Professional Role and Current Position
Swayam Narain is currently associated with Bazaarvoice in Singapore, a leading company specializing in user-generated content (UGC) platforms. He holds a senior technology leadership role, reflected as Senior Director of Software Engineering or a similar title within Bazaarvoice’s engineering leadership team. His position indicates responsibility for driving engineering innovation, leading technical teams, and contributing to product strategy, particularly in areas related to data processing and machine learning.
Career Background and Entrepreneurial Ventures
Swayam Narain is an engineer and entrepreneur, best known as the co-founder and founding CTO of Affable.ai, an AI-powered influencer marketing platform founded in 2017 alongside Nisarg Shah. Affable.ai specialized in using advanced machine learning models and data pipelines to analyze and recommend micro-influencers, processing over 100 million daily events and serving up to 20 million image requests per day. This platform tracked over 1 million micro-influencers, evidencing a high scale and complex data infrastructure under his technical leadership.
In October 2023, Affable.ai was acquired by Bazaarvoice, marking a strategic expansion by Bazaarvoice into AI-driven influencer marketing and creator discovery. Post-acquisition, Swayam transitioned into a leadership role within Bazaarvoice, leveraging his expertise in AI, big data, and software engineering to enable and integrate Affable’s advanced capabilities into Bazaarvoice’s product offerings.
Education and Academic Distinctions
Swayam holds a degree from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), where he studied Information Systems Technology and Design (ISTD) from 2012 to 2015. His academic achievements are notable for:
- IES Gold Medal Winner (2015): Awarded for being the top student overall in his engineering program by the Institution of Engineers Singapore.
- Keppel Award of Excellence: Received consistently during both junior and senior years for outstanding achievements in design and technology.
- Valedictorian Nominee of his graduating class (2015) at SUTD.
- Consistently placed on the SUTD Honours List throughout his academic tenure.
These honors indicate a strong technical foundation and sustained excellence throughout his educational career.
Technical Expertise and Skills
- Machine Learning at Scale: Authored and contributed to works such as “Machine learning at scale: Processing 100M+ Events / Day,” demonstrating deep expertise in large-scale data pipelines and AI.
- Computer Vision: Developed UrbanTrack, a computer vision-based project for vehicle counting and classification in urban traffic, applying convolutional neural networks and support vector machines.
- Programming and Development: Has pursued continuing education in modern technology stacks, including Full-Stack JavaScript, Deep Learning, and Generative AI.
Languages spoken include English and Hindi at native or bilingual proficiency.
Professional Recognition and Influence
- Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia (Media, Marketing & Advertising, 2022): Recognized for innovation and impact in influencer marketing and AI technologies.
- Influential voice on platforms such as LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter), maintaining a follower base of approximately 3,700 indicating active engagement with industry peers and thought leadership in tech entrepreneurship.
- Public speaking engagements, including industry events such as Shoptalk Fall and development/community initiatives geared toward technology and global scaling.
Strategic Relevance to Bazaarvoice
Swayam’s background as a founder and CTO of an AI-driven influencer marketing platform positions him uniquely to contribute to Bazaarvoice’s expansion into influencer and creator marketing domains. His deep technical expertise in scalable machine learning systems is aligned with Bazaarvoice’s core business of leveraging consumer-generated content at scale for enhanced marketing impact. His leadership role post-acquisition signifies trust in his ability to integrate and grow cutting-edge technology within Bazaarvoice’s ecosystem.
In summary, Swayam Narain is a highly qualified, technically proficient senior technology leader at Bazaarvoice with a distinguished entrepreneurial and academic background. His expertise in AI-driven marketing technology and scalable data systems provides critical leverage for Bazaarvoice’s product innovation and expansion into influencer marketing. His proven leadership in founding and growing a technology startup to acquisition furthers his capability to influence product direction and engineering excellence within Bazaarvoice.
