Interview With Story co-founder Jason: Transforming Intellectual Property into Programmable Assets
In this episode, we feature Jason Zhao, co-founder of Story, who delves into how Story leverages blockchain to transform IP (intellectual property) management. Jason shares his background in AI and blockchain, explaining how Story converts IP into programmable assets. The platform addresses major issues in the traditional IP system, such as high costs, lack of transparency, and complex legal barriers. With the rapid growth of AI reshaping the IP landscape, Jason emphasizes that efficient IP management will become crucial for global industries. Story aims to serve as the foundational infrastructure for a global IP system and has already secured over $100 million in funding from investors like Stability AI and a16z.
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YouTube: https://youtu.be/5mdkBFihpz4
Introduction to Jason & Story
Jason:
I’m excited to be here and thanks for having me on. A little bit about myself: I’m one of the co-founders of Story. Before Story, my background is a bit mixed, more on the AI side and the technical side. I graduated from Stanford with an undergraduate degree in philosophy, and then I started doing some computer science research as well. I also got a Master’s in Computer Science at Stanford, where I focused on AI research. I spent some time working under Fei-Fei Li in the computer vision lab at Stanford. After I graduated, I went to DeepMind, which is Google’s AI lab. There, I focused on taking cutting-edge research, particularly from AlphaGo and AlphaZero, and finding ways to apply that reinforcement learning research to real commercial products. The gap between a research paper and an actual product that generates revenue is vast, and my role at DeepMind as the youngest product manager was to take that research and find new products that could be built using that technology.
I got really excited by blockchain around DeFi summer. At that time, I started reading and rereading the Bitcoin, Ethereum, Uniswap, and Maker white papers. I was really inspired because, first and foremost, blockchain has a lot of philosophical elements. These smart contracts and decentralized technologies are meant to build a new kind of internet and the fabric for a new type of society. I found the philosophy and libertarian ethos behind blockchain really exciting, which resonated with me, as I had studied philosophy.
Another thing that really excited me about blockchain was how quickly research can move into production. In blockchain, because everything is mostly open-source and because smart contracts are unstoppable software, people can easily build on top of existing protocols. This accelerates the pace of research in the open.
I loved the evolutionary speed and scale of blockchain research happening at that time. That’s when I met my co-founder, SY, and we started Story together. The vision of Story is to build a blockchain that brings an entirely new type of asset class on-chain. We think a lot about blockchains and how they intersect with money. Bitcoin, for example, is digital gold, and Ethereum, Solana, and to some degree, Ripple, are competing to be global payment layers. But blockchains can do so much more than just finance. Intellectual property (IP) is a $61 trillion asset class, one of the largest in the world. It includes scientific research, trademarks for the biggest brands in the world, and creative works like songs, movies, comics, and much more. It’s a very comprehensive asset class, but one that has never really moved on-chain.
I think it’s going to become even more important to have a fully on-chain, peer-to-peer IP system, especially in the age of AI. AI is already shaping how we think about intellectual property. It’s creating a lot of new challenges as well as opportunities. For example, OpenAI is currently in a lawsuit with The New York Times, yet at the same time, OpenAI is paying $10 million a year in licensing fees to Fox, another major news organization in the US. So there’s this sort of free-for-all, where there are no clear rules. I think blockchain can create a much more efficient market for IP than the traditional legal system can. Our goal is to create win-win situations, where AI can progress and IP owners can generate revenue by allowing their IP to be used in training AI models.
That’s the thesis behind Story. We’ve worked with some of the world’s biggest AI companies, like Stability AI, and also with some of the largest IP holders in the world. We recently announced that we acquired Justin Bieber’s song Peaches, which is obviously a huge IP. It’s one of Justin Bieber’s top songs. So, we have both the AI and IP angles covered, and that’s been our core focus for the past three years with Story.
Why did you choose to tackle modern IP challenges with blockchain?
