Unsupervised Learning with Jacob Effron

Latest Episodes:

Ep 40: CEO of Speak.com Connor Zwick on How AI Will Change the Way we Learn Aug 13, 2024

Show notes

We’re excited to bring you Connor Zwick, CEO and cofounder of Speak, on the podcast this week! Speak helps people learning a language have conversations with an AI speaking partner, which is critical to gaining fluency. It’s backed by OpenAI and most recently raised at a $500M valuation. Since launching in its inaugural market of South Korea in 2019, Speak has grown to over 10 million users and now has customers in more than 40 countries.

We learned so much about how language works and how Connor has built this startup. Some of our favorite bits:

[0:00] Intro

[0:38] Connor's Entrepreneurial Journey

[3:40] Diving into AI and Language Learning

[6:07] The Evolution of Speak

[9:30] Building Specialized Models and Overcoming Challenges

[18:17] User Experience and Interface Design

[24:18] Future of AI in Language Learning

[35:38] Comparing Duolingo and Speak

[38:00] Challenges in Translation and Human Connection

[41:18] Specialized AI Models and Their Impact

[47:41] Opportunities in Professional and Personal Learning

[53:38] The Evolution of Education with AI

[59:31] Final Thoughts and Reflections

With your co-hosts:

@jacobeffron

- Partner at Redpoint, Former PM Flatiron Health

@patrickachase

- Partner at Redpoint, Former ML Engineer LinkedIn

@ericabrescia

- Former COO Github, Founder Bitnami (acq’d by VMWare)

@jordan_segall

- Partner at Redpoint

Jacob is an AI investor at Redpoint Ventures. He's led Redpoint's investments in companies like Abridge, Physical Intelligence & Legora. Follow Jacob on Twitter (@jacobeffron).
On Unsupervised Learning we probe the sharpest minds in AI in search for the truth about what's real today, what will be real in the future and what it all means for businesses and the world. If you're a builder, researcher or investor navigating the AI world, this podcast will help you deconstruct and understand the most important breakthroughs and see a clearer picture of reality. Subscribe to this show to stay up to date on our latest episodes.

Ep 39: Github CEO Thomas Dohmke on Building Copilot, Scaling to 1.2M Users and the Future of Code Jul 30, 2024

Show notes

It was very special to have Github CEO Thomas Dhomke on the pod for many reasons, not the least of which is that my partner Erica Brescia was COO at Gitlab just before joining Redpoint! Thomas has been at Github for almost 6 years, and has been CEO for almost 3 of those years. He has a pulse on what engineers around the world are looking for from the world’s leading developer platform, and incredible vision and empathy in making Github delivers it.

[0:00] Intro

[1:08] The Magic of GitHub Copilot

[2:07] AI's Impact on Software Development

[2:49] Global Adoption and Democratization of AI

[4:20] Keeping Developers in the Creative Flow

[6:59] Future of Software Development with AI

[9:54] Challenges and Opportunities in AI-Powered Coding

[11:31] The Role of Agents in Copilot's Strategy

[17:03] AI's Influence on Open Source Ecosystem

[24:08] Fine-Tuning and Customization of Copilot

[28:22] The Rapid Evolution of Copilot

[30:26] Future Innovations and Accelerating Pace of AI

[33:09] The Future of AI in Software Development

[33:44] AI's Impact on Different Tech Stacks

[34:21] The Evolution of Media Consumption

[35:15] The Competitive Landscape of AI Models

[37:02] The Infinite Game of Business

[38:17] The Role of Multiple AI Models in Enterprises

[43:01] Advice for Founders Competing with Incumbents

[45:06] The Importance of Focus in Startups

[45:50] Expanding the GitHub Ecosystem with Extensions

[47:20] The Next Wave of Copilot

[50:57] Quick Fire Questions

[54:35] Erica and Jordan Debrief

With your co-hosts:

@jacobeffron

- Partner at Redpoint, Former PM Flatiron Health

@patrickachase

- Partner at Redpoint, Former ML Engineer LinkedIn

@ericabrescia

- Former COO Github, Founder Bitnami (acq’d by VMWare)

