a16z Podcast From Research to Startup, There and Back Again
6 snips
Jul 21, 2022 
John Hennessy, a Turing Award-winning computer scientist and chairman of Alphabet, shares insights from his journey between academia and startups. He discusses the transformative 'Stanford model' fostering innovation in Silicon Valley and the challenges of moving groundbreaking technology like RISC to industry. Hennessy emphasizes the need for humility and ambition in leadership and critiques the current higher education system. Reflecting on the evolving tech landscape, he highlights the importance of interdisciplinary education and the shifting dynamics of academia versus industry.
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Turing Award for RISC
- John Hennessy and Dave Patterson won the Turing Award for their work on RISC.
- This work reshaped the computer industry, particularly with the rise of mobile and IoT.
RISC explained
- RISC uses a simpler vocabulary, like clear English sentences.
- This allows faster execution compared to complex instructions.
MIPS Technologies founding
- Hennessy co-founded MIPS Technologies to bring RISC to market.
- He was a reluctant entrepreneur, expecting industry adoption, but realized he had to push for it.
