D. Davis

[Vivek Sen @Vivek4real_]

LARRY ELLISON: AI IS RAPIDLY COMMODITIZING BECAUSE MOST MODELS ARE TRAINED ON THE SAME PUBLIC INTERNET DATA.

THE REAL COMPETITIVE EDGE ISN’T THE MODEL ANYMORE — IT’S ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE, PROPRIETARY DATASETS.

THAT MAY BE THE ONLY MOAT LEFT.

[Protege @withprotegeai]

Protege co-founder and CEO Bobby Samuels sat down with Pablo Srugo on The Product Market Fit Show to talk about building Protege from scratch — $1M GMV in year one to $30M in year two, raising a $10M seed with no revenue, and what founder-led enterprise sales actually looks like in the AI era.

Three of our favorite moments:

🤝 Trust is Irreplaceable [9:10]: AI and automation can make the world feel fast and the real constraint is time. Showing up on a personal level and delivering with integrity is how you earn the trust and keep it.

💬 The "On Texting Terms" Litmus Test: Bobby's personal test for whether a relationship is real and could go somewhere.

🌊 From a Trickle to a Flood [3:01]: how Product-Market-Fit actually felt - not one big deal, but multiple deals of different sizes that showed up where the thesis was resonating.

Listen to the whole show:
https://t.co/8G4CoHSJ99

[Bobby Samuels @BobbySamuels]

Today, I’m excited to announce our newest vertical: Spatial & Physical Intelligence.

We have been investing in an entirely new category focused on supporting world models and robotics labs. From working closely with the labs in both domains we've noticed a consistent pattern: they end up needing the same underlying training data.

Our thesis is anchored to four fundamental data types that are important for this development stage:

1) Ego- and Exo-centric Video: First and third-person footage of humans performing real-world tasks and vehicle-based captures of dynamic environments. Depth data, LiDAR, hand tracking, descriptive annotations, overlapping camera views, and time-synced data all increase spatial understanding.

2) Motion Capture: Mapping the "physics of the mundane," moving beyond entertainment and gaming to capture tactile object manipulation, locomotion, and human to human interactions.

3) Video Gameplay Data: Studio-grade simulated environments paired with precise player telemetry.

4) 3D Assets: 3D scans of objects & scenes including raw input files before construction.

The Core Challenge: data is siloed.

High quality training data is trapped in fragmented datasets instead of accessible in a unified data layer. Robotics and world models are developing more quickly than ever – and the data layer should move just as fast. We’re here to help build high-quality, content-rich datasets that create the data supply chain for Spatial & Physical Intelligence data for AI.

This is a key area where we're scaling at Protege – we’re actively looking for builders and feedback.

Come build with us and tell us what we’re missing!
(see 🧵 below for more details)

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

Congratulations to @CoachDustyMay, Elliot Cadeau, and @UMichBBall on winning their first title since 1989! This team dominated the tournament from start to finish. Well deserved. Go Blue!

[Protege @withprotegeai]

Our CEO @BobbySamuels spoke with AI‐Tech Park about one of AI's biggest challenges: access to high-quality, real-world training data.

Three key takeaways from the conversation:

🔍 The Data Bottleneck Is Real
The internet still accounts a tiny fraction of data in the world. The most valuable information sources — ie. clinical records, film libraries, proprietary databases — have never been structured for model training. (which is why data isn't just "AI-ready" out of the box!

⚖️ Ethical Licensing Is the future
The industry is shifting to collaboration and engagement. Our Chief Content Officer Dave Davis spoke about this in Brussels at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)'s AI Forum last week: Transparent data licensing gives data providers revenue and control, while giving AI developers cleaner datasets without the legal risk.

🧪 Synthetic Data Isn't Enough!
Models trained exclusively on Ai-created content (or even content created by people but in a vacuum) can perform well in a lab but fail in real world application. We need real-world data for grounded, unbiased training and evaluation.

Full interview in thread!

[Protege @withprotegeai]

OpenAI cancelled Sora last week... and then their billion-dollar deal with Disney.

💡 Protege's Chief Content Officer Dave Davis explained in @verge coverage how Disney's response is indicative of the licensing-first world we've entered for any AI content:

𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘐 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘴, 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘦, 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰-𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘐. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘨𝘭𝘦, 𝘙𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘓𝘶𝘮𝘢, 𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘒𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨,” 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘺-𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘈𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴.”

Not even a day after @openai announced the Sora news, Elon Musk's @xai stepped into the gap to announce that the company was doubling down on consumer AI videos - @bloomberg coverage in thread.

Dave and the rest of the Protege media team continue to unlock new revenue streams for content providers - giving access to all video and multimodal model builders rather than just one.

[Protege @withprotegeai]

Our resident content licensing expert Dave Davis spoke at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)'s AI Forum in Brussels yesterday and highlighted the opportunities out there for content owners:

💱 New Revenue: Protege reached 8-figures in media licensing revenue last alone... and that number is quickly growing

🌍️ Global Reach: 170+ media partners engaging with AI licensing via Protege across the media landscape

🛡️ Copyright Protection: Rights protection via ethical, transparent licensing agreements that clearly outline content ownership.

[Bobby Samuels @BobbySamuels]

https://t.co/0muCOoj0BN

[Stephanie "LB" 🟧 @LincolnsBible]

posted on substack by a person named Teri Leigh

I’m writing this from Minnesota.

