When the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship launched its first race through Beijing’s Olympic Park in 2014, the concept of all-electric motorsport still bordered on experimental. Batteries couldn’t yet last a full race, and drivers had to modify cars mid-competition. Just over a decade later, Formula E has evolved into a worldwide entertainment brand broadcast in 150 countries, driving each technological innovation and cultural change in sport.
“Gen4, that’s to return next yr,” says Dan Cherowbrier, Formula E’s chief technology and data officer. “You will note a very quite impressive automotive that starts us to query whether EV is there. It’s actually faster—it’s actually greater than traditional [internal combustion engines] ICE.”
That acceleration isn’t just happening on the track. Formula E’s digital transformation, powered by its partnership with Infosys, is redefining what it means to be a fan. “It’s a movement to make motor sport accessible and exciting for the brand new generation,” says principal technologist at Infosys, Rohit Agnihotri.
From real-time leaderboards and predictive tools to personalized storylines that adapt to what individual fans care most about—whether it’s a driver rivalry or battery performance—Formula E and Infosys are using AI-powered platforms to create fan experiences as dynamic because the races themselves. “Technology isn’t nearly meeting expectations; it’s elevating all the fan experience and making the game more inclusive,” says Agnihotri.
AI can be transforming how the organization itself operates. “Historically, we could be going around the corporate, banging on everyone’s doors and dragging them towards technology, making them use systems, making them move things to the cloud,” Cherowbrier notes. “What AI has done is it’s turned that around on its head, and we now have people turning up, banging on our door because they wish to use this tool, they wish to use that tool.”
As audiences diversify and expectations evolve, Formula E can be a case study in sustainable innovation. Machine learning tools now help determine probably the most carbon-optimal strategy to ship batteries across continents, while distant broadcast production has sharply reduced travel emissions and democratized the corporate’s workforce. These advances show how digital intelligence can expand reach without deepening carbon footprints.
For Cherowbrier, this convergence of sport, sustainability, and technology is just the start. With its data-driven approach to performance, experience, and impact, Formula E is offering a glimpse into how entertainment, innovation, and environmental responsibility can move forward in tandem.
“Our goal is evident,” says Agnihotri. “Help Formula E be probably the most digital and sustainable motor sport on this planet. The longer term is electrical, and with AI, it’s more engaging than ever.”
Full Transcript:
From MIT Technology Review, I’m Megan Tatum, and that is Business Lab, the show that helps business leaders make sense of latest technologies coming out of the lab, and into the marketplace.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the world’s first all-electric racing series, made its debut within the grounds of the Olympic Park in Beijing in 2014. Just a little greater than 10 years later, it’s a worldwide entertainment brand with 10 teams, 20 drivers, and broadcasts in 150 countries. Technology is central to how Formula E is navigating that scale and to the way it’s delivering more powerful personalized experiences.
Two words for you: elevated fandom.
My guests today are Rohit Agnihotri, principal technologist at Infosys, and Dan Cherowbrier, CTIO of Formula E.
This episode is produced in partnership with Infosys.
Welcome, Rohit and Dan.
: Hi. Thanks for having us.
: Dan, as I discussed there, the primary season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship launched in 2014. Are you able to talk us through how the primary all-electric motor sport has evolved within the last decade? How has it modified when it comes to its scale, the markets it operates in, and likewise, its audiences, after all?
: When Formula E launched back in 2014, there have been hardly any domestic EVs on the road. And doubtless should you’re from London, those you remember are the hybrid Priuses; that was what we knew of really. And on the time, they were unable to get a battery large enough for a automotive to do a full race. So the primary generation of automotive, the primary couple of seasons, the driving force needed to do a pit stop midway through the race, get out of 1 automotive, and get in one other automotive, after which carry on, which sounds almost farcical now, nevertheless it’s what you needed to do then to drive innovation, is to do this with a view to go to the following stage.
Then in Gen2, that got here up 4 years later, they’d a battery large enough to start out full races and begin to truly make it a very good sport. Gen3, they’re going for some real speeds and making it occur. Gen4, that’s to return next yr, you’ll see acceleration according to Formula One. I’ve been fortunate enough to see a few of the testing. You will note a very quite impressive automotive that starts us to query whether EV is there. It’s actually faster, it’s actually greater than traditional ICE.
