Exclusive: Morgan State University Graduate Launches AI Agent For Overlooked HBCU And Small-School NIL Athletes
A new platform has hit the market to ensure athletes can maximize their potential in the NIL landscape.
According to the Business of College Sports, Morgan State University alum Peter Iwuh made history in 2023 when he launched the first Black-owned NIL marketing agency, Tykoon Sports Agency.
The agency secured over 200 partnerships with brands, including CVS, NBC Sports, and Ruffles, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™.
Iwuh has a deep understanding of what it takes to become a household brand, having also supported professional athletes with marketing strategy and PR — including boxers Claressa Shields and Devin Haney — and working at Fortune 500 companies such as Sony Music Entertainment, Meta, and The Walt Disney Company. These experiences have helped Iwuh understand operational practices and systems, he shared in an interview with AFROTECH™. Still, his company hit a ceiling with their work, and is now turning to AI to expand their business.
Typhoon AI
Iwuh’s experiences and observations led him to create Typhoon AI, a new solution to better support athletes, particularly with name, image, likeness (NIL). At its baseline, Typhoon AI — launched alongside Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer Omogbolade Ajayi and Chief Growth Officer Alexander Turner —will support underrepresented athletes at HBCUs, smaller schools, and lesser-known conferences who have been left out of NIL by providing them with tools and assistance to grow, maximize, and manage their NIL in one place.
“Being an individual of color who is faced with oppression, being a first-generation college student, and being raised in a single-mother household, it is a common experience to feel overlooked,” Iwuh, 24, told AFROTECH™.
“Even though I’m not a student athlete, it’s a common experience to feel overlooked and under-resourced and feel like no one is here to support me. When I was attending [Morgan State University], I came across student athletes who were picking negative pathways because they did not have options, and I’m one who just wanted to diversify the options,” Iwuh continued.
Features
Typhoon AI will function as an all-in-one platform. When onboarding, athletes can select their school, gender, hometown, and an array of interests, including fitness and training, traveling and culture, business and entrepreneurship, technology and gadgets, and so much more. From there, athletes can connect with local businesses through its interactive merchant map, according to information shared with AFROTECH™. Once a selection is made, Typhoon AI’s team will send the request directly.
Users can also reach national brands and discover open NIL deals with requirements and earning potential. Reminders will be flagged once deals are in the works to ensure deliverables are fulfilled.
Affiliate deals are also on the platform, and Iwuh noted they are in talks to onboard a handful of brand partners from his agency.
Merchandise
Furthermore, athletes can develop merchandise to enhance the experience with their fan bases. This can be accomplished within minutes thanks to AI design assistance, Iwuh told AFROTECH™. Athletes can select from hoodies, hats, and tees, and sell their creations directly within the app. They can also set target goals and track earnings, customer behavior, and top sellers.
GamePlan AI
Typhoon AI also includes a feature called GamePlan AI, which helps users create ideas for merchandise, brand partnerships, or content, as well as scan contracts and receive summaries with NIL compliance notes. The AI agent can develop weekly content plans, including scripts and captions. Its primary function is to help the athletes grow their social media presence.
“We used to work with a lot of student athletes, providing them with ideas manually as an agency. Now, those are the ideas that we fit into the AI to make sure that it’s not just giving users generic ideas, but also ideas that help student athletes actually create content that’s relevant… We don’t want it to look like a simple ChatGPT response,” Iwuh told AFROTECH™.
Checkpoints and reminders will also be provided to hold students accountable for bringing their ideas to fruition.
Incentive
To maintain a seamless experience, Iwuh told AFROTECH™ that athletes can track their earnings from brand partnerships, merchandise, and social media growth from their dashboard, which will also include an AI score system. Scores are impacted by how much the platform’s AI tools are used and how frequently posts are shared on social media.
According to Little Black Book, the NIL market is projected to reach $2.5 billion for the 2025-2026 academic year. Iwuh hopes that the platform will ensure overlooked athletes can have a piece of the pie.
“Since NIL started, it’s been nearing a billion-dollar market already in its very early stages. While those are amazing numbers, the unfortunate reality is that most of those funds and resources are being allocated towards athletes at top conferences, top schools, and the top sports…That’s why we’re building this platform to bring the opportunity to student athletes. We’re not waiting on the athletic departments anymore,” Iwuh expressed to AFROTECH™.
Typhoon AI is now available to download on the App Store and Google Play Store.
