In this theCUBE + NYSE Wired: Mixture of Experts segment, theCUBE’s Dave Vellante sits down with Jim McNiel, Chief Growth Officer at TAE Technologies, to demystify fusion vs. fission and explore how proton–boron fusion could reshape energy economics for enterprise and Wall Street alike. McNiel explains why TAE targets abundant, low-cost boron fuel and how its approach avoids long-lived radioactive waste, requires only light shielding and eliminates meltdown risk. He breaks down siting and regulation – fusion treated more like medical isotopes than fission – and outlines first-gen levelized energy costs in the 7–9¢ range with a path to sub-5¢ as the technology matures. The conversation ties these fundamentals to market dynamics: dispatchable, carbon-free baseload power for data centers, safer urban siting and a financing narrative that aligns with investor expectations and hyperscaler demand.
Listeners also get a clear milestone roadmap: Copernicus (commissioned to operate in 2028) targeting net energy out; Da Vinci as a 50-MW commercial prototype; and TAE Fusion 1 designed for 350 MW—scalable units that could colocate with gigawatt-scale AI facilities. McNiel details how AI already governs plasma stability via TAE’s “Optometrist Algorithm” developed with Google and notes strategic investors (e.g., Chevron, Sumitomo) plus near-term revenue from TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences. The discussion frames emerging trends in enterprise strategy – from energy as a core input to AI-driven productivity gains – and why the go-to-market has shifted from utility-first to hyperscaler-led demand for dispatchable, clean power.
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Jethro Rothe-Kushel, Ritual Ads
In this theCUBE + NYSE Wired: Mixture of Experts segment, theCUBE’s Dave Vellante sits down with Jim McNiel, Chief Growth Officer at TAE Technologies, to demystify fusion vs. fission and explore how proton–boron fusion could reshape energy economics for enterprise and Wall Street alike. McNiel explains why TAE targets abundant, low-cost boron fuel and how its approach avoids long-lived radioactive waste, requires only light shielding and eliminates meltdown risk. He breaks down siting and regulation – fusion treated more like medical isotopes than fission – and outlines first-gen levelized energy costs in the 7–9¢ range with a path to sub-5¢ as the technology matures. The conversation ties these fundamentals to market dynamics: dispatchable, carbon-free baseload power for data centers, safer urban siting and a financing narrative that aligns with investor expectations and hyperscaler demand.
Listeners also get a clear milestone roadmap: Copernicus (commissioned to operate in 2028) targeting net energy out; Da Vinci as a 50-MW commercial prototype; and TAE Fusion 1 designed for 350 MW—scalable units that could colocate with gigawatt-scale AI facilities. McNiel details how AI already governs plasma stability via TAE’s “Optometrist Algorithm” developed with Google and notes strategic investors (e.g., Chevron, Sumitomo) plus near-term revenue from TAE Power Solutions and TAE Life Sciences. The discussion frames emerging trends in enterprise strategy – from energy as a core input to AI-driven productivity gains – and why the go-to-market has shifted from utility-first to hyperscaler-led demand for dispatchable, clean power.
play_circle_outlineIntroduction of the Mixture of Expert series and focus on the attention economy.
replyShare Clip
play_circle_outlineRevolutionizing Performance Marketing: Leveraging Ritual Ads and AI to Overcome Traditional Ad Production Challenges for Fortune 500 Brands
replyShare Clip
play_circle_outlineIntegration of cutting-edge tools for end-to-end marketing solutions.
>> Welcome back to theCUBE Studio, here at the New York Stock Exchange, overlooking the Options Floor, where we connect Silicon Valley to Wall Street. This is our Mixture of Expert series in partnership with NYSE Wired, and today we're diving into the attention economy. Joining me in studio, I have Jethro Rothe-Kushel, CEO of Ritual Ads. Welcome.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Thank you, Gemma. Pleasure to be here.
Gemma Allen
>> So, you told me off camera there that you actually have a degree in filming and AI from 2003, which is kind of fascinating to me, right? Because in 2003, it was a word none of us really knew much about. So, take me on the journey you've been on from a professional perspective.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yeah. So, let's go back. 1999, I came into Dartmouth. At that time, I was working in the computer science lab in this hybrid of AI and image sciences, video sciences. And also, in the media and in religious studies. And I couldn't for the life of me figure out how in the world would you combine those three areas. But specifically in AI, I thought I was late to the game. At that point in the computer science department, looking at AI, this combination of all kinds of interesting studies, right? And it turns out AI was created at Dartmouth many years before that in the 1950s.
