Veritone
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Artificial intelligence, Software |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Irvine, California , United States |
Key people | Ryan Steelberg (President, CEO, Chairman) |
| Products | aiWARE operating system |
Veritone, Inc. is a U.S.-based company specializing in artificial intelligence technology, headquartered in Irvine, California and established in 2014. Its clientele spans sectors such as media, professional sports, federal government entities, energy utilities, and law enforcement agencies.
The company delivers its offerings through its subsidiaries Veritone One, which focuses on advertising, and Veritone Digital, dedicated to content management and licensing. Its proprietary operating system, aiWARE, serves more than 2,000 clients including law enforcement bodies, district attorney offices, major media corporations, radio and television broadcasters, as well as film studios.
Beyond its main office in Costa Mesa, Veritone operates additional locations in San Diego, California, Denver, Colorado, Binghamton, New York, New York City, Washington, D.C., and London, England. Ryan Steelberg holds the roles of president, CEO, and chairman.
History
Since its inception in 2014, Veritone went public on May 12, 2017. That fiscal year ended with reported losses amounting to $59.6 million.
In April 2020, Veritone secured a federally guaranteed small business loan totaling $6.5 million under the Paycheck Protection Program. This funding attracted attention due to concerns over executive remuneration; CEO Chad Steelberg's compensation was $18.7 million in 2018 while President Ryan Steelberg earned $13.9 million.
By May 2020, the company repaid the entire $6.5 million PPP loan, citing sufficient financial resources and alternative means to sustain its capital position.
Criticism
The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed objections to Veritone’s product Track, which analyzes video footage to detect and monitor individuals based on various visual identifiers. By utilizing a wider array of features beyond facial recognition—which is subject to regulatory restrictions—Track circumvents bans on automated biometric surveillance. Moreover, it includes vehicle tracking capabilities by make, model, and specific attributes to avoid limitations associated with automatic number-plate recognition. Although this technology has undergone evaluation and deployment by U.S. law enforcement agencies, its legal standing remains ambiguous.
Media and entertainment
Veritone Attribute and Discovery tools assess advertising impact by linking commercial broadcasts with corresponding target website interactions; notable clients include iHeartMedia. The NotForgotten Digital Preservation Library leverages Veritone’s cognitive technology for automatic transcription of videos and generation of metadata, facilitating efficient searchability across vast video collections.
Government and public safety
Veritone’s Redact application is utilized by law enforcement to obscure personally identifiable or sensitive details within video and photographic evidence. In May 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice engaged Veritone for AI-driven transcription and translation services covering audio and video content. Additionally, government compliance firm GovQA incorporates Veritone Redact to strengthen comprehensive compliance workflows.
Energy
In October 2020, Veritone introduced Veritone Energy, an AI platform aimed at optimizing the energy supply portfolio and pricing strategies based on grid demand fluctuations. On July 9, 2023, GridBeyond completed the acquisition of Veritone’s Energy business unit.