In a significant leadership shake-up at the intersection of sports and artificial intelligence, Owl AI has named Jay Prasad as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Prasad steps into the role with a resume built at LiveRamp and VideoAmp, two companies known for their work in data infrastructure and advertising technology, giving him a grounding in exactly the kind of large-scale data systems that Owl AI depends on.
He takes over from Josh Gwyther, the company's founding CEO and a former head of AI at Google Cloud, who had steered Owl AI since its inception. Gwyther's exit marks the end of an important chapter for the company, one in which it moved from an ambitious idea to a functioning product used in live sports settings. Handing over the reins of a fast-scaling startup is never a routine matter, and the timing suggests Owl AI's board believes the company is entering a new phase — one that calls for a leader with a different set of strengths.
Owl AI has positioned itself as a builder of what it describes as a "live intelligence layer" for sports broadcasts — technology designed to process and interpret the flood of real-time data generated during a live game and turn it into insights broadcasters, leagues and fans can actually use. It is a niche that sits at a fast-growing crossroads of sports, media and artificial intelligence, an area that has drawn increasing attention as leagues around the world look for ways to make broadcasts more data-rich and engaging, especially for younger, digitally native audiences. For a market like India, where cricket, kabaddi and football broadcasts are increasingly leaning on data-driven storytelling and second-screen experiences, the kind of technology Owl AI builds has clear relevance.
Notably, Owl AI has been shaped by a combination of athletes and engineers working side by side — an unusual pairing that blends on-field intuition with technical rigour. That hybrid approach appears to be part of what has fuelled the company's rapid growth so far, and it is the foundation Prasad now inherits as he takes charge.
According to Owl AI, Prasad's mandate is straightforward: growth. That means forging new partnerships, expanding deployment of the platform, and getting Owl AI's technology in front of more leagues and broadcasters across the world. It is a mission that closely mirrors the kind of scaling work he has done earlier in his career. The company noted that Prasad has spent his career building and scaling technology businesses positioned right at the intersection of media, data and AI — experience that maps directly onto the challenge now in front of him.
Whether Prasad can replicate that scaling success at Owl AI remains to be seen, but the appointment signals a clear strategic shift — from building the product to aggressively expanding its footprint. If Owl AI can convert its athlete-engineer approach into deals with more leagues globally, including in cricket-mad markets like India, it could mark a meaningful next step for live sports broadcasting technology.
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