Gemma Allen
>> Wow.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, I thought at the time we were late to AI. Turns out we were early.
Gemma Allen
>> AI and religious studies? So, like an LLM of Jesus. You ask him questions and he'll spiritually advise you on .
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> That's right.
Gemma Allen
>> I love it. So, tell me a little bit about Ritual Ads. It is essentially a performance marketing engine, right? But you, in this intersection we're in now, the convergence of storytelling and brand. Talk to me about what distinguishes this company?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yeah. So, when I got started in commercials, we were doing major campaigns, Apple, Adidas, American Express. And at the time, it was frustrating because it would take many months of time, all kinds of budgets, well over $1 million. And at the end of all of that, sometimes you'd get together and the stars would align and they'd work. You'd go into the production process. I mean, we all know this process, it's just insane. And you've got 100-person crews spending 14-hour days and I couldn't for the life of me at the time figure out how we could code our way out of it. Although, what I did learn was how to make a mean cappuccino to keep the crew caffeinated while they spent long nights away from their families. And the reality is since then, nothing's really changed. This year at the Super Bowl on average $8 million, and the success rates have plummeted. You're talking about industry-wide, more often than not, after all of that energy, these ads fail. But what if you could transform the paradigm and yes, do it in a fraction of the time and cost, but have the results be through the roof, right? So, we're talking about guaranteed results. Why wouldn't you do that? And the answer is, of course you'd do that. And in this space, as large brands are looking at their budgets into 2026 and beyond, they're seeing the writing on the wall that the solution that Ritual Ads offers is not only optional, it's foundational.
Gemma Allen
>> And I guess the multi-billion dollar question is, how do you do that? Talk us through the execution of this.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> We use a combination of predictive AI and emotional intelligence.
Gemma Allen
>> Okay. Like sentiment analysis?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yes, exactly. Exactly. And we're leveraging broad bases of data from across 140 industries because it turns out what happens in one industry successfully in the commercial space can then be applied to another for innovative solutions when it comes to creative content. Then, we feed all of that from the predictive AI and emotional intelligence into our generative AI and diffusion models throughout pre-production, all the way through post-production and distribution, and we cycle through that whole process for better and better outcomes.
Gemma Allen
>> So, it's kind of like predictive BI on steroids in some respects, right?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> That's exactly right.
Gemma Allen
>> So, talk me to your category of customers, clients, and how are the buyer personas changing too, right? Because the world of brand, media, storytelling impact is changing so fast.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> It sure is.
Gemma Allen
>> What are you seeing?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, we're working primarily with Fortune 500 brands and they're coming to us more and more because of exactly the kinds of problems that we've been discussing. Oftentimes, they'll be right up against the wall on a traditional production process and it's just becoming too time-consuming and costly. And we're able to deliver results in a fraction of the time and cost. In fact, in some cases we'll deliver pre-visualizations within hours or minutes.
Gemma Allen
>> Okay. But these are AI-generated images? It's done completely remotely? Talk me to what like a crew looks like now.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Right. So, let me be clear. These are not AI slop, which is what's becoming ubiquitous-
Gemma Allen
>> I've heard of the sloppocalypse. Yeah, I know all about it.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, these are high-end, large-scale brand assets. So, end-to-end what it looks like... And by the way, there are a lot of new job opportunities in this space. There's very little talk about that, by the way.
Gemma Allen
>> I'd love to hear. I mean, I personally, I have a lot of young nieces and nephews. I would love for you to tell us, what do those jobs look like?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, we have AI artists. We have all kinds of technology jobs as well, all kinds of creative jobs. And it's funny because our team is growing faster than we can hire. And they're coming to us from major spaces, from Paramount, from Amazon, because these behemoths are becoming too large to be able to pivot quickly. We've been able so far to stay nimble and to really meet the moment where it is.
Gemma Allen
>> So, for one digital marketing asset, let's say you once had a once upon time, not so long ago, had 100-person crew, five days of filming, whatever it might be. What does it look like now? What is the reduction data here?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, most importantly, we're talking about a 45% success rate industry-wide to a 95% success rate. And on top of that, we can test 2, 5, 10, 20, 30 pieces of creative at once and then feed them back through, depending on what's performing best. We can swap out people and products at a moment's notice. We don't have to reshoot. It's a game-changer when it comes to the production paradigm.
