Scaling an AI Data Company: Web3 Growth Strategy That Added 2.5M Users

In this episode of Tech Ascent, host Oliver Clingain sits down with Jordan Gray, Co-Founder and CMO at PublicAI. Jordan breaks down how PublicAI is building the “human layer” of AI—a global contributor network of 3.5M+ people providing real-world data (video, audio, image, text) that powers production-grade models.

They dive into why synthetic data isn’t enough, how PublicAI grew from under 1M to 3.5M contributors in a year using Web3 incentives, and what it really takes to market highly technical AI infrastructure without sounding like everyone else.

What You’ll Learn:
Why high-quality human data is still the bottleneck for production AI and how PublicAI solves it
How they scaled from less than 1M to 3.5M contributors using USDC rewards, crypto rails, and community growth loops
The power of point systems & gamification for rewarding users (even without touching crypto)
How to talk to deeply technical buyers without getting instantly tuned out
Jordan’s playbook for founder-led / CMO-led content: consistency, experimentation, and staying human in an LLM-saturated feed
PublicAI’s roadmap for 2026: self-serve data campaigns, agentic onboarding, and expanding beyond crypto into Web2 payments (PayPal, coupons, more)

About This Episode’s Guest:
Jordan Gray is the Co-Founder and CMO at PublicAI, where he’s building a global marketplace for human data that makes AI smarter, safer, and more useful in the real world. With 20+ years in marketing across Omnicom agencies, Google, and Web3 (NEAR Foundation), Jordan blends deep brand experience with hands-on startup execution—helping PublicAI serve both AI teams that need better data and millions of contributors who want to earn from their expertise.

Connect with Jordan
LinkedIn:   / jordanjamesgray  
Website: https://publicai.io/

Connect with Oliver and Ascenxion:
LinkedIn:   / oliver-clingain  
Website: https://ascenxion.io/