When startups should control their AI models

In this episode of How I AI, I sit down with Leon Kuperman, CTO and Co-Founder of CAST AI, right after his keynote at the Miami AI Summit during Art Basel Week.

Leon brings over 20 years of experience across software engineering, cybersecurity, and infrastructure at scale. After selling his first company to Oracle, he now focuses on one of the most overlooked forces shaping the AI economy: how efficiently we run what we build.

If you’re building with AI, scaling a product, or trying to understand what’s really happening under the hood of the modern cloud stack, this episode will change how you think about growth. 

Topics we cover:

• What Kubernetes actually is and why it matters for AI-powered products
• How workload rightsizing reduces cloud waste, energy use, and spend
• Why cloud overprovisioning has become an industry-wide problem
• How startup velocity is increasing with smaller, more technical teams
• When founders should stop relying on third-party AI APIs
• Why security and compliance must be built in from day one
• What Application Performance Automation (APA) unlocks in 2026

Tools, Platforms, and References Mentioned:

• Coursera (machine learning foundations)
• CAST AI Kubernetes Cost Benchmark Report
• Kubernetes
• AWS startup credits
• Google Cloud Platform startup programs
• Microsoft Azure startup programs
• PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)
• Amazon Rufus (AI-assisted shopping agent)
• The Lean Startup (book)

Who this episode is for:

• Founders building or scaling AI-powered products
• CTOs, engineers, and technical leaders running cloud workloads
• Startups navigating cloud costs and infrastructure decisions
• Operators focused on efficiency, margins, and sustainability
• Anyone curious about how AI actually runs behind the scenes

Learn more about CAST AI:

• Website: cast.ai
• Trust & Security: trust.cast.ai
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cast-ai/

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"How I AI" is a concept and podcast series created and produced by Brooke Gramer of EmpowerFlow Strategies LLC. All rights reserved.