Inference by Turing Post When Will Inference Feel Like Electricity? Lin Qiao, co-founder & CEO of Fireworks AI
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Aug 23, 2025 
In this engaging conversation, Lin Qiao, co-founder and CEO of Fireworks AI and former head of PyTorch at Meta, shares her insights on the current AI landscape. She discusses the unexpected perils of achieving product-market fit in generative AI and the hidden costs of GPU usage. Lin highlights that 2025 may see the rise of AI agents across many sectors. She also delves into the pros and cons of open versus closed AI models, especially regarding innovations from Chinese labs. Finally, she shares her personal journey of overcoming fears.
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Product-Market Fit Can Break You
- Generative AI products can achieve product-market fit but still be unscalable due to high GPU costs.
- Lin Qiao says hitting product-market fit can be the beginning of bankruptcy for GenAI startups.
The Alignment Gap Between Models And Apps
- Foundation models and application product data follow different distributions and goals.
- Lin Qiao identifies this misalignment as the root cause of accuracy and latency gaps in production.
Treat Inference As Its Own Product
- Focus on inference as a distinct product area because it scales with users, not researchers.
- Lin Qiao recommends optimizing inference specifically to capture its massive potential and production requirements.