Gemma Allen
>> So, tell me a bit about the attention economy, right? The fact that now a lot of people purchase from social media, TikTok, influencers, micro communities, micro influencers. There's a lot of deals being done at a mass scale to these platforms.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> That's exactly right.
Gemma Allen
>> But from what I can tell, it's very much about the hook, right? It's about that three-second grab. What do you say to clients in that space? What do you think is really working to grab attention in such an attention-driven economy?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, the fundamentals are not changing, right? A powerful story that's well-told for a very specific audience. And these days, we can be more and more specific with our audiences. We don't have to go out to broad communities of millions of people. We can get into niche audiences, which means tens of thousands, thousands, or even an audience of one.
Gemma Allen
>> Do you think it matters who is telling the story? For such a long time, we saw these huge brand partnerships, huge ad deals with celebs, big names, where most of the spend goes on the personality asset, right? Do you think that's changing now with social and storytelling and this idea that YouTube and TikTok, that anyone can suddenly have impact?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> I think at the end of the day, people respond to people and that's something that's not only not going to change, but going to get more and more scarce and more and more valuable in this attention driven economy that we're talking about. Now, that being said, there are people that audiences resonate with. That's also not going to change. And so, we are working and locking up partnership deals with not only influencers, but stars of all kinds that already have built in audiences and we're working with them and working where the technology is today. Today is an example. We're shooting real people against White Sykes and then we'll animate components of it to be able to deliver the end product. But more and more we're moving to have more and more creative control in the AI space.
Gemma Allen
>> So, let's get into the technology a little bit.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Let's do it.
Gemma Allen
>> So, we've seen some phenomenal developments in the video space with AI, especially of late, right? And some of the feedback on Sora and these other very impactful technologies that are going to become very mainstream. It's interesting, right? For sure. I mean, there's a lot of excitement and a lot of skepticism. What does your technology stack look like? Talk to us a little bit about underneath the engine here.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yeah. So, we have the only end-to-end solution of its kind. It's a proprietary process that's foundational in its approach. What we're doing at its core, we're not competing with a Sora, a Veo 3, a Runway, a Kling. There's a lot of competition in that space, but fundamentally, those tools, which are what they are at the end of the day, won't get you from point A to point B. What we're doing, we're not creating tools here, right? It's like a car. You might have a steering wheel or a tire, but fundamentally, an auto parts store isn't going to compete with a Ford, a GM, or a Tesla.
Gemma Allen
>> Well, you are using tools, you're using technology and LLMs, I'm sure, to create these assets. So, are you using multi-stack? Are you using LLMs from different providers? Is everything proprietary here?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yeah, absolutely.
Gemma Allen
>> Break it down for me a little.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, we are leveraging every powerful off the shelf tool that can add anything to our tech stack and there's a lot of competition in that space. What there's no competition in is in the space of end-to-end creation. That's what we're doing. And the technology of the tools are going to change. So, we need to be able to change those up on a moment's notice. From day to day, we've seen this morning... I mean, there are announcements coming out every day about the shifts in technology. So, in order to stay nimble, we need to be flexible and we're not burying our head in the sands and trying to compete with what's already there. We're competing with ourselves and ourselves yesterday.
Gemma Allen
>> So, your artists, this team are constantly trying these new models, integrating them where they work. It's like almost a day-to-day workflow of just testing. It's like one big test bed happening to you in the background?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yeah, that's exactly right. But we're not just testing, we're using. And we're not just using it, we're using it for the best in the world. So, we're doing global world-class marketing, leveraging the most cutting-edge tools and we have access to over 100 creatives. These are human creatives. That part is not going away. We have AI artists. We have a whole host of about a dozen different titles that come under this new paradigm. It's funny, each week we'll gain a new member of a team from a major player and they'll talk about how their teams are decreasing and how each week our teams are increasing. So, it's in real time, we're seeing the change and it's powerful and palpable.