@jordan_segall

- Partner at Redpoint

Ep 38: Runway CEO Cristobal Valenzuela on the Next Frontiers for AI Media and The Role of Human Taste in AI Filmmaking Jul 16, 2024

Show notes

Cris is the co-founder and CEO of Runway, which builds breathtakingly real video AI tools, including the incredible Gen-3 Alpha foundation model. Cris sits right at the intersection of technology and creativity, and in 2023 was named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI. Runway is reported to be in talks to raise capital at a $4 Billion valuation.

(0:00) intro
(0:37) how early are we in the AI for creative tools space
(3:01) how Cris tests new models
(8:21) who uses Runway?
(10:37) how Runway teaches new users
(14:08) does UI matter?
(29:09) what are the next frontiers for video models?
(32:32) allocating resources for the research time
(39:15) how Cris thinks about pricing
(42:10) one video model to rule them all?
(44:24) incorporating IP
(52:45) over-hyped/under-hyped
(53:30) biggest surprises while building Runway
(55:12) advice for art students

With your co-hosts:

@jacobeffron

- Partner at Redpoint, Former PM Flatiron Health

@patrickachase

- Partner at Redpoint, Former ML Engineer LinkedIn

@ericabrescia

- Former COO Github, Founder Bitnami (acq’d by VMWare)

@jordan_segall

- Partner at Redpoint

Ep 37: Co-Founder and CEO of Fireflies.ai Krish Ramineni on How AI Catalyzed Fireflies to 16M Users Jul 01, 2024

Show notes

According to Ramp’s (ramp.com) quarterly spend report, Fireflies was the 4th highest AI platform by spend. With over 300,000 customers worldwide and 16M users, Fireflies.ai is operating at some of the largest scale amongst AI companies today.

This week on Unsupervised Learning we had Krish Ramineni, Co-founder & CEO of Fireflies on to talk about how he sees AI changing the way we work and conduct meetings, and share his biggest learnings around AI in building Fireflies.

(0:00) intro

(1:01) how will AI change meetings going forward

(4:03) Fireflies’ capabilities

(8:18) how new models change Fireflies

(11:19) shortcomings of current models

(16:36) Krish’s lack of belief in fine-tuning

(26:19) dealing with high inference costs

(34:00) taking on incumbents

(40:50) what metrics matter most to Fireflies

(46:37) how is Fireflies so fast?

(54:28) over-hyped/under-hyped

(55:11) biggest surprises in building Fireflies

(1:01:15) Jacob and Rashad debrief

With your co-hosts:

@jacobeffron

- Partner at Redpoint, Former PM Flatiron Health

@patrickachase

- Partner at Redpoint, Former ML Engineer LinkedIn

@ericabrescia

- Former COO Github, Founder Bitnami (acq’d by VMWare)

@jordan_segall

- Partner at Redpoint

Ep 36: Adobe CPO Scott Belsky on How AI Will Transform Creative Workflows Jun 11, 2024

Show notes

Scott Belsky is the founder of Behance, a creative platform sold to Adobe in 2012. He’s since gone on to take on the role of Chief Product Officer at Adobe leading design for all products across Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and the Digital Experience business. This week on Unsupervised Learning Scott shares his thoughts on the future of creative tools with AI, a future where hyper-personalization wins and what humans will do when content is commoditized.

(0:00) intro

(2:27) Adobe’s new AI tools

(4:40) best uses of Adobe’s AI features

(7:22) educating users

(9:28) will the future have one model or thousands?