Jason:
For me, it was really the opportunity to do something entirely new with blockchain and create a market for one of the world’s largest asset classes. Given my background in AI, I also saw the IP problem as one of the biggest challenges in AI. If you think about what drives AI progress, there are three major pillars: compute, models (or model architecture), and IP, or data. Let’s break them down:
When it comes to compute, we’re seeing hundreds of billions, even trillions, of dollars being invested into data centers and making compute cheaper. I believe compute will continue to get cheaper and, to some extent, will become a commodity. Then we have models. Recently, the DeepMind models, like DeepMind’s DeepMind model, have been really successful and very cheap to build — it only cost around $10 million. So with this new generation of open-source models, much of the model architecture will become open-source and, in many ways, a commodity as well. So, both the compute layer and the model layer are becoming more open and much cheaper.
But then you have to ask: where is the scarcity? Where is the value going to flow? What are the real bottlenecks in AI progress? It’s not in compute, and it’s not in the model architecture. The real bottleneck is in the data or the IP layer. In order to develop a great AI model, you need a large amount of data and high-quality IP. If the IP is bad, or there isn’t enough of it, you cannot train a great model.
The problem is that almost all the data on the internet has already been scraped. Around 99% of the open internet data has already been included in these existing AI models. So the value is going to be at the edges — in the proprietary IP that hasn’t been used to train AI models yet. There’s going to be a ton of value there. These large AI companies, like OpenAI and Anthropic, are going to have to pay a lot for that IP. They’ll be forced buyers of IP, and IP will be what differentiates them and sets them apart from one another. As a result, IP is going to become extremely valuable.
My experience at DeepMind and my focus on AI led me to realize that building a blockchain-based market for intellectual property is going to unlock one of the biggest opportunities and also solve one of the biggest problems in AI today.
What are the main problems with the current IP infrastructure? And what problems are you solving with Story?
Jason:
The current IP infrastructure is, I’d say, very old school. It’s traditional, slow, and expensive. The way IP, which is a $61 trillion asset class, is traded and leveraged today is very inefficient. To transact with IP, you often need hundreds of lawyers on both sides of the deal. Unless you’re a massive international corporation or one of the top IP holders in the world, you cannot access IP. You can’t license it, sell it, or buy it without a large legal team navigating the complex systems of copyright, patents, and trademarks. And even then, the whole process is still largely pen-and-paper-based, which is very costly and lacks transparency. To make things worse, every major government has its own approach to IP, which creates inefficiencies across the board.
This situation is very similar to how Ethereum and Bitcoin are beginning to replace traditional banking systems. Just like banking, every country has different regulations and policies, and the process is slow, increasing transaction costs. What crypto is doing for money is making financial transactions transparent and efficient by moving them on-chain.
I think Story is doing something very similar — trying to replace, or at least make more efficient, this outdated, pen-and-paper-based legal system. Right now, only the largest players have the resources to participate in the current IP system. But we believe that every individual, whether they have a WeChat account, an Instagram account, or a Facebook account, holds some form of IP. Everyone posts images of themselves, creates artwork, or contributes to scientific research. In fact, everyone owns IP, but not everyone has access to it. That’s why it’s crucial to build an open, efficient, and public global IP system that doesn’t get bogged down by the complexities of different country-specific regulations.
Does Story’s framework adapt to regional legal systems or aim for global applicability?
Jason:
Yeah, that’s a great question. We’re starting by focusing on creating a framework that can be applied globally. We’re fortunate that copyright law is already pretty global. Over 100 years ago, there was the Berne Convention, which over 180 countries signed to harmonize and unify the basic principles of copyright law worldwide. This is why, for example, even though Pokémon is a Japanese IP, you can’t just use Pikachu freely in the United States. That’s because copyright laws have largely been globalized.
We’ve chosen to focus on copyright first because it’s already a globally recognized framework. We believe one of the big benefits of blockchain is its global nature. So, our goal has always been to create a standard set of frameworks that work across the world. Of course, there are complexities, and enforcement can differ by country, so there will be some variations in how enforcement is handled. But the first step, which we’ve already accomplished, is to create a standardized framework that works globally.
How does the programmable IP license bridge the gap between blockchain-based IP and the traditional legal system?
