Based in Pasadena, California, ProRata builds technology that enables generative AIs to properly attribute contributing content and share revenues on a per-use basis. By doing so, the company protects creators while helping to prevent unreliable content from compromising AI results.
Investors include Idealab Studio, Revolution Ventures, Prime Movers Lab, and Mayfield Fund.
Founded by Bill Gross
ProRata was founded by Bill Gross and incubated at Idealab Studio. Gross is widely credited with inventing the concept of the pay-per-click monetization model for Internet search when he founded GoTo.com in 1998. After a successful IPO and becoming the global market leader in paid search, the company was acquired by Yahoo! Today, his pioneering model powers the multibillion-dollar online search market and is used by millions of websites around the world.
Since 1996, Idealab Studio and Idealab have launched more than 150 companies that have turned into over 50 acquisitions and IPOs.
WHO WE ARE
Meet the team
BILL GROSS
Chief executive officer
Bill is Co-founder and CEO. He’s also Founder and Chairman of Idealab Studio, a leading technology incubator. Over the last 30 years, Idealab has created and operated more than 150 companies and had more than 50 successful IPOs and acquisitions.
TAREK NAJM
Chief technical officer
Tarek is an experienced technology founder of AI start-ups. He’s also a former Distinguished Engineer and Technical Fellow at Microsoft, where he built their online advertising platform and managed a team of over 2,000 high-performing professionals.
Current AI answer engines rely on shoplifted, plagiarized content. This creates an environment where creators get nothing, and disinformation thrives. ProRata is pro-author, pro-artist and pro-consumer. Our technology allows creators to get credited and compensated while consumers get attributed, accurate answers.
“Current AI answer engines rely on shoplifted, plagiarized content. This creates an environment where creators get nothing, and disinformation thrives. ProRata is pro-author, pro-artist and pro-consumer. Our technology allows creators to get credited and compensated while consumers get attributed, accurate answers.”
Bill Gross, CEO
KRISTEN DING
Head of Design
Kristen brings deep experience helping early-stage startups leverage design as a strategic tool. She specializes in brand systems, user experience, and visual storytelling to build scalable design frameworks that support innovative technology.
AMANDA EDMONDS
VP, Business Partnerships
Amanda has over two decades of experience in strategic partnerships and digital innovation. Previously at Google, she served as Director of Strategic Partnerships for News and spearheaded the formation of Google Books' Partner Program.
IAN FERREIRA
VP, AdTech
Ian has both start-up and enterprise experience. He spent a decade at Microsoft in engineering leadership and product management roles in and around Bing. Recently, he ran the AI solutions team at AMD and was Chief Product Officer at Core Scientific AI.
JOSHUA FREEMAN
VP, Business Development
Joshua has extensive experience in digital media and product development. Previously, he led Samsung Next's team supporting a portfolio of 250 companies and served as Chief Digital Officer of Science Magazine at AAAS.
MARCIA GOODSTEIN
Chief Operating Officer
Marcia has 25+ years of experience in internal operations, having managed and coordinated fast growing teams with complex dynamic structures at Idealab since its inception in 1996.
ERIK HORACEK
Chief Financial Officer
Erik has worked at companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500. He is passionate about helping technology startups achieve scale through using data driven insights to guide business decisions and ensure long-term financial health.
EUGENE HUANG
Senior Strategy Advisor
Eugene has extensive experience at the intersection of technology, public policy, finance, and media. He previously served as a Senior Director at Google, SVP at Discovery, Inc., and was appointed the youngest cabinet member in Virginia history as Secretary of Technology.
ANNELIES JANSEN
Chief Business Officer
Annelies is a global digital media transformation and growth expert with deep experience in developing global partnerships across media and commerce. Former VP Commerce Partnerships at Meta and Chief Digital Officer at News UK, Telegraph, and ITV.
RAXIT KAGALWALA
VP, Solutions Architecture
Raxit is a product and technology leader with 20+ years of experience spanning large scale data analytics, online advertising and e-commerce systems at Microsoft, eBay and Amazon. He has led organizations responsible for developing products with over $1B in annual revenue.
JONAS LEE
Chief Commercial Officer
Jonas is a start-up executive with extensive commercialization experience as a founder or founding team member of multiple early-stage technology companies.
TAREK NAJM
Chief Technical Officer
Tarek is a technology founder of AI start-ups. He’s also a former Distinguished Engineer and Technical Fellow at Microsoft, where he built their online advertising platform and managed a team of over 2,000 high-performing professionals.
