Playable Area: 12" x 12" (305mm x 305mm)
Square Size: 1.5" (38mm)
King Height: 2.8"

Who are the founders of ChessUp?

Jeff Wrigh, Adam Roush, and Justin Farrell, are the brains behind ChessUp. The trio met while working together at Garmin. Back in 2019. Jeff's 12-year old daughter began learning to play chess. During this time, Jeff wondered why the AI was always an opponent and not the coach. So, this led to Jeff and his friends Adam and Justin to brainstorm and come up with the idea for ChessUp, an AI-powered board game that can not only be a worthy opponent but also teach the game. 

"We’re a team of tech-enthusiasts and innovators (and, of course, chess-lovers) with 48 combined years of experience in tech with 20 issued patents. Our team has developed a wide array of tech products including helicopter electronics, smartwatches, fitness trackers, sonar technology, radar launch monitors and action cameras," the founders wrote on their IndieGoGo campaign. "We found ourselves trying to teach our kids, significant others and friends how to play chess so we thought, how can we teach better? We put our heads together and came up with ChessUp— a way to revolutionize the chess learning process. 5 prototypes later, we've finally got pilot units in hand and we’re excited to be able to share it with you all," they shared.

Jeff currently serves as the CEO of the brand, while Justin is the Chief Technology Officer, and Adam is the Chief Design Officer. 

What is the cost and where to buy ChessUp from?

So, what are you waiting for? You can get your very own ChessUp board for $399, or get a bundle featuring the ChessUp board, a stylish carry bag and even a phone stand for just $529. You can get these products either from the brand's website here or Amazon. Although ChessUp is a relatively new entrant in the market, the smart boardgame has already managed to amass a loyal fanbase. 

A pleased customer left the following feedback on the ChessUp's board, "The board feels incredibly satisfying to play on. The pieces are made out of very solid, heavy plastic with felt on the bottom and look awesome. Everything makes a very high quality and robust impression. The software needs some more work, but that's known. Judging only the hardware you get that's an easy 5/5. The colors of the lights and the way they light up is just on point. What I would like to see is a way to connect the chessup board to lichess directly, like other smartboards. But perhaps that requires full piece recognition. Anyway, the apps need to be further improved when it comes to stability and online play options. I Assume that over time, this will happen, so I can fully recommend this product."

Where is ChessUp now?

After their successful campaign on Kickstarter where the founders raised a whopping $1,703,168 of the $30,000 pledged goal, the trio decided to quit their jobs and focus on developing ChessUp full-time. Considering the popularity of their product and chess itself, the brand is working on building a comprehensive chess lesson library with interactive content over-the-board, created by world-class chess talent through its ChessUp Academy app. 

Who will steal the deal?

Either Barbara Corcoran or Robert Herjavec may steal the deal. Although the brand's sales numbers and profit margins will ultimately be the major deciding factor for the sharks on whether to invest in the business or not. So, we will just have to wait and watch to see if the Sharks even make a deal.

'Shark Tank' Season 14 Episode 9 airs on ABC on Friday, December 9, 2022, at 8 pm ET. Catch the latest episode featuring products like ChessUp, ReadyFestive, ZipString, and Garage Celebrations.

Missed an episode? Been wanting to catch up? Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu. Not just that, you can also watch old seasons and episodes on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.