Gemma Allen
>> So, from a buyer perspective, these big brand deals, you mentioned some of the Fortune 500s there, how are their performance metrics changing in this new type of media? Are they still measuring all the same things, I'm sure they were measuring 10 years ago? Or like what is really changing in terms of how they're looking at the market and looking at the impact?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> I've always been frustrated with the paradigm of marketing that looks at all of these metrics that ultimately don't move the needle for real businesses.
Gemma Allen
>> Like impressions, for example?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Right, impressions.
Gemma Allen
>> Buy a billboard? Yeah.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Right. And by the way, we have an ad today that's in Times Square that's showing in front of a million and a half people every day. Now, does that move the needle? Absolutely not. Not if it's not powerful content. Yes, it's more affordable and more efficient, but ultimately, being more effective, that's what changes the game. So, for major ads and major brands, we're seeing them selling out their products in a matter of minutes online that they've never seen before, that moves the needle.
Gemma Allen
>> Wow. And how are you guys measuring the click-through there? How are you really understanding the buyer opportunity for that journey, right? Is it based on their social media plays? What are these new metrics of the future, if you like?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, we can get really granular with data and we have a proprietary backend that we provide access to that has all of the data baked in. Each element of data that you've discussed is baked in on the back-end, but at the end of the day, for me, what really moves the needle has to do with what the brands are focused on, which is ultimately bottom-line delivery mechanisms, which means we can have all the impressions in the world, but if we're not selling the specific item to the specific buyers. And on top of that, moving the brand forward in a increasingly disruptive marketplace.
Gemma Allen
>> I mean, it's interesting, right? Because you don't really think about brands at a SKU level, per se. We haven't, but I think in this futuristic world we're living in, you're going to have no choice but to do that because certain lines within all brands lead and then they carry parts of the rest, right? And I think it's becoming such a attention deficit economy too, that how that will continue, I think that's a really interesting space.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yeah, and we're bringing together the best of brand strategy from Madison Avenue, coupled with the best of technology from Silicon Valley, coupled with the best of Hollywood storytelling and bringing all of those elements together for an end-to-end solution, and that's what's most important at the end of the day.
Gemma Allen
>> So, tell me a little bit about AI and the space around ownership, creative license, what you're seeing in that space because I'm sure it's a big conversation, right? We see it all the time in mainstream media, celebrities, some artists, writers.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Absolutely.
Gemma Allen
>> How you own the asset? Who really owns the IP? Is that filtering into your work?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Absolutely. And it's important that we focus on three primary challenges in this space. One are the legal questions, right? Are we working foundationally with clean and ethically-sourced data? That's really important because as we've seen, that can lead to not only legal problems, ethical problems. And the second, which is a subset of that, has to do with public relations problems, right? So, we're seeing backlash from Coca-Cola, from some of these large examples of major brands that come into this space, but aren't necessarily playing to the underlying story that moves brands forward at their core. And then, ultimately, are these really going to perform better? Do they look and feel realistic or are these going to be slop that are put together? And when you piece all of those together and you can address each of those paradigms, game over.
Gemma Allen
>> Yeah, wow. Okay. Well, tell me, close us out here. Tell us what's ahead for you and the team at Ritual Ads. What does the next 12 months look like and what are your big bets? What are you chasing?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> At Ritual Ads, we're doubling down on this process. I've never been more excited. We are uniquely positioned in this space. We're working with more and more brands on a monthly basis. And 2026 is going to be incredibly exciting, not just for brands, but for investors, for our team members, and ultimately, for the consumers that we're able to better serve.
Gemma Allen
>> Love it. Well, listen, thank you so much for coming on theCUBE. Fascinating conversation. Also, same day as Time Person of the Year, it's a big day for media today. Who knows what the road ahead looks like? But certainly, wish you guys all the best.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Thank you for having us, Gemma. Pleasure to be here.
Gemma Allen
>> I'm Gemma Allen, here at theCUBE Studio at the New York Stock Exchange, where we're connecting Silicon Valley to Wall Street. Thanks so much for watching.
>> Welcome back to theCUBE Studio, here at the New York Stock Exchange, overlooking the Options Floor, where we connect Silicon Valley to Wall Street. This is our Mixture of Expert series in partnership with NYSE Wired, and today we're diving into the attention economy. Joining me in studio, I have Jethro Rothe-Kushel, CEO of Ritual Ads. Welcome.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Thank you, Gemma. Pleasure to be here.