That’s the tech of the automotive. But then, should you also take a look at the game and the way people have come to it and the fans and the demographic of the fans, so much has modified within the last 11 years. We were out to enter season 12. Within the last 11 years, we’ve had an entire democratization of how people access content and what people want from content. And as a brand new generation of fan coming through. This latest generation of fan is younger. They’re more gender diverse. We have now much closer to 50-50 representation in our fan base. They usually want things personalized, they usually’re very demanding about how they need it and the experience they expect. Now not are you only able to provide them one race and everybody watches the identical thing. We want to make things for them. You see that type of change that’s come through within the last 11 years.
: It’s an enormous amount of change in only over a decade, isn’t it? To navigate. And I ponder, Rohit, what was the strategic plan for Infosys when associating with Formula E? What did Infosys see in partnering with such a young sport?
: Yeah. That’s an excellent query, Megan. Once we checked out Formula E, we didn’t just see a racing championship. We saw the longer term. A sport, that’s electric, sustainable, and digital first. That’s exactly where Infosys desires to be, on the intersection of technology, innovation, and purpose. Our plan has three big goals. First, grow the fan base. Formula E wants to succeed in 500 million fans by 2030. That isn’t only a number. It’s a movement to make motor sport accessible and exciting for the brand new generation. To make that occur, we’re constructing an AI-powered platform that provides personalized content to the fans, in order that every fan feels connected and valued. Imagine a fan in Tokyo getting race insights tailored for his or her favorite driver, while one other in London gets a sustainability story that matters to him. That’s the extent of personalization we’re aiming for.
Second, bringing technology innovation. We have now already launched the Stats Centre, which turns race data into interactive stories. And shortly, Race Centre will take this to the following level with real time leaderboards to the race or tracks, overtakes, attack mode timelines, and even AI generated live commentary. Fans won’t just watch, they are going to interact, predict podium finishes, and share their views globally. And third, supports sustainability. Formula E is already net-zero, but now their goal is to chop carbon by 45% by 2030. We’ll be enabling that through AI-driven sustainability, data management, tracking every watt of energy, every logistics decision. and modeling scenarios to make racing even greener. Partnering with a young sport gives us a likelihood to shape its digital future and show how technology could make racing exciting and responsible. For us, Formula E isn’t only a sport, it’s a press release about where the world is headed.
: Improbable. 500 million fans, that’s an enormous number, isn’t it? And with more scale often comes a sort of greater expectation. Dan, I do know you touched on this somewhat in your first query, but what’s it that your fans now actually need from their interactions? Are you able to talk a bit more about what experiences they’re searching for? And in addition, how complex that basically is to deliver that as well?
: I feel a very telling thing in regards to the modern-day fan is I probably can’t let you know what they need from their experiences, since it’s individual and it’s unique for every of them.
: After all.
: And it’s changing and it’s changing so fast. What someone wants this month goes to be different from what they need in a few months’ time. And we’re having to learn to adapt to that. My CTO title, we frequently put deal with the technology in the course of it. That’s what the T is. Actually, should you give it some thought, it’s continual transformation officer. You might be continuously trying to vary what you deliver and the way you deliver it. Because if fans come through, they find latest experiences, they find that in other sports. Sometimes not in sports, they find it outside, after which they’re coming in, they usually expect that from you. So how can we make them more a part of the game, more personalized experience, get to know the athletes and the personalities and the characters inside it? We’re a really technology centric sport. Quite a lot of motor sport is, but really, people wish to see people, right? And even when it’s technology, they wish to see people interacting with technology, and it’s how do you get that out to indicate people.
: Yeah, it’s no mean feat. Rohit, you’ve worked with brands on delivering these type of fan experiences across different sports. Is motor sports perhaps more complicated than others, provided that fans watch racing for various reasons than simply a win? They may very well be focused on team dynamics, a specific driver, the way in which the engine is built, and so forth and so forth. How does motor sports compare and the way necessary is it due to this fact, that Formula E has embraced technology to administer expectations?
