Veritone, Inc. CEO Ryan Steelberg Discusses AI Innovations and Growth Strategies at JPMorgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference

Key Takeaways

TL;DR: Veritone (NASDAQ: VERI) is poised for accelerated growth driven by its AI-powered unstructured data processing platform (aiWARE), momentum in GenAI training data (Veritone Data Refinery, $10M+ pipeline), and expansion into the public sector (DoD/DOJ contracts). Key drivers include $17B+ AI training data market tailwinds, proven enterprise retention (>90%), and undervaluation ($60M core rev., 60M hrs of A/V processed in 2024).

1. Veritone Data Refinery (VDR): $17B+ GenAI Training Data Oppt'y

• New growth vertical launched in 2024; $10M+ pipeline already booked w/ 6-figure+ contracts.
• Differentiation: Focus on audio/video training data (vs. Scale AI’s text-heavy model), leveraging existing partnerships w/ media giants (e.g., NCAA, Disney) and hyperscalers (Azure/AWS).
• Competitive Edge: Uses AI to pre-process data for AI training, creating a “virtuous cycle.” Management sees VDR as a potential “lightning in a bottle” oppt'y, akin to Scale AI’s trajectory (which works w/ OpenAI, NVIDIA).

2. Public Sector Expansion

• Recent Wins: Contracts w/ DoD, DOJ, Air Force, DLA, and State/Local agencies (e.g., Beverly Hills PD).
• Use Cases:
  • Law Enforcement: Accelerating investigations via AI-powered analysis of body/dash cam footage, security videos.
  • FOIA Compliance: Redacting sensitive info (faces/voices) from publicly released footage.
• Catalyst: FedRAMP authorization completed, enabling large-scale federal deals. 2025 expected to see “electron-level” growth in public sector.

3. Core Biz: Enterprise Media/Entertainment AI

• Platform: aiWARE processes 100K+ hrs/day of A/V data (60M hrs in 2024), indexing unstructured content for clients like ESPN, Disney, CNBC.
• Applications:
  • Ad efficacy analysis (e.g., embedded sports sponsorships).
  • Content search/archiving (e.g., 5-min timestamped clips for SportsCenter).
• Customer Retention: 90%+ retention; multi-year renewals (e.g., NCAA 5+3-year deal).

4. Strategic Transition Complete

• Portfolio Cleanup: Divested non-core assets (Veritone One media agency in 2024), refocused on aiWARE-driven SaaS margins.
• AI Infrastructure Focus: Positioned as “Twilio for A/V data” – agnostic to cloud providers (AWS/Azure), enabling credit utilization for clients.