Jason:
Our goal is really to take the legitimacy established by the traditional legal system and bring it on-chain. We don’t want to completely replace the legal system; rather, we aim to make it more efficient. Think about stablecoins, like USDC or USDT, which are pegged to the US dollar. The idea isn’t to reshape what a dollar is but to make the US dollar more efficient by turning it into a token on a blockchain. This allows it to be traded on decentralized exchanges and have access to DeFi, with global liquidity.
Now, think about applying the same concept to the legal system. Ultimately, we’re not trying to replace courts or every lawyer in the world. What we aim to do is make transactions with IP as an asset class 100x, if not 1,000x, cheaper and more efficient. That’s what the programmable IP license is designed to do — it’s a first-of-its-kind legal document. For every dollar we’ve invested in the blockchain layer, we’ve invested almost as much into the legal side to build this innovative legal framework.
Every single smart contract term tied to an IP asset on Story is mapped 1:1 with the terms of the legal contract. This means every IP asset on Story is backed by the law — similar to how USDC or USDT is backed by a US dollar or cash equivalent. What’s truly innovative here is how we tie the best of both worlds: the legal power and legitimacy of traditional systems with the efficiency of blockchain. We bring all settlement, execution, and enforcement on-chain, which is far more efficient than the traditional software-based IP systems.
How does the programmable IP license ensure global applicability?
Jason:
The Berne Convention, which I mentioned earlier, is a key piece here. I’m not a legal expert, but essentially, it was a convention signed in 1886 (or 1880), where many countries around the world agreed to align their copyright laws and share the same basic frameworks. This agreement allows Story to create a programmable IP license that applies globally.
So when you ask whether Story focuses on regional systems or aims for a truly global IP system, the answer is that we are able to have a global peer-to-peer IP system because most copyright frameworks today are very much aligned between countries. This global alignment ensures that the IP framework we’ve built can be universally applicable, regardless of jurisdiction.
Story raised $80 million in this Series B funding, bringing the total funding to $140 million. What do you think convinced a16z to back Story at every stage from seed to Series B?
Jason:
First of all, we’re very fortunate to have a16z lead every round, from seed to Series A to Series B. They’ve actually tripled down, leading each round and investing over $100 million into Story. The team at a16z have been incredibly strong supporters. Of course, you’d have to ask them about their exact conviction, but in my view, I think the main reason they believe in Story is that we’re building something completely new with blockchain. We’re making one of the most fundamental parts of any society, intellectual property and ideas, more efficient.
Story is different from most blockchain projects, especially compared to DeFi protocols. DeFi, for example, often becomes a bit of a zero-sum game where there are numerous DeFi chains all competing for the same small pool of crypto users. It’s hard to see significant growth there. On the other hand, Story is creating a next-generation blockchain for a market that hasn’t been tapped into by blockchain technology — the IP market, which is valued in the trillions of dollars. We have the potential to work with governments around the world to become the default IP system. This is a completely new market that blockchain hasn’t touched yet, which is what excites investors.
Also, our focus on AI is compelling. A lot of what’s happening at the intersection of crypto and AI today is about decentralizing existing parts of the AI stack, which is interesting but not always commercially viable. A decentralized version of something centralized could end up being more expensive and complex. With Story, we’re adding an entirely new layer to the AI stack. That’s why we’ve been able to secure deals with major companies like Stability AI, which is the largest image diffusion model and one of the most popular image-generation models in the world. No other blockchain company has partnered with major AI companies like we have, and that’s because we’re doing something new. Our approach is valuable to them, and it’s not just decentralizing existing components of the AI stack.
The combination of the massive IP asset class and Story’s innovative approach, along with the growing importance of AI technology — arguably one of the most significant technologies of our generation — has been a key part of the appeal. If you read Chris Dixon’s book Read Write Own, there’s almost a chapter that seems to align perfectly with Story’s vision. We share the same vision, and we’ve been executing on it with strong traction over the past three years, which likely helped convince a16z to double down on their support.