Gemma Allen
>> So, you told me off camera there that you actually have a degree in filming and AI from 2003, which is kind of fascinating to me, right? Because in 2003, it was a word none of us really knew much about. So, take me on the journey you've been on from a professional perspective.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yeah. So, let's go back. 1999, I came into Dartmouth. At that time, I was working in the computer science lab in this hybrid of AI and image sciences, video sciences. And also, in the media and in religious studies. And I couldn't for the life of me figure out how in the world would you combine those three areas. But specifically in AI, I thought I was late to the game. At that point in the computer science department, looking at AI, this combination of all kinds of interesting studies, right? And it turns out AI was created at Dartmouth many years before that in the 1950s.
Gemma Allen
>> Wow.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, I thought at the time we were late to AI. Turns out we were early.
Gemma Allen
>> AI and religious studies? So, like an LLM of Jesus. You ask him questions and he'll spiritually advise you on .
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> That's right.
Gemma Allen
>> I love it. So, tell me a little bit about Ritual Ads. It is essentially a performance marketing engine, right? But you, in this intersection we're in now, the convergence of storytelling and brand. Talk to me about what distinguishes this company?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yeah. So, when I got started in commercials, we were doing major campaigns, Apple, Adidas, American Express. And at the time, it was frustrating because it would take many months of time, all kinds of budgets, well over $1 million. And at the end of all of that, sometimes you'd get together and the stars would align and they'd work. You'd go into the production process. I mean, we all know this process, it's just insane. And you've got 100-person crews spending 14-hour days and I couldn't for the life of me at the time figure out how we could code our way out of it. Although, what I did learn was how to make a mean cappuccino to keep the crew caffeinated while they spent long nights away from their families. And the reality is since then, nothing's really changed. This year at the Super Bowl on average $8 million, and the success rates have plummeted. You're talking about industry-wide, more often than not, after all of that energy, these ads fail. But what if you could transform the paradigm and yes, do it in a fraction of the time and cost, but have the results be through the roof, right? So, we're talking about guaranteed results. Why wouldn't you do that? And the answer is, of course you'd do that. And in this space, as large brands are looking at their budgets into 2026 and beyond, they're seeing the writing on the wall that the solution that Ritual Ads offers is not only optional, it's foundational.
Gemma Allen
>> And I guess the multi-billion dollar question is, how do you do that? Talk us through the execution of this.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> We use a combination of predictive AI and emotional intelligence.
Gemma Allen
>> Okay. Like sentiment analysis?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yes, exactly. Exactly. And we're leveraging broad bases of data from across 140 industries because it turns out what happens in one industry successfully in the commercial space can then be applied to another for innovative solutions when it comes to creative content. Then, we feed all of that from the predictive AI and emotional intelligence into our generative AI and diffusion models throughout pre-production, all the way through post-production and distribution, and we cycle through that whole process for better and better outcomes.
Gemma Allen
>> So, it's kind of like predictive BI on steroids in some respects, right?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> That's exactly right.
Gemma Allen
>> So, talk me to your category of customers, clients, and how are the buyer personas changing too, right? Because the world of brand, media, storytelling impact is changing so fast.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> It sure is.
Gemma Allen
>> What are you seeing?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, we're working primarily with Fortune 500 brands and they're coming to us more and more because of exactly the kinds of problems that we've been discussing. Oftentimes, they'll be right up against the wall on a traditional production process and it's just becoming too time-consuming and costly. And we're able to deliver results in a fraction of the time and cost. In fact, in some cases we'll deliver pre-visualizations within hours or minutes.
Gemma Allen
>> Okay. But these are AI-generated images? It's done completely remotely? Talk me to what like a crew looks like now.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Right. So, let me be clear. These are not AI slop, which is what's becoming ubiquitous-
Gemma Allen
>> I've heard of the sloppocalypse. Yeah, I know all about it.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, these are high-end, large-scale brand assets. So, end-to-end what it looks like... And by the way, there are a lot of new job opportunities in this space. There's very little talk about that, by the way.
Gemma Allen
>> I'd love to hear. I mean, I personally, I have a lot of young nieces and nephews. I would love for you to tell us, what do those jobs look like?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, we have AI artists. We have all kinds of technology jobs as well, all kinds of creative jobs. And it's funny because our team is growing faster than we can hire. And they're coming to us from major spaces, from Paramount, from Amazon, because these behemoths are becoming too large to be able to pivot quickly. We've been able so far to stay nimble and to really meet the moment where it is.