(11:01) Adobe building their own models

(15:12) goals for video generation

(19:40) hyper-personalized media

(22:11) AI music

(26:30) pricing for AI features

(28:02) biggest surprises in building AI features for Adobe

(30:58) most exciting AI startups (KoBold AI)

(32:13) where else would Scott build in the AI world

With your co-hosts:

@jacobeffron

- Partner at Redpoint, Former PM Flatiron Health

@patrickachase

- Partner at Redpoint, Former ML Engineer LinkedIn

@ericabrescia

- Former COO Github, Founder Bitnami (acq’d by VMWare)

@jordan_segall

- Partner at Redpoint

Ep 35: CEO of Suno Mikey Shulman on Future of Music with AI, Tactics for Model Eval and Solving the Blank Canvas Problem May 30, 2024

Show notes

Last week, Suno announced $125M in funding, marking a significant milestone in their journey to reshape the music creation landscape. On this week's episode of Unsupervised Learning, we caught up with Suno's founder, Mikey Shulman, to dive into their approach to multiplayer music collaboration, how they got Suno to be so fast and the future of digital concerts (and workshopped new intro music for the pod 👀).

(0:00) intro
(0:31) Mikey’s favorite Suno songs
(5:17) who uses Suno?
(7:50) teaching people how to use Suno
(9:57) new ways to prompt models
(13:24) the social aspect of Suno
(17:45) how does Suno approach pricing?
(19:37) model eval
(23:27) how models can improve
(24:58) how is Suno so fast?
(26:50) handling usage spikes
(34:28) raising $125 million
(41:00) IP partnerships
(45:55) over-hyped/under-hyped
(46:56) biggest surprises in building Suno
(50:53) generating an Unsupervised Learning theme song
(53:26) Jacob and Rashad debrief

With your co-hosts:

@jacobeffron

- Partner at Redpoint, Former PM Flatiron Health

@patrickachase

- Partner at Redpoint, Former ML Engineer LinkedIn

@ericabrescia

- Former COO Github, Founder Bitnami (acq’d by VMWare)

@jordan_segall

- Partner at Redpoint

Ep 34: Eric Ries and Jeremy Howard (Answer.ai) on the Biggest Mistakes AI Founders are Making and Building the Bell Labs of AI May 22, 2024

Show notes

In this week’s episode of Unsupervised Learning, we delve into the forefront of AI innovation with Eric Ries and Jeremy Howard. Eric Ries, renowned for pioneering the Lean Startup movement, has consistently influenced modern entrepreneurial strategies with his emphasis on agile, sustainable growth through innovation. Jeremy Howard is known for his contributions to deep learning and data science, co-founding the fast.ai educational initiative that democratizes access to cutting-edge AI learning.

Eric's new podcast and newsletter:

https://www.ericriesshow.com/

https://ericries.carrd.co/

(0:00) intro

(0:33) The Lean Startup

4:34) thinking about defensibility

(9:10) best way to get caught up on AI

(11:34) starting Answer.ai

(23:48) efficient fine-tuning of Llama 3

(38:21) AI regulations

(48:27) over-hyped/under-hyped

(48:53) most exciting AI startups

(55:37) Jacob and Jordan debrief

With your co-hosts:

@jacobeffron

- Partner at Redpoint, Former PM Flatiron Health

@patrickachase

- Partner at Redpoint, Former ML Engineer LinkedIn

@ericabrescia

- Former COO Github, Founder Bitnami (acq’d by VMWare)

@jordan_segall

- Partner at Redpoint

Bonus Episode: Sam Altman (CEO, OpenAI) Talks GPT-4o and Predicts the Future of AI May 20, 2024

Show notes

In this cross-over episode, Sam Altman sat down with Logan on the day of the ChatGPT-4o announcement to share behind-the-scenes details of the launch and offer his predictions for the future of AI. Altman delves into OpenAI’s vision, discusses the timeline for achieving AGI, and explores the societal impact of humanoid robots. He also expresses his excitement and concerns about AI personal assistants, highlights the biggest opportunities and risks in the AI landscape today, and much more.