Additionally, we’re based in Silicon Valley, which is crucial for attracting top-tier investors. When it comes to backing blockchain teams, having highly skilled engineers is important. Almost all our engineers are based in Palo Alto, just minutes away from Stanford, and near the Aptos and Sui offices. The strong technical talent on our team has added credibility, and I think this combination of factors contributed to a16z’s continued support. We’re incredibly grateful for their backing, and they’ve been very helpful and supportive throughout this journey.
Is Story’s success a sign of increasing institutional interest in blockchain IP solutions?
Jason:
Absolutely. What we’ve seen with recent events, like the US elections and the introduction of Bitcoin ETFs, as well as the Ethereum ETF, is that the largest institutions and governments worldwide are starting to adopt crypto and bring it into the mainstream. What excites me about Story, especially this year, is that IP is something that every mainstream institution cares about. Governments care deeply about IP, but the current system is so inefficient. Right now, IP management is far more inefficient than Wall Street or banking systems were when Bitcoin was created. We’re tackling a system that is even more outdated and inefficient than traditional banking.
That’s really exciting. I’ve been speaking to people who are close to or working within the US government, as well as people working with governments around the world. We’re very excited about bringing Story to both governments and some of the largest AI companies globally. Both of those things are already happening. I truly see a world where Story becomes the default IP system for every government and country across the globe. And I don’t think that future is as far off as it may seem. Blockchain is a superior way to track ownership of assets at scale, and what better asset to manage than intellectual property, which is currently one of the most inefficient asset classes in the world?
What role do you see governments playing in the adoption of on-chain IP systems? Are there any partnerships or discussions with regulators that you can share?
Jason:
I can’t share anything specific right now, but I can tell you that this is a major focus for us — something we’re really excited about and just beginning to explore. It’s still early days for us.
But when it comes to governments, I can say that there’s a lot of interest in automating and digitizing their patent, trademark, and copyright systems. As I mentioned earlier, most countries have very outdated, pen-and-paper-based, opaque, and slow IP systems. This costs governments not just thousands of dollars, but likely millions. Blockchain is uniquely designed to solve these issues. It provides a way to track ownership at scale, facilitates the easy exchange of assets, and ensures the provenance and attribution history of every asset. These are fundamental concepts for IP.
Right now, the bar for what governments are using is relatively low compared to what could be possible with blockchain. However, the stakes are high, and that gap is where Story has the opportunity to succeed. Our goal is to embed ourselves at the deepest and highest levels within these governments, helping them modernize their systems and unlock the full potential of IP management.
What specific aspect of Story’s technical innovation, vision, or market potential resonated most with a16z and your other investors?
Jason:
I think there are two key aspects. First and foremost, in my opinion — and I think in many of our investors’ opinions — blockchain’s killer application is to create new digital markets. Over the past 10 years, blockchain has largely focused on financial assets, like money and currencies. But there haven’t really been new types of assets brought on-chain beyond financial ones. To me, this is where the true potential of blockchain lies, and it’s something our investors see as very exciting.
Second, the intersection of AI and IP is transforming the entire landscape. It’s not just that existing IP solutions are inefficient, it’s that the traditional IP system itself is becoming obsolete. AI is fundamentally reshaping how IP works, and I believe it’s accelerating the need for disruption. The convergence of AI and IP within the blockchain world is very compelling to our investors, particularly because AI is one of the biggest, most exciting technologies today.
The combination of these factors — redefining IP on blockchain and leveraging AI — along with our technical excellence, is what has drawn investors to back Story. A lot of the advice and support we’ve received from a16z and our other investors has been instrumental in getting us to this point.
How has a16z supported Story’s growth?
Jason:
a16z has been an incredible partner for us. They have one of the most reputable brands in the world, and I believe they are, if not the largest, one of the largest venture capital firms by assets under management. Chris Dixon and the other investors at a16z have lent us their brand and made powerful introductions to key people in the U.S., including our former investor Sriram Krishnan, who is now serving as the AI advisor to the White House. He’s working in Washington, D.C., with the new administration, which has been a huge asset for us.
a16z’s reach, scale, and brand have been incredibly useful, but it’s not just about the connections. a16z also has a dedicated team of employees working on the crypto side, helping us with everything from engineering to research. For example, the CTO at a16z, Eddy Lazzarin, has been very closely involved with us. Our office was just a five-minute walk from his house, and he played a key role in helping us design the early protocol.
