Dappier Launches Marketplace Connecting Publishers with LLM Developers for Content Sales

When Napster burst onto the scene in the late 1990s, it revolutionized music sharing by enabling users to download files without compensating artists or copyright holders. The advent of the iPod and the iTunes music store transformed this landscape, creating a framework for artists and publishers to receive payment for their work in the digital age. Fast forward to now, and a growing concern has emerged: companies are harvesting content to train large language models without obtaining proper permissions.

Enter Dappier, an innovative startup that aims to ensure publishers receive compensation whenever their content is utilized. The company recently announced a successful $2 million seed funding round alongside the launch of a groundbreaking marketplace that empowers publishers to define pricing for their content's use in model training.

Dappier co-founder and CEO Dan Goikhman describes his company as a monetization solution designed for the evolving AI ecosystem. "We strive to help media companies and information providers monetize their content as it is leveraged by AI agents and platforms globally," Goikhman explained. "Our mission revolves around creating a viable payment infrastructure for content distribution."

The team at Dappier recognized a significant opportunity stemming from media owners' responses to companies like OpenAI, which have scraped their content without authorization. Such reactions typically fell into two categories: filing lawsuits or negotiating “open kimono licensing deals.” Goikhman realized there was a more effective path. "We wanted to establish a transactional marketplace where content can be licensed on a per-query basis or monetized through an ad-supported model," he noted.

Dappier facilitates this process by allowing clients to connect to a content store via an RSS feed, enabling them to build models using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). Publishers can sell access to their models through the marketplace by setting prices similar to CPM ad rates or exploring alternative monetization strategies, such as offering a premium AI-powered search engine.

This innovative approach presents publishers with a new avenue for monetization during a time when traditional website advertising alone is often insufficient. Furthermore, this model can also benefit independent creators and smaller newsletter publishers, not just larger media outlets. Goikhman mentioned that Dappier has engaged with various newsletter platforms to explore potential partnerships in this shared monetization opportunity.

The recent $2 million funding round was led by Silverton Partners, based in Austin, Texas, which is also Dappier's home base.