Gemma Allen
>> So, for one digital marketing asset, let's say you once had a once upon time, not so long ago, had 100-person crew, five days of filming, whatever it might be. What does it look like now? What is the reduction data here?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, most importantly, we're talking about a 45% success rate industry-wide to a 95% success rate. And on top of that, we can test 2, 5, 10, 20, 30 pieces of creative at once and then feed them back through, depending on what's performing best. We can swap out people and products at a moment's notice. We don't have to reshoot. It's a game-changer when it comes to the production paradigm.
Gemma Allen
>> So, tell me a bit about the attention economy, right? The fact that now a lot of people purchase from social media, TikTok, influencers, micro communities, micro influencers. There's a lot of deals being done at a mass scale to these platforms.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> That's exactly right.
Gemma Allen
>> But from what I can tell, it's very much about the hook, right? It's about that three-second grab. What do you say to clients in that space? What do you think is really working to grab attention in such an attention-driven economy?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, the fundamentals are not changing, right? A powerful story that's well-told for a very specific audience. And these days, we can be more and more specific with our audiences. We don't have to go out to broad communities of millions of people. We can get into niche audiences, which means tens of thousands, thousands, or even an audience of one.
Gemma Allen
>> Do you think it matters who is telling the story? For such a long time, we saw these huge brand partnerships, huge ad deals with celebs, big names, where most of the spend goes on the personality asset, right? Do you think that's changing now with social and storytelling and this idea that YouTube and TikTok, that anyone can suddenly have impact?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> I think at the end of the day, people respond to people and that's something that's not only not going to change, but going to get more and more scarce and more and more valuable in this attention driven economy that we're talking about. Now, that being said, there are people that audiences resonate with. That's also not going to change. And so, we are working and locking up partnership deals with not only influencers, but stars of all kinds that already have built in audiences and we're working with them and working where the technology is today. Today is an example. We're shooting real people against White Sykes and then we'll animate components of it to be able to deliver the end product. But more and more we're moving to have more and more creative control in the AI space.
Gemma Allen
>> So, let's get into the technology a little bit.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Let's do it.
Gemma Allen
>> So, we've seen some phenomenal developments in the video space with AI, especially of late, right? And some of the feedback on Sora and these other very impactful technologies that are going to become very mainstream. It's interesting, right? For sure. I mean, there's a lot of excitement and a lot of skepticism. What does your technology stack look like? Talk to us a little bit about underneath the engine here.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yeah. So, we have the only end-to-end solution of its kind. It's a proprietary process that's foundational in its approach. What we're doing at its core, we're not competing with a Sora, a Veo 3, a Runway, a Kling. There's a lot of competition in that space, but fundamentally, those tools, which are what they are at the end of the day, won't get you from point A to point B. What we're doing, we're not creating tools here, right? It's like a car. You might have a steering wheel or a tire, but fundamentally, an auto parts store isn't going to compete with a Ford, a GM, or a Tesla.
Gemma Allen
>> Well, you are using tools, you're using technology and LLMs, I'm sure, to create these assets. So, are you using multi-stack? Are you using LLMs from different providers? Is everything proprietary here?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yeah, absolutely.
Gemma Allen
>> Break it down for me a little.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, we are leveraging every powerful off the shelf tool that can add anything to our tech stack and there's a lot of competition in that space. What there's no competition in is in the space of end-to-end creation. That's what we're doing. And the technology of the tools are going to change. So, we need to be able to change those up on a moment's notice. From day to day, we've seen this morning... I mean, there are announcements coming out every day about the shifts in technology. So, in order to stay nimble, we need to be flexible and we're not burying our head in the sands and trying to compete with what's already there. We're competing with ourselves and ourselves yesterday.
Gemma Allen
>> So, your artists, this team are constantly trying these new models, integrating them where they work. It's like almost a day-to-day workflow of just testing. It's like one big test bed happening to you in the background?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yeah, that's exactly right. But we're not just testing, we're using. And we're not just using it, we're using it for the best in the world. So, we're doing global world-class marketing, leveraging the most cutting-edge tools and we have access to over 100 creatives. These are human creatives. That part is not going away. We have AI artists. We have a whole host of about a dozen different titles that come under this new paradigm. It's funny, each week we'll gain a new member of a team from a major player and they'll talk about how their teams are decreasing and how each week our teams are increasing. So, it's in real time, we're seeing the change and it's powerful and palpable.