So, in terms of engineering support, they’ve been extremely helpful. Overall, a16z has been an incredible investor, and we’re very fortunate to have them in our camp. Their support has been pivotal in our growth.
What differentiates Story’s programmable IP infrastructure from other production-based IP solutions?
Jason:
First and foremost, there haven’t been many IP solutions in the blockchain space, if any at all. Most IP in the blockchain space is very simple — like a static JPEG, an image, or a song. What Story is doing goes far beyond just storing a file on-chain. IP has never really been successfully implemented in blockchain because people often just move a media file on-chain, which ends up being a static pointer to the file.
IP, however, is more than that. It’s about how to make that media file programmable. What that means is that, with Story, every asset is not just legally backed by the programmable IP license, but it also sets the terms for how others can monetize, use, and expand on your IP.
We have a concept called “IP Legos,” where every single IP asset on Story can be used in any app that connects to Story. Soon, we will have tens, if not hundreds, of applications built on Story. If an IP is created in one app, it can be seamlessly used in all the other apps — no extra effort required. Story handles the payments, tracks usage, and manages all the legal terms behind the scenes.
Imagine this on a larger scale: every image you see on Twitter could instantly be used in an AI model, or every asset posted on someone’s WeChat story could be used to create a comic — seamlessly and without any legal intervention. All of this would happen under the hood of the blockchain.
This is the concept of programmable IP: every media file, every piece of scientific research you see on the internet would be on-chain and fully composable across any application. That’s the ultimate goal of Story.
How does Story address AI-based content remixing and attribution?
Jason:
One thing we’ve done is to essentially create the potential for Story to become the world’s largest training dataset as we scale. Every single IP, including the millions of assets being registered on Story, has a term that allows the IP owner to declare whether they want AI to train on it. If so, they can also specify how much the AI model developer should pay, if at all.
Each asset on Story is thus associated with AI rights. So, if you’re OpenAI, Google DeepMind, or another large AI company, you can browse millions of IP assets on Story, select which ones you want to use, and with just one click, license all of them. This simplifies the process of compensating creators as well.
This is a completely novel concept. Right now, if you’re a large AI model company, you either have to do slow, expensive licensing deals or, in some cases, it’s practically impossible to handle millions of licensing deals — imagine Google DeepMind trying to license 10 million images. That’s just not feasible. But Story simplifies this and creates a seamless market for IP exchange. This is how we’re addressing the AI-based content remixing and attribution problem.
How does the ERC-6551 standard enhance traditional NFTs and their role in IP management?
Jason:
ERC-6551 is a crucial part of what we’re building at Story. Ultimately, we want to make every single IP asset sovereign. We want every piece of content on the internet to have its own wallet, its own preferences, and its own terms and conditions. Unlike traditional legal terms, which are just static on a piece of paper, the terms and conditions for each IP asset on Story are programmable and enforceable.
Every single IP on Story has its own wallet. When that IP generates revenue, it goes into its own wallet. If the IP owes a portion of its revenue to another IP — perhaps one it’s inspired by or derived from — that revenue flows automatically through Story.
What we’re doing is giving each IP asset its own wallet and smart contract account. This makes the assets programmable and sovereign. It’s at the core of the technology we’re building, ensuring that IP assets are not only managed in a decentralized way but also follow programmable rules that can be enforced on-chain. This is a key differentiator for Story in IP management.
How do you ensure the data stored on-chain for IP remains accessible and verifiable over the long term?
Jason:
Right now, we’ve partnered with storage solutions like IPFS and Arweave to store media in a decentralized, sustainable, and long-term manner. For now, these solutions are working well, but in the future, we’re not ruling out the possibility of building our own storage solution to address some of the challenges we’re currently facing.
That said, we believe there are already decent storage solutions available that we’re leveraging. However, as we scale, we hope to improve this aspect ourselves because storage is crucial to ensuring that IP remains accessible forever. If we’re truly building a global IP system, housing all of the world’s knowledge and creativity, then it’s essential that the storage is both decentralized and permanent.
