Professor Vishal Misra, Vice-Dean of Computing & AI at Columbia University, launched a white paper titled “Fantasy Sports as a Catalyst for India's AI Revolution in Sports” at WAVES 2025.  

The paper, developed from insights gained at the FIFS Sports Data Gameathon, explores the role of fantasy sports in advancing AI in India.  The Gameathon, a national AI challenge in partnership with Google Cloud and Dream11, engaged top Indian engineering and tech institutes to create AI/ML models for fantasy sports.

The white paper emphasizes the potential of fantasy sports to democratize AI development, leveraging India's tech talent to build innovative, data-driven solutions for sports analytics. Prof. Misra highlighted, “Fantasy sports is not just entertainment; it’s a platform for advancing AI, fostering talent, and unlocking real-world applications in sports analytics.”