3390: How Veritone Is Making AI Work for Media, Government, and Beyond

What does it take to make AI actually work at enterprise scale? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I'm joined by Ryan Steelberg, CEO of Veritone, to unpack the very real challenges and opportunities that come with bringing artificial intelligence into complex industries like media, law enforcement, and government.

Ryan has been building AI solutions long before it became headline news. He co-founded Veritone in 2014 with a mission to solve the unstructured data problem. Think audio, video, and other media that doesn't fit neatly into rows and columns. Now, Veritone isn't just talking about AI. It's powering more than 3,000 clients across sectors with real applications that drive measurable ROI.

We get into what it means to work with unstructured data at scale, and how Veritone processed over 58 million hours of media in 2024 alone. Ryan explains why traditional enterprises struggle to operationalize AI and how Veritone has evolved from a platform company into a creator of end-user applications designed for impact. This includes ad optimization for ESPN and video redaction for law enforcement.

What's especially compelling is Veritone's growing footprint in high-barrier sectors like federal defense and law enforcement. Ryan talks through what it took to become a prime contractor for the U.S. Air Force and Defense Logistics Agency, how Veritone adapted its stack for secure deployments, and why the key to adoption in these sectors isn't just tech. It's trust and proximity to mission-critical outcomes.

We also discuss the company's push into the $17 billion global training data market through the Veritone Data Repository. Ryan shares why VDR is gaining traction fast and how it positions the company as a key partner for the next generation of AI models.

This isn't a story of hype or futuristic promises. It's a grounded look at what it really takes to scale AI in some of the most demanding enterprise environments. Whether you're deep in the AI world or still figuring out where your business fits, Ryan's perspective is honest, strategic, and full of lessons you can apply right now.