A Big Week in AI: GPT-4o & Gemini Find Their Voice
This was a big week in the world of AI, with both OpenAI and Google dropping significant updates. So big that we decided to break things down in a new format with our Consumer partners Bryan Kim and Justine Moore. We discuss the multi-modal companions that have found their voice, but also why not all audio is the same, and why several nuances like speed and personality really matter. Resources:OpenAI’s Spring announcement: https://openai.com/index/hello-gpt-4o/Google I/O announcements: https://blog.google/technology/ai/google-io-2024-100-announcements/ Stay Updated: Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16zFind a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
19 Mai 202423min
Remaking the UI for AI
Make sure to check out our new AI + a16z feed: https://link.chtbl.com/aiplusa16z a16z General Partner Anjney Midha joins the podcast to discuss what's happening with hardware for artificial intelligence. Nvidia might have cornered the market on training workloads for now, but he believes there's a big opportunity at the inference layer — especially for wearable or similar devices that can become a natural part of our everyday interactions. Here's one small passage that speaks to his larger thesis on where we're heading:"I think why we're seeing so many developers flock to Ollama is because there is a lot of demand from consumers to interact with language models in private ways. And that means that they're going to have to figure out how to get the models to run locally without ever leaving without ever the user's context, and data leaving the user's device. And that's going to result, I think, in a renaissance of new kinds of chips that are capable of handling massive workloads of inference on device."We are yet to see those unlocked, but the good news is that open source models are phenomenal at unlocking efficiency. The open source language model ecosystem is just so ravenous."More from Anjney:The Quest for AGI: Q*, Self-Play, and Synthetic DataMaking the Most of Open Source AISafety in Numbers: Keeping AI OpenInvesting in Luma AIFollow everyone on X:Anjney MidhaDerrick HarrisCheck out everything a16z is doing with artificial intelligence here, including articles, projects, and more podcasts. Stay Updated: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
16 Mai 202440min
How Discord Became a Developer Platform
In 2009 Discord cofounder and CEO, Jason Citron, started building tools and infrastructure for games. Fast forward to today and the platform has over 200 million monthly active users. In this episode, Jason, alongside a16z General Partner Anjney Midha—who merged his company Ubiquity6 with Discord in 2021—shares insights on the nuances of community-driven product development, the shift from gamer to developer, and Discord’s longstanding commitment to platform extensibility. Now, with Discord's recent release of embeddable apps, what can we expect now that it's easier than ever for developers to build? Resources: Find Jason on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jasoncitronFind Anjney on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnjneyMidha Stay Updated: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
10 Mai 202442min
Securing the Black Box: OpenAI, Anthropic, and GDM Discuss
Human nature fears the unknown, and with the rapid progress of AI, concerns naturally arise. Uncanny robocalls, data breaches, and misinformation floods are among the worries. But what about security in the era of large language models?In this episode, we hear from security leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind. Matt Knight, Head of Security at OpenAI, Jason Clinton, CISO at Anthropic, and Vijay Bolina, CISO at Google DeepMind, are joined by Joel de la Garza, operating partner at a16z and former chief security officer at Box and Citigroup.Together, they explore how large language models impact security, including changes in offense and defense strategies, misuse by nation-state actors, prompt engineering, and more. In this changing environment, how do LLMs transform security dynamics? Let's uncover the answers. Resources:Find Joel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/3448827723723234/Find Vijay Bolina on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vijaybolinaFind Jason Clinton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasonDClintonFind Matt Knight on Twitter: https://twitter.com/embeddedsec Stay Updated: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
6 Mai 202459min
Can AI Advance Science? DeepMind's VP of Science Weighs In
