ProRata raised a $25 million Series A in August from Mayfield, Revolution Ventures, Prime Movers Lab, and Gross’s Idealab Studio (a tech incubator run by Gross).
Gist: an SEO-agnostic search engine
Gist doesn’t serve results based on SEO keywords, instead, it delivers answers exclusively from content with explicit permission. Available as both an app and a webpage, ProRata’s technology uses natural language processing to determine which publishers to feature, selecting content based on its relevance to the user’s query.
The attribution bar at the top displays the sources of the answer, showing the percentage contribution from different outlets. For example, 34% from The Atlantic, 25% from Time, 25% from Fortune, and 16% from The Guardian. Each source is linked to the specific article or content it came from. The tiles on the right feature the article sources in the summary itself.
ProRata’s algorithm analyzes gen AI outputs to identify their sources. Without needing details about the training data, the algorithm determines the contributing percentages from various creators or publishers, according to Gross.
“Then it can use that to prorate the amount of revenue share to each of those people in the correct amount,” Gross said, adding that partners will receive a monthly check from ProRata. The startup is awaiting patent approval.
Subscriptions and ad revenue strategy
ProRata generates revenue through a premium subscription for Gist, priced at $20/month, which offers an ad-free experience. There is also a free, ad-supported version.