The GCC's Tech Vanguard: Bayes Esports' Amir Mirzaee

With over 18 years of experience in the tech industry, most of which was spent in business development and strategic partnerships at Google, Amir Mirzaee has seen firsthand how technology can create seamless and impactful customer experiences across various devices, from smartphones to smart TVs. And it is exactly that seamlessness that he aims to bring to esports data as the CEO of Bayes Esports — a leading esports data provider whose achievements include being selected as the official data supplier for the 2024 Esports World Cup.

“Data plays an essential role in fan engagement in any sport, and esports is no different,” Mirzaee points out. “Imagine Formula One without the head camera, fastest lap, or replays – both fans and teams would not be able to grasp the full breadth of the sport. Bayes Esports has created a product toolkit that transforms the way the community engages with esports. The more data points, visuals, or stats to follow, the more captivating each match becomes.” Commenting on the esports landscape in the GCC, Mirzaee believes that the region is ready to transform how we engage with sports – and Bayes Esports has a key role to play in realizing that. “As the GCC drives forward its expansion into the esports market, Bayes Esports is working closely with the region to become the first fully integrated esports data ecosystem, transforming esports engagement,” Mirzaee declares.

A Playbook For Success: Q&A With Amir Mirzaee 

When and why did you become interested in the tech solutions that your company currently offers? What excites you about the road ahead for this technology?  

“I’ve spent over 18 years in the tech industry, with much of that time focused on business development and strategic partnerships at Google. Working in tech – especially at Google – often revolves around ‘making the magic happen,’ meaning creating amazing customer experiences, and having them appear ‘by magic’ on your phone, desktop, smart television, car, and, nowadays, even your toaster or washing machine. 

The truth is that very few people in the world understand how truly magical, for example, a Google Maps experience is. Countless people work on the backside creating a digital infrastructure that can depict maps globally, show you opening hours, and let you chat with shop owners. People can’t see from the outside the effort that goes into setting up data licensing agreements to collect that business listing data globally, the manual operational effort that goes into cleaning that data and keeping it up to date. While I was working on the Waze team at Google, I learned about the magic of having the community engage in the heavy lifting of that operational effort for example. Solving major issues on a global scale is truly hard. 

When we are looking at sports data, and sadly also the esports data landscape, none of this foundational work exists outside of silos here and there. Paradoxically, particularly in esports, we see major gaps in making the excitement of esports available to the esports ecosystem, meaning fans but also teams, leagues, and their partners. A major part of engagement opportunities goes out the window if you can’t create digital applications in an easy fashion that would drive that ecosystem engagement. 

So, I think there is a tremendous upside bridging that data foundation to life, globally, across all sports and esports. The goal has to be to create magical experiences for everyone involved and help the ecosystem commercialize its events and content better.” 

What’s your advice for people/businesses looking to start/grow in the GCC’s tech domain?  

“Be ambitious and bold, but understand the legacy first. Sometimes, things are done a certain way for a reason; sometimes, not. If you come with a bold vision, understand what is needed commercially and technically to enable that vision. Ideally, you find a gap in the market, and grow from within.” 

Bayes Esports' Amir Mirzaee was one of the 30 innovators celebrated in Inc. Arabia's December 2024 special feature, The GCC's Tech Vanguard. For the full list of The GCC's Tech Vanguard, please click here.