Does Story plan to integrate with other blockchain ecosystems to enhance cross-chain IP interoperability?
Jason:
Yes, absolutely. Our vision for Story is that it becomes a core piece of infrastructure for the entire internet. We’re already working with applications that have nothing to do with blockchain — Web 2 applications that have millions of users who may not even know what blockchain is. We want to support IP that’s off-chain, IP on any other blockchain, and, of course, IP on Story. Our goal is to be the IP layer for the entire internet.
So, we are very open to engaging in cross-chain interactions to ensure that IP from other chains can be stored on Story. This approach will help us create a truly decentralized and interoperable IP ecosystem.
What challenges do you foresee in gaining regulatory acceptance for on-chain IPs? And how are you addressing them?
Jason:
With any new technology, there’s going to be an education barrier. But right now, given the political landscape in the U.S., many blockchain entrepreneurs and crypto-friendly individuals are working in government. This creates a unique opportunity for us to make a significant impact.
There will certainly be a lot of education to do, but the good news is that we’ve already become very skilled at doing that. We work with some of the world’s biggest Web 2 IPs and AI companies, which has taught us how to speak their language. I think it will be no different when we engage with people in Washington, D.C. or other government officials around the world.
Fortunately for us, IP is a language everyone speaks, and that’s going to be a huge advantage as we scale. Our goal is to bridge the gap between the traditional systems and blockchain, and we believe that as we continue educating and speaking the language of regulators, we’ll be able to gain their acceptance.
What has driven Story’s early engagement during its testing phase?
Jason:
I think it’s really excitement for something that’s brand new — something that doesn’t look like anything else. If you look at our ecosystem, you won’t just see a bunch of forks of DEXes or DeFi protocols. Instead, you’ll find applications that don’t resemble any other blockchain application because what we’re doing is entirely new.
That novelty is a big factor. There’s a huge set of users, both Web 2 and Web 3, who have been waiting for something like this. No other blockchain really seems to be addressing that demand, so a lot of that interest and engagement has come to Story. I’m really happy with how the technology has held up, especially considering we’re still in the testnet phase. I think we’re now seeing close to 3 million — or possibly even more — transactions per day, which is incredible for a testnet.
What initiatives are in place to attract developers and expand the ecosystem? What are the key differentiators of the Story ecosystem?
Jason:
In terms of developer adoption, we’re really a developer-focused company. Everything we do is aimed at helping builders create the best IP experiences. We’ve developed an extensive set of onboarding videos for developers, and our documentation is updated weekly — if not daily. It’s one of the most up-to-date and comprehensive sets of documentation out there. We’ve even streamlined our documentation to make it easier for AI agents to train on it. In fact, we’ve received feedback from many AI builders who find our documentation really easy to understand, which allows agents themselves to use it to train and build apps on Story.
We’ve put a lot of effort into optimizing for developers. Additionally, we’re working on some exciting developer-friendly initiatives, including a sleek front-end SDK, which will be similar to a Stripe checkout for IP. We’re really excited to unveil this soon. It’s all about creating a delightful experience for developers.
What upcoming milestones or expansions should the community look out for?
Jason:
First, our public mainnet officially launched on February 13, along with the launch of our mainnet token, IP, and the start of the airdrop claims. This is a major milestone for us. But the public mainnet launch is not the finish line — it’s really just the beginning of our journey.
We have just released our new technology roadmap, focused on building an open and programmable IP marketplace. Around the end of Q1 or the beginning of Q2, we plan to launch a test version of our IP portal, which can be seen as a consumer-facing “GitHub for IP.” In Q3, we will roll out a major upgrade to the mainnet, with a focus on improving performance and reliability, along with the launch of IPKit, a development toolkit for Story to enhance the developer experience.
Additionally, we will continue collaborating with Stanford University’s FDCI to explore cutting-edge topics such as large-scale performance optimization, next-generation consensus mechanisms, on-chain storage, and privacy protection. We look forward to sharing more with you soon!
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