In what’s being called the first registry of record for sports intellectual property (IP) around AI, a new global-digital tech company Callandor Group was formed to provide an infrastructure that ensures sports stars’ likenesses don’t run off and leave them and their sports organizations behind.
One of Callandor’s primary goals is to empower sports organizations to turn AI rights into protected, revenue-generating digital assets.
“Think of it as YouTube Content ID meets Getty images,” said Callandor CEO Michael Fisk, a global entertainment executive who has worked with Sony, Warner Bros., MGM and Amazon Studios. “It perfectly captures the blend of a premium asset library with the automated tracking that ensures everyone gets paid.”
Fisk added, “We like to tell our partners, ‘Athletes are code,’ and Callandor is the infrastructure that ensures they actually own the code they’re building.”
Fisk is joined in the Callandor venture by NASA engineer and AI tooling professional An Vu as chief technology officer (CTO). Vu’s background includes work at Stability AI and at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the Perseverance rover, which is currently exploring Mars.
Callandor’s chief operations officer (COO), Dave Cassidy, is also part of the C-suite, where he works to bring new sports teams and players into the fold. Cassidy is also an elite advisor to the Big 5 European Leagues.
Also joining the C-suite is Guglielmo Cardente, head of European club operations, who rounds out the team with specialization in sports IP and commercial rights optimization.
Together, Fisk, Vu, Cassidy and Cardente are on a mission to merge the deep tech and entertainment aspects of AI and sports.
Fisk came onto Georgia’s radar when he was featured in Georgia Entertainment’s 2026 Creative Economy Journal in the publication’s lead story, “Entertainment Amplified,” by Atlanta-based Georgia Entertainment Founder Randy Davidson and contributing writer Carol Badaracco Padgett.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in June, the issue of AI likeness, sports IP and their bedfellow entertainment become inextricably entwined.
“Right now, the IP of a star like Messi or LeBron is a legal Wild West. Their movements, voice and biometric data are being fed into AI models with zero transparency and no standardized royalty system,” Fisk stated. “Athletes are no longer just players; they are the training data for the next generation of digital entertainment.”
He added, “From hyper-realistic video game avatars to AI-generated commentary and performance modeling, the ‘Digital Twin ‘ of an athlete is becoming as valuable as the physical one.”
For athletes themselves, Callandor allows them to own and license their digital DNA and get paid each time an AI model uses their likeness or performance stats. For sports clubs and their content studios, the company’s offerings allow them to monetize their considerable video archives as premium training assets for AI developers under new applicable laws coming onto the scene.
Fisk reported, for example, that Callandor is moving toward compliance with the EU AI Act and California’s AB 2013, which now mandate transparency for AI training data.
“Our model acts as the automated clearinghouse to ensure these laws are met,” he noted.
“As the sports world evolves into a software-driven entertainment business, Callandor is the infrastructure that ensures the stars actually own the future they’re building,” Fisk said. “For the industry overall, it provides a clear, compliant path to move from broadcast rights to AI training rights.”