MUNIRATHNAM SRIKANTH
VP, AI Research
Srikanth is a researcher and innovator of AI, Search and Knowledge Systems who founded and led AI & Engineering teams in multiple startups in diverse domains. He’s also a former Applied Researcher at Microsoft working on breakthroughs in Knowledge Graphs and scalable NLP.
MICHELE TOBIN
Chief Revenue Officer
Michele has a 20-year track record of building and scaling revenue-generating businesses at high-growth startups including DraftKings, Grindr, Bumble, and Rovio. She most recently served as CEO of Loupe, a streaming art platform, leading the company’s turnaround and sale to Stingray Media.
TONY TROMP
IT Operations & Cybersecurity
Tony is an IT Operations manager with over two decades of experience in software development and cyber security. He has worked for international companies such as ABN AMRO, T-Mobile and Philips as well as innovative start-ups.
DAVID ZITO
VP, Growth
David is a serial entrepreneur and product and technology executive who created Flippy — the AI-powered cooking robot. After senior product and engineering roles at Yahoo! Publisher Network, TrueX, and Chegg, he founded Subi.ai, an innovative agentic platform for publishers and advertisers acquired by ProRata.
BILL GROSS
Chief executive officer
Bill is Co-founder and CEO. He’s also Founder and Chairman of Idealab Studio, a leading technology incubator. Over the last 30 years, Idealab has created and operated more than 150 companies and had more than 50 successful IPOs and acquisitions.
TAREK NAJM
Chief technical officer
Tarek is an experienced technology founder of AI start-ups. He’s also a former Distinguished Engineer and Technical Fellow at Microsoft, where he built their online advertising platform and managed a team of over 2,000 high-performing professionals.
JONAS LEE
Chief commercial officer
Jonas is a start-up executive with extensive commercialization experience as a founder of multiple early-stage companies in diverse industries.
BILL GROSS
Chief Executive Officer
Bill is Founder and Chairman of Idealab, a leading technology incubator. Over the last 30 years, Idealab has created and operated more than 150 companies and had more than 50 successful IPOs and acquisitions.
MELINE CAINE
Head of Human Resources
Meline is a results-driven HR leader with nearly two decades of experience architecting human capital strategies across diverse industries. She previously served as Senior Director of People Operations at Heliogen and held key HR leadership roles at Age of Learning and Idealab.
NISHANT DANI
VP, Engineering
Nishant worked at Microsoft as divisional architect with oversight of Bing, ads and MSN, and led the buildout of what was then the world largest graph store at 300 million users for MSN Messenger. He has founded startup companies in networking, education, and AR.
ANNELIES JANSEN
Chief business officer
Annelies is a global digital media transformation and growth expert with deep experience in developing global partnerships across media and commerce. Former VP Commerce Partnerships at Meta and Chief Digital Officer at News UK, Telegraph, and ITV.
MARCIA GOODSTEIN
Chief operating officer
Marcia has deep experience in internal operations, having managed and coordinated fast growing teams with complex dynamic structures at Idealab for 25+ years.
ERIK HORACEK
Chief financial officer
Erik is an experienced finance executive who has worked at companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500. He is passionate about helping technology startups achieve scale through using data driven insights to guide business decisions and ensure long-term financial health.
MARCIA GOODSTEIN
Chief operating officer
Marcia has deep experience in internal operations, having managed and coordinated fast growing teams with complex dynamic structures at Idealab for 25+ years.
ERIK HORACEK
Chief financial officer
Erik is an experienced finance executive who has worked at companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500. He is passionate about helping technology startups achieve scale through using data driven insights to guide business decisions and ensure long-term financial health.
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JONAS LEE
Chief commercial officer
Jonas is a start-up executive with extensive commercialization experience as a founder of multiple early-stage companies in diverse industries.
ANNELIES JANSEN
Chief business officer
Annelies is a global digital media transformation and growth expert with deep experience in developing global partnerships across media and commerce. Former VP Commerce Partnerships at Meta and Chief Digital Officer at News UK, Telegraph, and ITV.
Ian Ferreira
Chief product officer
Ian is an experienced technologist with both start-up and enterprise experience. He spent a decade at Microsoft in engineering leadership and product management roles. Recently, he ran the AI solutions team at AMD and was Chief Product Officer at Core Scientific AI.
Ian Ferreira
Chief product officer
Ian is an experienced technologist with both start-up and enterprise experience. He spent a decade at Microsoft in engineering leadership and product management roles. Recently, he ran the AI solutions team at AMD and was Chief Product Officer at Core Scientific AI.