: Yeah, that’s an interesting point. Motor sports are definitely more complex than other sports. Fans don’t just care about who wins, they care about how some follow team strategies, others love driver rivalries, and plenty of are fascinated by the automotive technology. Formula E adds one other layer, sustainability and electric innovation. This makes personalization really necessary. Fans want greater than results. They need stories and insights. Formula E understood this early and embraced technology.
Think in regards to the data behind a single race, lap times, energy usage, battery performance, attack mode activation, pit strategies, it’s quite a lot of data. Should you just show the raw numbers, it’s overwhelming. But with Infosys Topaz, we turn that into easy and fascinating stories. Fans can see how a driver fought back from tenth place to complete on the rostrum, or how a team managed energy higher to achieve an edge. And for brand spanking new fans, we’re adding explainer videos and interactive tools within the Race Center, in order that they’ll find out about their sport easily. This is essential because Formula E remains to be young, and plenty of fans are discovering it for the primary time. Technology isn’t nearly meeting expectations; it’s elevating all the fan experience and making the game more inclusive.
: There’s an awful lot occurring there. What are a few of the other ways in which Formula E has already put generative AI and other emerging technologies to make use of? Dan, once we’ve spoken in regards to the demand for more personalized experiences, for instance.
: I see the implementation of AI for us in three areas. We have now AI throughout the sport. That’s in our DNA of the game. Now, each team is using that, but how can we use that as a championship as well? How will we make it a competitive landscape? Now, we’ve AI that’s within the fan-facing product. That’s what we’re working heavily on Infosys with, but we even have it in our broadcast product. For example, you would possibly have heard of a brilliant slow-mo camera. An excellent slow-mo camera is essentially, by taking three cameras and having them in the exact same place so that you just get 3 times the frame rate, and you then can do a slow-motion shot from that. They usually was once really expensive. Quite bulky cameras to place in. We are actually using AI to take a conventional camera and interpolate between two frames to make it into a brilliant slow image, and also you wouldn’t really know the difference. Now, the enjoyment of that, it means every camera can now be a brilliant slow-mo camera.
: Wow.
: In other ways, we use it somewhat bit in our graphics products, and we iterate and we use it for things like showing driver audio. When the driving force is chatting with his engineer or her engineer within the garage, we show that text now on screen. We do this using AI. We use AI to select the difference between the driving force and one other driver and the team engineer or the team principal and show that in a very great way.
And we wouldn’t have the ability to do this. We’re not large enough to have a team of 24 people on stenographers typing. We have now to make use of AI to have the ability to do this. That’s what’s really helped us grow. After which the last one is, how we use it in our business. Because ultimately, as we’ve got the fans, we’ve got the game, but we are also running a business and we’ve to select up these racetracks and move them all over the world, and we’ve all these staff who should get places. We have now insurance who has to do all that sort of stuff, and we use it heavily in that area, particularly in terms of what has a carbon impact for us.
So things like our freight and our travel. And we’re using the AI tools to inform us, a battery as an example, should we fly it? Should we send it by sea freight? Should we send it by row freight? Or should we just have a lot of them? And that type of depends. Now, a battery, if it was heavy, you’d think you most likely wouldn’t fly it. But actually, due to the materials in it, due to the source materials that make it, we’re higher off flying it. We’ve used AI to work through all those different machinations of things that might be too difficult to do at speed for an individual.
: Well, seems like there’s some fascinating things occurring. I mean, after all, for a worldwide brand, there may be also the challenge of working in numerous markets. You mentioned moving every part all over the world there. Each market with its own legal frameworks around data privacy, AI. How has technology also helped you navigate all of that, Dan?
: The opposite really interesting thing about AI is… I’ve worked in technology leadership roles for a while now. And historically, we could be going around the corporate, banging on everyone’s doors and dragging them towards technology, making them use systems, making them move things to the cloud and things like that. What AI has done is it’s turned that around on its head, and we now have people turning up, banging on our door because they wish to use this tool, they wish to use that tool. And we’re attempting to accommodate all of that and it’s an excellent pleasure to see people who are so keen. AI is driving the tech adoption generally, which really helps the business.
Megan: Dan, because the world’s first all-electric motor sport series, sustainability is clearly an actual cornerstone of what Formula E is seeking to do. Are you able to share with us how technology helps you to realize a few of your ambitions in terms of sustainability?
