Bill Gross Predicts AI Giants Will Be Forced to Pay Creators for Their Work

Bill Gross, a veteran Silicon Valley investor known for capitalizing on technological shifts, is placing a new bet—one that extends far beyond the Bay Area. With his startup ProRata, Gross aims to build a system where publishers and creators can track how their content influences AI-generated outputs and receive fair compensation. But getting AI companies to pay up won't happen out of goodwill, he says. Instead, a combination of legal, ethical, and competitive pressures will eventually leave them with little choice. In a recent interview, Gross explained the mechanics behind ProRata, why he believes the biggest AI firms are running out of ways to avoid paying creators, and what it will take for the first domino to fall.

The Inspiration Behind ProRata: The New York Times vs. OpenAI Lawsuit

The idea for ProRata crystallized when The New York Times sued OpenAI a few years ago. "I thought, wow, I really do think that the AI companies are stealing stuff from everybody," Gross said. Lawsuits might resolve some of the conflict, but he believed a better approach would be a business model that benefits all parties. Just as Spotify and YouTube share revenue with artists, why shouldn't AI companies do the same?

Bill Gross Predicts AI Giants Will Be Forced to Pay Creators for Their Work — Source: www.fastcompany.com

The challenge was technical: how to "unscramble the egg"—trace which parts of an AI answer originated from which specific works. After months of effort, Gross devised a method to attribute AI outputs to their source materials. He patented the technique and then approached publishers. Over two years, more than 1,500 publications signed on to ProRata.

Convincing AI Companies: Lawsuits and Profitability

Despite signing up a sizable network of publishers, Gross acknowledges that no AI operator is currently paying through ProRata. "It's a long game," he said. To get major AI firms on board, two conditions must be met: they need to lose their copyright lawsuits, and they need to become profitable so there are actual revenues to share. Gross believes both are inevitable.

Why AI Companies Will Eventually Have to Pay

Gross outlines three driving forces that will push AI companies toward revenue sharing:

Legal pressure: He predicts AI companies will ultimately lose the flurry of lawsuits over copyright infringement. Courts have been inconsistent, but the tide may turn.
Ethical imperative: Even if they avoid losing in court, sharing revenue is simply the right thing to do when using someone else's work to generate commercial value.
Answer quality: If AI systems cannot access current, high-quality information from publishers (because those publishers restrict access or demand payment), the quality of AI answers will decline. Companies that continue to train and generate on stale data will lose user trust.

The Domino Effect: Microsoft as the First?

Gross believes change requires a single domino to fall. He suggests Microsoft may be leaning toward being the first major AI company to adopt a revenue-sharing model similar to what ProRata proposes. "If one company does it, that will put pressure on all of them to do it," he said. A deal with a giant like Microsoft could create a ripple effect across the industry.

To strengthen his hand, Gross has launched a spinoff called Gist. It allows ProRata partners to generate additional revenue from the indexing of their work, giving publishers immediate value while the larger negotiation with AI firms plays out.

Current Legal Landscape: Inconsistency in Court Rulings

The court cases involving AI and copyright have been anything but uniform. In the Anthropic case, for example, the judge ruled it permissible for AI to use copyrighted content under certain conditions, while other judges have taken a stricter stance. This inconsistency makes it difficult for AI companies to plan, but Gross sees it as a temporary phase. Eventually, he argues, the legal system will compel fairness.

A Long Game with High Stakes

Bill Gross is known for playing the long game and betting on inevitable shifts. With ProRata, he is trying to create a market that doesn't exist yet—a transparent, equitable system for AI to compensate creators. The road ahead is uncertain: no revenue is flowing yet, and major AI players remain resistant. But between mounting legal challenges, the need for current data to maintain answer quality, and the possibility of a first mover like Microsoft, Gross believes the pressure is building. "They're running out of ways to avoid paying creators," he concluded. "And that's a good thing for everyone."

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