(0:00) Intro
(00:41) The Personal Impact of Leading OpenAI
(01:35) Unveiling Multimodal AI: A Leap in Technology
(02:38) The Surprising Use Cases and Benefits of Multimodal AI
(03:14) Behind the Scenes: Making Multimodal AI Possible
(08:27) Envisioning the Future of AI in Communication and Creativity
(10:12) The Business of AI: Monetization, Open Source, and Future Directions
(16:33) AI's Role in Shaping Future Jobs and Experiences
(20:20) Debunking AGI: A Continuous Journey Towards Advanced AI
(23:55) Exploring the Pace of Scientific and Technological Progress
(24:09) The Importance of Interpretability in AI
(25:02) Navigating AI Ethics and Regulation
(27:17) The Safety Paradigm in AI and Beyond
(28:46) Personal Reflections and the Impact of AI on Society
(29:02) The Future of AI: Fast Takeoff Scenarios and Societal Changes
(30:50) Navigating Personal and Professional Challenges
(40:12) The Role of AI in Creative and Personal Identity
(43:00) Educational System Adaptations for the AI Era
(44:21) Contemplating the Future with Advanced AI
(45:21) Jacob and Pat Debrief

With your co-hosts:

@jacobeffron

- Partner at Redpoint, Former PM Flatiron Health

@patrickachase

- Partner at Redpoint, Former ML Engineer LinkedIn

@ericabrescia

- Former COO Github, Founder Bitnami (acq'd by VMWare)

@jordan_segall

- Partner at Redpoint

Ep 33: CTO and Co-Founder of Sourcegraph on Current Landscape and Future of Software Development, How to Make RAG Better, and Building Towards the Agentic Future Apr 30, 2024

Show notes

On this week’s Unsupervised Learning, Pat and I sat down with CTO and Co-Founder of Sourcegraph, Beyang Liu. Sourcegraph is a leader in the AI coding space, and recently launched AI coding assistant, Cody. Beyang shared with us his view on the current landscape of AI coding and the future of coding and software development. He also shared how Sourcegraph has tried to make RAG better, and their model eval approaches.

(0:00) intro
(0:47) advice for young coders
(3:34) AI products at Sourcegraph
(6:17) the current state of AI coding
(12:33) what happens when a new GPT model comes out?
(20:16) what types of developers benefit from these AI tools?
(30:45) how important is inference cost?
(35:31) how does Sourcegraph structure AI teams?
(41:27) what metrics does Sourcegraph use to evaluate their products?
(50:02) customizing RAG
(56:55) getting ahead of the agentic future
(1:05:05) will there be more or less engineers in the future?
(1:13:50) over-hyped/under-hyped
(1:16:56) surprises during the Sourcegraph journey
(1:18:26) cognition buzz and Devin
(1:26:48) Jacob and Pat debrief

With your co-hosts:

@jacobeffron

- Partner at Redpoint, Former PM Flatiron Health

@patrickachase

- Partner at Redpoint, Former ML Engineer LinkedIn

@ericabrescia

- Former COO Github, Founder Bitnami (acq’d by VMWare)

@jordan_segall

- Partner at Redpoint

Ep 32: CEO and Founder of Pinecone Edo Liberty on Pioneering Vector Databases, Barriers to Productionalizing Models and Why What’s Happening with GPUs is Not Sustainable Apr 16, 2024

Show notes

Pinecone has raised over $130 million and was most recently valued at $750 million. On this week’s Unsupervised Learning, we sat down with CEO and Founder of Pinecone, Edo Liberty. Pinecone is arguably one of the most important elements in today's modern datastack. Edo shared with us the most common use cases of Pinecone, the evolving landscape of vector databases, challenges in building vector databases, the "painful" launch of serverless model, and what people get wrong the most about Pinecone.

(0:00) intro

(0:33) what was it like when ChatGBT came out?

(6:29) Edo’s favorite applications built on Pinecone

(10:34) will we see more image and video applications in 2024?

(14:58) best ways to deal with hallucinations

(18:12) the evolving landscape of vector databases

(20:27) if Edo had to build a product, what would his stack look like?

(31:45) helping clients versus letting them figure things out

(36:38) moving to a serverless model

(40:33) what areas of AI should new startups target?

(45:18) Amazon SageMaker

(50:38) over-hyped/under-hyped