After launching at the X Games last January, The Owl AI has raised an $11 million seed round as it seeks new sports and settings where it can update human-based functions like officiating and judging.
Championed by Jeremy Bloom, a tech entrepreneur and former Olympic skier who was also a onetime NFL draft pick, the company has drawn significant backing. Its seed round was led by S32, which was founded by Google Ventures creator Bill Maris, and participants also include Menlo Ventures and Susa Ventures. Bloom, who is CEO of the X Games, has installed former Google Cloud AI chief Josh Gwyther as CEO.
“When we launched The Owl in Aspen, the mission was clear: to modernize and elevate how sports are judged, experienced, and understood, using the power of AI,” Bloom said. “What I didn’t anticipate was the immediate surge of excitement among all the stakeholders including athletes and also other leagues. It was obvious that we were on to something big and necessary.”
Gwyther’s hiring, he added, is a “major moment, not just for The Owl, but for the entire world of sports technology.”
The goal of The Owl is to bring about fairness through technology. The company says it is in active discussions with a range of leagues and rightsholders in multiple sports. Although instant replay is now commonplace, more embeddable tech solutions like the Cyclops system in tennis for automated line calls, are more in line with where the company is heading. For TV and streaming viewers, the flaws and delays of the current landscape are also a pain point (just scroll social media on the morning after the big game). Plus, the explosion of sports betting and the financial payoffs hanging in the balance offer another reason to improve officiating and judging.
The Owl also says its tools help with viewer engagement by providing localized commentary in dozens of languages.
“At S32, we invest in bold ideas led by visionary teams and Owl AI is exactly that,” said Andy Harrison, CEO & General Partner, S32. “By fusing elite athletic insight with cutting-edge AI, Jeremy and Josh are building more than just a new layer of fairness in sports – they’re reshaping how the world experiences competition.”
In 2022, MSP Sports Capital purchased a majority stake in the X Games from ESPN, which launched the event in 1995 as a way to entice younger viewers. The organization also set a deal with Roku for live streaming.