In recent years, the AI landscape has seen huge advancements, from the release of Dall-E 2 in April 2022 to the emergence of AI music and video models in early 2024.While creative tools often steal the spotlight, AlphaFold 2 marked a groundbreaking AI breakthrough in biology in 2021. Since its release, this pioneering tool for predicting protein structures has been utilized by over 1.7 million scientists worldwide, influencing fields ranging from genomics to computational chemistry.In this episode, DeepMind's VP of Research for Science, Pushmeet Kohli, and a16z General Partner Vijay Pande discuss the transformative potential of AI in scientific exploration. Can AI lead to fundamentally new discoveries in science? Let's find out. Resources: Find Pushmeet on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushmeetFind Vijay on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vijaypandeLearn more about Google DeepMind: https://deepmind.googleRead DeepMind’s AlphaFold whitepaper: https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/a-glimpse-of-the-next-generation-of-alphafoldRead DeepMind’s AlphaGeometry: https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/alphageometry-an-olympiad-level-ai-system-for-geometryRead DeepMind’s research on new materials: https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/millions-of-new-materials-discovered-with-deep-learning/Read DeepMind’s paper on FunSearch, focused on new discoveries in mathematics: https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/funsearch-making-new-discoveries-in-mathematical-sciences-using-large-language-models Stay Updated: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
1 Mai 202455min
Next-Gen Gaming: AI Souls, Real-time Culture, Personalized Avatars
Over 3,700 companies applied to a16z’s SPEEDRUN. In this episode, we meet the founders pushing the boundaries of what games can be.From the fusion of traditional gaming elements with modern tech-twists, a16z General Partner Andrew Chen and Partner Josh Lu discuss the challenges and wins of creating games that are not only fun but also integrate seamlessly into the digital age, from AI-twins to games that “move at the speed of culture”. Whether you’re a developer, an enthusiast, or just curious about the future of interactive entertainment, this episode provides a glimpse into how today's creators use creativity and technology to captivate.If you're passionate about shaping the future of gaming, consider applying for SPEEDRUN 3.0 at a16z.com/speedrun3. Resources: Submit your SPEEDRUN 3.0 application: https://a16z.com/speedrun-la-2024Find Andrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewchenFind Josh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoshLuLearn more about Avi and Magic Circle: https://twitter.com/aviromanoffLearn more about Lil Snack: https://www.lilsnack.coLearn more about Neon Wild: https://www.neonwild.comLearn more about Open Souls: https://www.opensouls.studioLearn more about Altera: https://altera.al Stay Updated: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
26 Apr 202430min
Why America Must Lead in AI Investment with Senator Young (R-IN)
Senator Todd Young (R-IN) speaks with a16z General Partner Martin Casado about the importance of open innovation and American leadership in AI, and why we need to support AI research at all levels — from the classroom to the war room.In this episode, we distinguish science fiction from science reality in the ever-evolving AI landscape. Resources:Find Senator Todd Young on Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddyounginFind Martin Casado on Twitter: https://twitter.com/martin_casadoWatch the American Dynamism stage talks on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3IqWn1WTo learn more about the American Dynamism Summit, visit our website: a16z.com/ad-summit Stay Updated: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
22 Apr 202424min
Game On: Marc Andreessen & Andrew Chen Talk Creative Computers
The gaming industry stands as a pioneer of cutting-edge technologies, ushering in innovations like GPUs, virtual and augmented reality, physics engines, and immersive multiplayer experiences. In this episode, a16z cofounder Marc Andreessen and Andrew Chen, General Partner at a16z Games, dig into why a16z was compelled to establish a dedicated games fund. They explore the origins of tech pessimism, effective engagement with government in tech, its significance for the gaming community, the ongoing AI revolution, and even what Marc himself would build today if he didn't have his hands full. Recorded as part of a16z's extensive games fund accelerator, SPEEDRUN, this session offers valuable insights for founders and innovators at the intersection of games and technology. If you're passionate about shaping the future of gaming, consider applying for SPEEDRUN 3.0 at a16z.com/speedrun3. Resources: Find Marc on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pmarcaFind Andrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewchenSubmit your SPEEDRUN 3.0 application: https://a16z.com/speedrun-la-2024 Stay Updated: Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
17 Apr 202440min