Gemma Allen
>> So, from a buyer perspective, these big brand deals, you mentioned some of the Fortune 500s there, how are their performance metrics changing in this new type of media? Are they still measuring all the same things, I'm sure they were measuring 10 years ago? Or like what is really changing in terms of how they're looking at the market and looking at the impact?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> I've always been frustrated with the paradigm of marketing that looks at all of these metrics that ultimately don't move the needle for real businesses.
Gemma Allen
>> Like impressions, for example?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Right, impressions.
Gemma Allen
>> Buy a billboard? Yeah.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Right. And by the way, we have an ad today that's in Times Square that's showing in front of a million and a half people every day. Now, does that move the needle? Absolutely not. Not if it's not powerful content. Yes, it's more affordable and more efficient, but ultimately, being more effective, that's what changes the game. So, for major ads and major brands, we're seeing them selling out their products in a matter of minutes online that they've never seen before, that moves the needle.
Gemma Allen
>> Wow. And how are you guys measuring the click-through there? How are you really understanding the buyer opportunity for that journey, right? Is it based on their social media plays? What are these new metrics of the future, if you like?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> So, we can get really granular with data and we have a proprietary backend that we provide access to that has all of the data baked in. Each element of data that you've discussed is baked in on the back-end, but at the end of the day, for me, what really moves the needle has to do with what the brands are focused on, which is ultimately bottom-line delivery mechanisms, which means we can have all the impressions in the world, but if we're not selling the specific item to the specific buyers. And on top of that, moving the brand forward in a increasingly disruptive marketplace.
Gemma Allen
>> I mean, it's interesting, right? Because you don't really think about brands at a SKU level, per se. We haven't, but I think in this futuristic world we're living in, you're going to have no choice but to do that because certain lines within all brands lead and then they carry parts of the rest, right? And I think it's becoming such a attention deficit economy too, that how that will continue, I think that's a really interesting space.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Yeah, and we're bringing together the best of brand strategy from Madison Avenue, coupled with the best of technology from Silicon Valley, coupled with the best of Hollywood storytelling and bringing all of those elements together for an end-to-end solution, and that's what's most important at the end of the day.
Gemma Allen
>> So, tell me a little bit about AI and the space around ownership, creative license, what you're seeing in that space because I'm sure it's a big conversation, right? We see it all the time in mainstream media, celebrities, some artists, writers.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Absolutely.
Gemma Allen
>> How you own the asset? Who really owns the IP? Is that filtering into your work?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Absolutely. And it's important that we focus on three primary challenges in this space. One are the legal questions, right? Are we working foundationally with clean and ethically-sourced data? That's really important because as we've seen, that can lead to not only legal problems, ethical problems. And the second, which is a subset of that, has to do with public relations problems, right? So, we're seeing backlash from Coca-Cola, from some of these large examples of major brands that come into this space, but aren't necessarily playing to the underlying story that moves brands forward at their core. And then, ultimately, are these really going to perform better? Do they look and feel realistic or are these going to be slop that are put together? And when you piece all of those together and you can address each of those paradigms, game over.
Gemma Allen
>> Yeah, wow. Okay. Well, tell me, close us out here. Tell us what's ahead for you and the team at Ritual Ads. What does the next 12 months look like and what are your big bets? What are you chasing?
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> At Ritual Ads, we're doubling down on this process. I've never been more excited. We are uniquely positioned in this space. We're working with more and more brands on a monthly basis. And 2026 is going to be incredibly exciting, not just for brands, but for investors, for our team members, and ultimately, for the consumers that we're able to better serve.
Gemma Allen
>> Love it. Well, listen, thank you so much for coming on theCUBE. Fascinating conversation. Also, same day as Time Person of the Year, it's a big day for media today. Who knows what the road ahead looks like? But certainly, wish you guys all the best.
Jethro Rothe-Kushel
>> Thank you for having us, Gemma. Pleasure to be here.
Gemma Allen
>> I'm Gemma Allen, here at theCUBE Studio at the New York Stock Exchange, where we're connecting Silicon Valley to Wall Street. Thanks so much for watching.
Gemma Allen