An Exclusive Interview with Jaclyn Rice Nelson and Noah Gale
When Jaclyn Rice Nelson and Noah Gale launched Tribe AI, a company providing AI talent and services, in 2019, they faced the challenge of convincing companies that having an AI strategy was crucial. However, after the release of ChatGPT in 2022, the startup has experienced a massive boom in demand, according to Gale.
A Growing Need for AI Expertise
Rice Nelson, Tribe’s CEO, shared her insights on the growing need for AI expertise. During her time as a Growth VP at Alphabet’s growth fund, CapitalG, she witnessed companies backed by the firm asking Google for help with machine learning and data science. This trend was also observed by Gale in his role at Gigster, a platform that builds software development teams.
"The best-in-class emerging companies were asking Google for help," Rice Nelson said. "It was way too hard for any company, even Silicon Valley tech companies, to leverage this technology if they weren’t Google, Amazon, etc."
From Contract AI Talent to Full-Service Firm
Initially, Tribe AI focused on helping companies hire contract AI talent. However, the startup has since transformed into a full-service firm that uses its network of over 500 contractors to build products and projects for clients. The company is platform agnostic and partners with cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google, as well as large language models such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
Tribe’s customers include companies like MyFitnessPal and New Relic. Despite not disclosing revenue specifics, Rice Nelson mentioned that the startup has an eight-figure revenue run rate on track to double this year.
The Benefits of Contracted Talent
One key aspect of Tribe’s business model is its use of contracted talent, which keeps payroll costs low. This approach allows the company to scale quickly and efficiently meet growing demand.
Raising Capital to Meet Demand
To capitalize on the surge in demand, Tribe has raised a $3.25 million seed round led by Bryce Roberts, the founding partner at Indie, a venture fund that backs early-stage companies with limited funding requirements. The round also included members of Tribe’s AI network, customers, and angel investors.
The Impact of GenAI
The release of ChatGPT has had a profound impact on demand for Tribe’s services. Rice Nelson noted that the market pull felt by the company was not just from customers but also from partners like Google, AWS, Azure, OpenAI, and Anthropic, which were flooded with requests they couldn’t fulfill.
Expanding to Meet Demand
The raised capital will enable Tribe to staff up and develop a suite of tools to automate aspects of its projects, allowing the team to work more efficiently on client projects.
Competition from Major Consulting Groups
While Tribe is not alone in providing AI services, Rice Nelson believes that the company’s experience and expertise set it apart from competitors like major consulting groups McKinsey and Accenture. By focusing on providing talent and expertise rather than telling customers how to do a project, Tribe aims to differentiate itself in the market.
"We’ve been around since 2019, long before ChatGPT, and have experience building hundreds of AI products," Rice Nelson said.
Conclusion
Tribe AI’s success is a testament to the growing need for AI expertise and the company’s ability to adapt to changing market conditions. As demand continues to surge, Tribe is well-positioned to capitalize on this trend, providing its customers with the talent and expertise they need to succeed in the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence.
About the Authors
- Jaclyn Rice Nelson – CEO of Tribe AI
- Noah Gale – Co-founder of Tribe AI
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