: We’ve been the one sport with a licensed net-zero pathway, and we’ve to remain that part. It’s a very core fundamental a part of our DNA. I sit on our management team here. There’s a sustainability VP that sits there as well, who checks and challenges every part we do. She looks at the info centers we use, why we use them, why we’ve made the choices we’ve made, to make sure that that we’re making all of them for the best reasons and the best ways. We specifically embed technology in a pair of how. One is, we mentioned somewhat bit earlier, on our freight. Formula E’s freight for the entire championship might be akin to 1 Formula One team, nevertheless it’s still by far, our biggest contributor to our impact. So we glance about how we will make sure that that we’ve refined that to get the minimum amount of air freight and sea freight, and use local wherever we will. That’s also a part of our pledge about investing within the communities that we race in.
The second then is about our staff travel. And we’ve done a very big piece of labor over the past 4 to 5 years, partly accelerated through the covid-19 era actually, of doing distant working and distant TV production. Was once traditionally, you’d fly 100 plus people out to racetracks, after which they might make the tv all on site in trucks, after which they might be satellite distributed out of the venue. Now, what we do is we put in some web connections, dual and diverse web connections, and we stream each camera back.
: Right.
: Which means on site, we only need camera operators. A few of them actually, are remotely operated anyway, but we want camera operators, after which some engineering teams to simply keep every part running. After which back in our home base, which is in London, within the UK, we’ve our distant production center where we layer on direction, graphics, audio, replay, team radio, all of those bits that break the colour and make this system and add to that significant body of individuals. We do that every one remotely now. Really interesting actually, a bit. In order that’s the carbon sustainability story, but there may be an extra ESG piece that comes out of it and we haven’t really accommodated once we went into it, is the variety in our workforce by doing that. We were discovering that we had quite a young, equally diverse workforce until across the age of 30. After which once that happened, then we were finding we were losing women, and that’s often because they didn’t wish to travel.
: Right.
: And that’s the age of individuals beginning to have children, and things were starting to vary. After which we had some men that were traveling as a substitute, they usually weren’t seeing their children and it was type of dividing it unnecessarily. But by going distant, by having a lot of our people capable of remotely… And even in the event that they do should travel, they’re not traveling each week. They’re now doing that one in three. They’re able to take care of the careers and the roles they wish to do, whilst having a family lifestyle. And it also just makes a greater product by having people in that environment.
: That’s such an interesting perspective, isn’t it? It’s a way of environmental sustainability intersects with social sustainability. And Rohit, and your work are so interesting. And Rohit, are you able to share any of the ways in which Infosys has worked with Formula E, when it comes to the role of technology as we are saying, in furthering those ambitions around sustainability?
: Yeah. Infosys understands that sustainability is at the center of Formula E, and it’s a giant a part of why this partnership matters. Formula E is already net-zero certified, but now, they’ve an ambitious goal to chop carbon emissions by 45%. Infosys helps in two ways. First, we’ve built AI-powered sustainability data tools that make carbon reporting accurate and traceable. Every watt of energy, every logistic decision, every material use may be tracked. Second, we use predictive analytics to model scenarios, like how changing race logistics or battery technology impact emissions so Formula E could make smarter, greener decisions. For us, it’s about turning sustainability from a report into an motion plan, and making Formula E a worldwide leader in green motor sport.
: And in April 2025, Formula E working with Infosys launched its Stats Centre, which provides fans with interactive access to the performances of their drivers and teams, key milestones and narratives. I do know you touched on this before, but I ponder should you could tell us a bit more in regards to the design of that platform, Rohit, and the way it suits into Formula E’s wider plans to personalize that fan experience?
: Sure. The Stats Centre was a giant step forward. Before this, fans had access to basic statistics on the web site and the mobile app, but nothing told the complete story and we wanted to vary that. Built on Infosys Topaz, the Stats Centre uses AI to show race data into interactive stories. Fans can explore key stat cards that adapt to race timelines, and even chat with an AI companion to get fast answers. It’s like having an individual race analyst at your fingertips. And we’re going further. Next yr, we’ll launch Race Centre. It’ll have live data boards, 2D track maps showing every driver’s position, overtakes and more attack timelines, and AI-generated commentary. Fans can predict podium finishes, vote for the driving force of the race, and share their views on social media. Plus, we’re adding video explainers for brand spanking new fans, covering rules, strategies, and automotive technology. Our goal is straightforward: make every moment exciting and simple to grasp. Whether you’re a hardcore fan or someone watching Formula E for the primary time, you’ll feel connected and informed.
