Picture this: you walk up to your favorite athlete at Yankee Stadium or Lambeau Field and have a real conversation with them. They’re standing next to you, life-size, answering your questions in real time… except, they’re hundreds of miles away. What if you could do that same thing in your living room?

Proto Hologram founder David Nussbaum is building exactly that: AI hologram technology already operating in over 50 arenas and stadiums that lets fans talk to, hear from, and experience athletes in ways that have never existed before.

Backed by athlete investors like Marshawn Lynch and Brittany Griner, Proto is bringing athlete access to fans like never before: they beamed Caleb Williams to fans at Soldier Field immediately after his draft selection and brought George Brett back to Kauffman Stadium.

But the conversation goes deeper than just talking with today’s stars. David and I got into whether this technology can have us talking – actually talking! – to legends of the past, and whether an AI composite of the greatest coaches in history could one day stand on an actual sideline. The future of fan experience and athlete legacy is being built today, and Proto is what it looks like.

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