How Bain used AI to power Athena Pathway’s bid for victory in inaugural Women’s America’s Cup
How Bain used AI to power Athena Pathway’s bid for victory in inaugural Women’s America’s Cup
Bain partnered with Athena Pathway and its sailing teams, Britain’s entrants in the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup races, to bring state-of the art AI technology to power their challenges for victory in the world’s oldest sporting trophy contest, with 2024 making the first-ever women’s race in the competition.
AI Excellence: Bain Fuels Athena Pathway’s Cup Ambitions
AI, Insights, & Solutions, the firm’s digital capabilities practice, and a team of expert Bain consultants worked alongside Athena Pathway sailors, coaches and teams at its base in Barcelona and remotely, to develop and deploy unique AI-powered simulation tools and technology to enhance and optimize the performance of the Athena Pathway teams in their bid for America’s Cup wins.
AI Excellence: Bain Fuels Athena Pathway’s Cup Ambitions
AI, Insights, & Solutions, the firm’s digital capabilities practice, and a team of expert Bain consultants worked alongside Athena Pathway sailors, coaches and teams at its base in Barcelona and remotely, to develop and deploy unique AI-powered simulation tools and technology to enhance and optimize the performance of the Athena Pathway teams in their bid for America’s Cup wins.
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AI, Insights, & Solutions (AIS)
Bain’s AI practice harnessed data from race trials, practices, and early competition phases to develop unique AI-powered simulation tools, enhancing and optimizing the performance of the Athena Pathway teams.
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Executive/Manager Assistant
Executive assistants and manager assistants handled all the administrative and organizational tasks that were critical to ensuring our teams’ success.
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Expert Consulting
Bain’s expert consultants supported and advised Athena Pathway’s coaches, sailors, and teams to maximize speed and enhance sailing efficiency.
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General Consulting
In addition to supporting the client’s challenges with AI technology, Bain consultants collaborated with team leaders and coaches at their Barcelona base to optimize teamwork, upgrade IT systems, streamline onshore operations, and improve playbook documentation.
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Bain Marketing
Bain’s marketing teams collaborated with the client to formalize a partnership agreement and strategically amplified the partnership’s impact through coordinated media initiatives.
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Product, Practice, and Knowledge (PPK)
The Knowledge team played a pivotal role in shaping the effort by sharing examples from Bain’s prior GenAI work. They brought unique perspectives to refine the approach. After the case, they connected with the team to understand the full scope of the work and are now in the process of codifying these insights to help future teams accelerate project scoping.
Background
Founded by British sailing champions Hannah Mills OBE and Sir Ben Ainslie, Athena Pathway aims to reshape high-performance sailing in the UK by promoting diversity and equal opportunities. Athena Pathway was launched following the announcement of a youth and women’s event for the 2024 America’s Cup, with the vision of creating pathways for the next generation of sailors and showcasing the talent of UK women in high-performance sailing.
To enhance their America’s Cup preparation, Athena Pathway sought to incorporate AI into their training regimen, aiming to improve performance and prepare thoroughly before taking to the water. Facing intense competition and working with a new, untested boat, they saw AI as a crucial tool for optimizing training. However, they lacked the internal resources needed to develop advanced AI-driven models and turned to external expertise to meet their goals.
The plan
Bain partnered with Athena Pathway and brought together an integrated team that included general consultants, data scientists, and experts in technology and AI. The teams worked together to address several technical challenges, including data extraction complexities and the constraints of real-time simulation.
During the evaluation phase, Bain posed these key questions to guide the approach:
- How can we accelerate the learning curve of professional sailors while reducing dependence on on-water training?
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What criteria should guide the selection of data inputs for AI models to ensure accuracy in performance optimization?
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What strategies can help us rapidly identify optimal sailing techniques within the limitations of real-time simulation?
The approach
To elevate Athena Pathway’s training, Bain developed a digital twin of the highly technical AC40 boat. This custom-built deep-learning AI model acted as a digital replica of Athena Pathway’s real-life yachts, enabling the team to optimize “velocity made good” (VMG)—a critical driver of race performance. The model featured interactive mapping tools that visualized both past maneuvers and simulated scenarios, allowing crews to test and refine strategies with precision.
Drawing on approximately six million individual data points captured by onboard sensors across more than 40 input variables, the AI model provided instantaneous feedback and real-time insights. This enabled teams to analyze specific scenarios and adjust their race tactics and strategies dynamically.
AI-powered simulations allowed Athena Pathway to test multiple "what-if" race scenarios onshore during training, saving valuable time compared to on-water testing. These simulations also supported real-time decision-making adjustments in simulated race conditions, further sharpening their competitive readiness.
The results
Bain’s AI tools were essential in helping Athena Pathway tackle key challenges in competitive sailing. The advanced AI models quickly learned how to sail the AC40, delivering data-driven recommendations that enhanced speed and performance. By integrating AI, the team accelerated their learning curve, sharpening skills and supercharging their training program. Coaches harnessed real-time sensor data to make split-second adjustments, fine-tuning performance with every session.
The success of the AI-driven training program was clear. AI-recommended settings boosted the sailing speed ratio from 1.02 to 1.04—a tangible 2% leap that gave Athena Pathway a critical advantage in their America’s Cup journey. The result? An impressive second-place finish, showcasing how Bain’s AI-driven approach delivers extraordinary results in real-world competition.
Increase in sailing speed ratio
Finish in Women’s America's Cup
Offices involved
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Offices involved