These are just a few things that may not be making the national or international news.

a beloved local donut shop Glam Doll Donuts across the street from where Alex Pretti died turned into a warming house and medic center for protestors building and maintaining the memorial site.

a 70yo independent bookstore owner DreamHaven Books down the street expressed his pain on camera, walked through a tear gas cloud, and his website crashed less than 24 hours later from too much business and donations.

the day after tear gas bombs destroyed a N-Mpls neighborhood sending a 6mo old baby to the hospital, at daybreak, a small church community cleaned up the mess of pepper balls, tear gas containers and trash so the neighbors didn’t have to wake up to the memories.

a local independent journalist Mercado Media pounding the streets everyday reporting things from the ground had a testicle removed and showed up two days later to walk with 75,000+ community members to walk the streets in -20 degree weather.

a local sex-positive adult-store The Smitten Kitten has completely transformed into a donation and distribution center.

a local pizza place Wrecktangle Pizza raised over $83K in less than a few days to support families that are sheltering in place.

tow-truck companies are donating their services to clean up the accidents and abandoned vehicles left by ICE and the city is waiving impound fees.

local multi-faith spiritual leaders are spearheading sit-ins at corporate headquarters such as Target and USBank to have deeper conversations with CEOs and boards of directors about community relief.

social workers are taking in children who came home from school with both their parents “disappeared.”

animal shelters and pet-fostering agencies are rescuing pets left alone for days or weeks after their humans were detained.

every restaurant, church, karate dojo, dance studio, school, barber shop, and other small business has created their own underground grassroots supportive network to protect their neighbors, get people to and from work, and raise funds to pay everyday bills.

women who are moms and work full-time jobs are donning reflective vests in shifts to stand watch at bus stops, city parks, and grocery store parking lots ini sub-zero temps to bear witness before going home to tuck their babies in at night.

the MN National Guard offered donuts, coffee, and hot cocoa to peaceful protesters the day after Alex Pretti died, reminding community that we are all in this together and they are here to keep the peace.

These are just a few examples. Stories like this are happening in the hundreds here, every single day!

Community is EVERYTHING!

This Substack community and the MN-Strong resistance has saved my mental health these last weeks.

Thank you for reading.

Thank you for giving a shit.

I love you.

[Marco Foster @MarcoFoster_]

Jon Stewart on the ICE murder of Alex Pretti: “They’re lying. We saw it. That’s how brazen they lie when they know we’ve seen the truth. Imagine how they lie when there’s no evidence to contradict them. Maybe that explains why Alex Pretti really was a threat. Because he was brandishing a weapon. A handheld, aluminum, 1080p, 60fps weapon of mass illumination. Because there is nothing more dangerous to a regime predicated on lies than witnesses who capture the truth”

[Bricktop_NAFO @Bricktop_NAFO]

South Park just destroyed ICE and Kristi Noem

[Andrew Dukowitz @adukeMN]

Moment of silence by the Wolves pregame for the death of Alex Pretti

[Nate Silver @NateSilver538]

Wrote about Minneapolis. Obviously, I have a strong visceral reaction to this. But trying to stick to public opinion in this newsletter. It’s clear that many Americans feel the same way.

[Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 @FmrRepMTG]

I impeached Biden’s Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, those were my articles of impeachment that passed in the House of Representatives. I unapologetically believe in border security and deporting criminal illegal aliens and I support law enforcement.

However, I also unapologetically support the 2nd amendment.

Legally carrying a firearm is not the same as brandishing a firearm.

I support American’s 1st and 4th amendment rights.

There is nothing wrong with legally peacefully protesting and videoing.

MAGA, consider it like this.

We lost our minds when we watched Biden’s FBI track down and aggressively carry out home invasions and arrest on peaceful J6’ers who walked in the Capitol through open doors.

Imaging if one of our MAGA independent journalists or even just a MAGA supporter stood in the street outside a J6’ers house while Biden’s FBI carried out a law enforcement operation, home invasion, and arrest.

Then Biden’s FBI goes to the MAGA guy videoing it all and shoves a woman with him to the ground and sprays them with bear spray then throws the MAGA guy to the ground as MAGA guy was trying to help the woman off the ground. Then Biden’s FBI beats MAGA guy on the ground, disarms MAGA guy, and then shoots him dead.

What would have been our reaction?

Both sides need to take off their political blinders.

You are all being incited into civil war, yet none of it solves any of the real problems that we all face, and tragically people are dying.

[ᗰᗩƳᖇᗩ @LePapillonBlu2]

This is Alan Page protesting in Minneapolis today. Alan was a Minnesota Viking, is in the NFL Hall of Fame and is a retired Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. RESPECT!

[Protege @withprotegeai]

AI is rapidly transforming industries, with some of its greatest potential emerging in health and wellness.

🎙️ On a recent episode of the @analyticsinme Podcast, hosted by Priya Dialani, Protege’s Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
@engyziedan discusses the opportunities and barriers surrounding AI adoption in healthcare and why trust is the critical foundation for progress.

Hint: it's all driven by data!

👂️ Listen to the full episode here: https://t.co/XErEJBLwEx

[Dean Phillips @deanbphillips]

To all patriots saying, “Oh Dean, don’t spread lies. Oh Dean, ICE is only deporting dangerous criminals. Oh Dean, you support fraud. Oh Dean, stop your liberal whining”.

I say, come to Minneapolis and observe your fellow Americans’ rights being trampled. Then we’ll speak.

[Dean Phillips @deanbphillips]

If you don’t believe me, listen to Minnesota Chiefs of Police describe the abhorrent tactics being employed in our community. Shameful, un-American, and illegal.

[D. Davis @davisdave]

@smerconish love your show, but seriously, nothing today about Minneapolis? If this was happening in Philly, it would have been about it the whole hour!

[D. Davis @davisdave]

I'm in Forbes! "Dave Davis, chief content officer for Protege, a new company set up to license content to AI companies under equitable financial terms for creators, says the company saw revenue grow from zero to “eight figures” in 2025 . . ."

https://t.co/nWlCFDinUd