: Improbable. Sounds sensible. And as you’ve explained, Dan, leveraging data and AI can include these huge advantages in terms of the depth of fan experience that you may deliver, but it may also expose you to some challenges. How are you navigating those at Formula E?
: The AI generation has presented two significant challenges to us. One is that traditional search engine marketing, traditional SEO, goes out the window. Right? You are actually how will we design and construct our systems and the way will we populate them with the best content and the best data, in order that the engines are picking it up accurately and displaying it? The way in which that the foundational models are built and the speed and the cadence of which they’re updated, means very often… We’re a really fast-changing organization. We’re a fast-changing product. Often, the models don’t sustain. And that’s because they’re a cut-off date once they were trained. And that’s something that the large organizations, the large tech organizations will fix with time. But for now, what we’ve to do is we’ve to find out about how we will present our fan-facing, web-facing products to indicate that accurately. That’s all about having really accurate first-party content, effectively earned media. That’s the piece we want to do.
Then the second type of challenge is unfortunately, whilst these tools can be found to all of us, and we’re using them effectively, so are one other a part of the technology landscape, and that’s the cybersecurity mainly they arrive with. Should you take a look at the speed of the cadence and severity of hacks which are happening now, it’s just growing and growing and growing, and that’s because they’ve access to those tools too. And we’re having to actually up our game and professionalize. And that’s really hard for an modern organization. You don’t wish to shut every part down. You don’t wish to protect every part an excessive amount of because you wish people to have the ability to try latest things. Right? If I block every part to only things that the IT team had heard of, we’d never get anything latest in, and it’s about getting that balance right.
: Right.
: Rohit, you most likely have similar experiences?
: How has Infosys worked with Formula E to assist it navigate a few of that, Rohit?
: Yeah. Infosys has helped Formula E tackle a few of the challenges in three key ways, simplify complex race data into engaging fan experience through platforms like Stats Centre, constructing a secure and scalable cloud data backbone for the real-time insights, and enabling sustainability goals with AI-driven carbon tracking and predictive analytics. This solution makes the game interactive, more digital, and more responsible.
: Improbable. I wondered if we could close with a little bit of a future forward look. Are you able to share with us any innovations on the horizon at Formula E that you just are really enthusiastic about, Dan?
: We have now mentioned the Race Centre goes to launch in the following couple of months, however the really exciting thing for me is we’ve got an incredible season ahead of us. It’s the last season of our Gen3 automotive, with 10 really exciting teams on the grid. We’re going at speed with our tech innovation roadmap and what our fans want. And we’re increase towards our Gen4 automotive, which is able to come out for season 13 in a yr’s time. That can get launched in 2026, and I feel it should be a game changer in how people perceive electric motor sport and electric cars generally.
: It seems like there’s all types of exciting things occurring. And Rohit too, what’s coming up via this partnership that you just are really looking forward to sharing with everyone?
: Two things stand out for me. First is the AI-powered fan data platform that I’ve already spoken about. Second is the launch of Race Centre. It’s going to vary how fans experience live racing. And beyond final engagement, we’re helping Formula E lead in sustainability with AI tools that model carbon impact and optimize logistics. This implies every race may be smarter and greener. Our goal is evident: help Formula E be probably the most digital and sustainable motor sport on this planet. The longer term is electrical, and with AI, it’s more engaging than ever.
: Improbable. Thanks a lot, each. That was Rohit Agnihotri, principal technologist at Infosys, and Dan Cherowbrier, CITO of Formula E, whom I spoke with from Brighton, England.
That’s it for this episode of Business Lab. I’m your host, Megan Tatum. I’m a contributing editor and host for Insights, the custom publishing division of MIT Technology Review. We were founded in 1899 on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and you could find us in print, on the net and at events every year all over the world. For more details about us and the show, please take a look at our website at technologyreview.com.
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