Owl AI Appoints Industry Veteran Jay Prasad as CEO to Lead Expansion of "Live Intelligence" Platform

EXCLUSIVE: In a significant leadership transition for the burgeoning sports-tech sector, Owl AI—a startup pioneering the integration of real-time machine learning into live programming—has appointed media and data veteran Jay Prasad as its new Chief Executive Officer. Prasad takes the helm at a critical juncture for the Boulder-based company, which is rapidly evolving from a niche judging tool into a comprehensive "live intelligence layer" for global sports broadcasting.

Prasad succeeds Josh Gwyther, the former head of AI at Google Cloud, who served as CEO since the company’s inception. Gwyther will transition into an advisory role, ensuring continuity as the company scales. Jeremy Bloom, the two-time Olympic skier and tech entrepreneur who founded Owl AI, will continue his tenure as Executive Chairman, focusing on the company’s long-term vision and high-level strategic partnerships.

The Evolution of Owl AI: From X Games to Global Infrastructure

The appointment of Prasad signals a shift in focus for Owl AI. While the company initially garnered industry attention for its specialized officiating platform—which made its high-profile debut at the 2025 X Games—it has quickly outgrown its original mandate.

Founded in the high-stakes environment of the X Games headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, Owl AI was built to solve the persistent challenges of human error in judged sports. By leveraging advanced computer vision and real-time data processing, the company’s debut technology offered an unprecedented level of precision in officiating. This initial success provided the foundation for an $11 million seed funding round led by S32, with additional backing from heavyweights like Menlo Ventures and Susa Ventures.

However, as the company matured, the leadership team identified a much larger market opportunity. The technology originally designed for objective judging proved to be equally adept at processing, analyzing, and enhancing live video feeds for broader consumption. Today, Owl AI’s "live intelligence layer" is being deployed across professional sports properties and major national broadcasts to support a wide range of functions, including AI-powered commentary, automated translation, real-time analytics, and hyper-personalized audience experiences.

A Proven Leader for a High-Growth Phase

Jay Prasad brings a rare combination of experience in media, data measurement, and artificial intelligence to the CEO role. His career is characterized by his ability to bridge the gap between complex technological capabilities and commercial viability.

Most recently, Prasad served as CEO of Relo Metrics, where he successfully scaled one of the industry’s most respected computer vision and sponsorship intelligence platforms. His expertise in how technology can quantify the value of live sports broadcasts—particularly regarding branding and audience engagement—aligns perfectly with Owl AI’s current roadmap.

Prior to Relo Metrics, Prasad’s footprint in the media landscape was equally significant. He served as Chief Strategy Officer at LiveRamp, a leader in data connectivity, and was a founding executive at VideoAmp. During his tenure at VideoAmp, he played a pivotal role in developing measurement and data products that have become industry standards for television, streaming, and digital media advertising.

"Jay has spent his career scaling category-defining technology businesses at the intersection of media, data, and AI," said Jeremy Bloom. "When we launched Owl AI, our goal wasn’t only to remove human error in judged and refereed sports; it was to build the intelligence layer behind every live sporting event. Jay is the right leader to help us bring Owl to leagues, broadcasters, rights holders, and live events around the world."

The "Live Intelligence" Paradigm Shift

The sports broadcasting industry is currently in the midst of a data-driven transformation. As streaming and linear television rights holders face increasing pressure to retain viewers in a fragmented media landscape, the implementation of "smart" technology has moved from a novelty to a necessity.

Replay review is now a standard feature in nearly every major sport, but the integration of AI allows for a more dynamic use of this data. Instead of simply confirming a call, Owl AI’s platform processes the video stream in real-time to generate context, statistics, and narrative threads that can be instantly injected into the broadcast.

Prasad views this as an untapped goldmine for the industry. "Every live sporting event generates enormous value that today goes uncaptured—in officiating, production, branding, live experiences, and the fan experience," Prasad noted. "Owl is building the live intelligence layer that captures it: one platform that turns live video into real-time understanding, deployed across every sport it touches. The technology is already proving itself with leagues and broadcasters, and my job is to take it to the world."

Strategic Implications and Future Roadmap

With Prasad in the CEO chair, Owl AI is expected to prioritize three core pillars:

1. Commercial Expansion: Leveraging Prasad’s network and experience to secure long-term contracts with major sports leagues and international broadcasting networks.
2. Product-Market Fit: Refinement of the "intelligence layer" to ensure it can be seamlessly integrated into existing broadcast workflows without increasing the technical burden on production crews.
3. Global Deployment: Scaling the infrastructure to handle the simultaneous data loads of multiple international sporting events, ensuring that the latency-sensitive nature of live sports is preserved.

The company’s shift toward a broader platform approach reflects a larger trend in the sports-tech ecosystem: the move toward "augmented reality" in broadcasting. By automating the extraction of data from video, Owl AI allows broadcasters to move beyond static images, offering fans a more immersive, analytical, and interactive viewing experience.

Industry Outlook: The Intersection of AI and Sports

The transition of leadership at Owl AI occurs at a time when the broader media industry is grappling with the implications of generative AI. While many companies are focused on AI in post-production or content generation, Owl AI’s focus on live intelligence distinguishes it as a critical infrastructure player.

By positioning itself as the "intelligence layer," Owl is effectively attempting to become the middleware of the sports industry—the essential software that sits between the camera feed and the viewer’s screen. If the company can successfully scale its operations as intended under Prasad’s leadership, it could fundamentally alter how leagues monetize their intellectual property.

The move also underscores the growing influence of the Boulder tech hub. Once known primarily for outdoor industry startups, the region has increasingly become a center for specialized AI companies that leverage the proximity to mountain sports and athletic innovation.

Conclusion: A New Chapter for Owl AI

The departure of Josh Gwyther—who oversaw the difficult transition from a seed-stage startup to a deployable, revenue-generating technology provider—leaves the company on a stable foundation. His move to an advisory role ensures that the institutional knowledge remains intact as the company enters its next phase of rapid growth.

For Jay Prasad, the challenge will be to maintain the agility of a startup while managing the expectations of high-profile league partners and investors. However, his track record of scaling data-heavy media platforms suggests he is well-equipped to navigate the complexities of the modern sports broadcasting environment.

As the company looks to the future, the integration of its technology into more sports—and eventually, non-sports live programming—remains the primary objective. With an $11 million seed war chest, a battle-tested management team, and a technology suite that addresses real-world bottlenecks in live broadcasting, Owl AI is poised to play a central role in the next generation of fan engagement.

As Prasad takes the reins, the industry will be watching closely to see how quickly he can turn the company’s "live intelligence" from a sophisticated prototype into a global standard for broadcast production. With the backing of S32 and a clear vision for the future, Owl AI appears ready to lead the charge into a new, smarter era of sports consumption.