Founder. Author. Musician.

Jason
Colapietro.

Creative work deserves
a connection to its creator.

I’m the founder of Suede Labs AI. I build tools for creator ownership, write about the systems behind the work, and make music as Johnny Suede.

Jason Colapietro, founder of Suede Labs AI
Jason Colapietro / Johnny Suede

The thread through the work.

Music, software, and ownership keep bringing me back to the same question: what happens to a piece of work after it leaves its maker?

Suede Labs AI is built around that question. The work spans provenance, programmable IP, licensing, royalty routing, and tools that help people create and release media.

My writing follows the same thread, from the rights behind a song to the way AI agents discover a business. Johnny Suede is the name on the essays and the music; Jason Colapietro is the person behind both.

Read the full biography

Jason Colapietro / Suede Labs AI · Updated 2026-09-06

A record built in public.

The work and recognition of Jason Colapietro and Suede Labs AI: businesses built, software shipped, books published, and contributions accepted. Each entry carries its date or reporting period and links to the underlying record.

Partnership · Since September 2025

Google Cloud and the Vertex AI suite

Suede has worked in partnership with Google Cloud since September 2025, with a dedicated account team and migration of the stack onto the Vertex AI suite, including Gemini, Vertex AI Agent Builder, and Veo. The account team’s published quote calls Suede an ideal partner for promoting the Vertex suite.

Engineering · As of September 2026

41 merged pull requests. 38 external repositories.

The public record includes 26 substantive code or documentation contributions and 15 accepted listings of Jason-owned work. Maintainers have merged contributions into projects including Jest, Adobe React Spectrum, Backstage, Hardhat, and the x402 Foundation. A separate Linux kernel USB/IP contribution is recorded as Public upstream v6; it is not included in the merged-PR count.

Publishing · Catalog reviewed September 2026

Five published books, plus independent works

The Amazon catalog holds The Human Authenticity Layer, Proof as Infrastructure, Stake Your Claim, The Claude Code Bible, and Codex in Production. Independent works include The Screenshot, free to read on the web; The Signal Chain; and The Guitar Without a Number, now incorporated into The Signal Chain.

Press & essays · December 2025–July 2026

Nine feature placements across four outlets

TechBullion, Programming Insider, Altcoin Investor, and Indie Hackers have published coverage and founder essays about Suede Labs AI. The record includes the iOS and developer-tool launches, advancing in the Avalanche Build Games, creator ownership infrastructure, and self-funded education deployments in African classrooms. Two placements are Jason’s bylined essays.

Explore all accomplishments and source records

What I’m building.

Creator ownership

Suede Labs AI

Infrastructure and tools for authorship, provenance, licensing, and the path from creative work to payment.

Agents & software

Suede Agent Studio

A workspace for building AI agent workflows, alongside an open source library of reusable developer skills.

Music & practice

The musician’s toolkit

Guitar, voice, and creative practice tools across the Suede product family. Built around the work musicians return to every day.

Research & publishing

Suede SEO

Research and writing on how search engines and AI answer systems find, understand, and cite a business.

From the writing desk.

On the mic.

Selected appearances verified from retained event materials or a public recording.

October 2025 / ChainGPT

Supercharging Web3-AI with ChainGPT Tech

Round-table speaker for Suede Labs, alongside Port3, AntiRug, and Nocena; hosted by Chris Duggan.

About ChainGPT

September 5, 2025 / Brave

The Brave Show: Web3 UX, Fix It or Forget It

Panel speaker representing Suede AI, with Hues of Paw and Yellow; hosted by Sanza. The conversation covered mobile-first Web3 UX, privacy, rewards, and browser-native payments.

About Brave

September 2025 / Mario Nawfal’s Crypto Roundtable

Suede AI AMA

Founder guest discussing creator control, ownership, and Suede’s portable voice-signature work.

Watch the AMA

Books & longer arguments.

Stake Your Claim

A creator’s starting point for ownership, rights, and protecting the work they make.

Proof as Infrastructure

The argument for making proof of creation, licensing, and settlement part of the systems we build.

The Claude Code Bible

An operator’s guide to working with AI coding agents, from the first session to a coordinated workflow.

Codex in Production

Practical discipline for AI assisted development: project instructions, worktrees, skills, and verification.

The Screenshot

A free book about how AI systems encounter, interpret, and recommend a business.

Selected press & essays.

A story, a conversation,
or something to build.

Interviews, speaking, and company inquiries.

Get in touch