Nathan Benaich, founder and GP at VC firm Air Street Capital, publishes every year "State of AI", one of the most widely-read and comprehensive reports on all things AI across research, industry, and policy. In this episode, we sit down with Nathan to discuss some of the highlights of the 2024 edition of the report, including the "vibes" shift in the industry from existential risk concerns last year to the current monetization race, the financial success of the foundation model labs, how a generative AI app could top the Apple Store charts in 2025, and the challenges facing humanoid robotics.

State of AI 2024 report: https://www.stateof.ai/2024-report-launch

State of AI 2024 video: https://youtu.be/EVMbnPOuUl0

Air Street Capital

Website - https://www.airstreet.com

X/Twitter - https://x.com/airstreet

Nathan Benaich

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbenaich

X/Twitter - https://x.com/nathanbenaich

FirstMark

Website - https://firstmark.com

X/Twitter - https://twitter.com/FirstMarkCap

Matt Turck (Managing Director)

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/turck/

X/Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattturck

(01:08) Who is Nathan Benaich?

(04:57) "Vibe" shift in AI

(09:13) Current state of the foundation models

(22:01) AI companies vs. SaaS

(23:31) AI consumer apps

(25:49) AI applications from a VC's perspective

(29:25) "You don't need to be an AI engineer to build an AI company"

(30:46) AI in robotics

(34:36) AI regulations in Europe

(40:55) Predictions on the future of AI

(49:30) Nathan Benaich's favorite sources of information