Startup Field Guide by Unusual Ventures: The Product Market Fit Podcast

MosaicML’s Naveen Rao on building an edge in AI infrastructure

Nov 27, 2023

Naveen Rao, co-founder of MosaicML and head of Generative AI at Databricks, shares insights on building AI infrastructure. Topics include the future of foundation model companies, open source approach, early adopters, feedback impact, Databricks acquisition, AI ecosystem evolution, and importance of open source in AI regulation.

43:41

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Episode guests

Naveen Rao

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Success in foundation models requires unique use cases and beating competitors like OpenAI.

Mosaic ML focuses on customizing models over model building, prioritizing problem-solving and industry traction.

Deep dives

Challenging Foundation Model Companies

Beating OpenAI and having a unique use case is crucial for success in the foundation model field. Mosaic ML focuses on the value of customizing models rather than just model building, emphasizing problem-solving over mere technology creation.

Introduction

2min

Evolution of AI Chip Strategy and the Importance of Making Technology Accessible

14min

Early Days of Mosaic ML and User Adoption Surprises

9min

Reflections on Company Acquisitions and Consideration of Databricks' Offer

6min

Exploring the Future of AI Infrastructure and Ecosystem Evolution

3min

Navigating AI Regulation and Startup Challenges

10min

MosaicML is the developer of open source infrastructure for training LLMs. The company was acquired by Databricks for $1.3 billion in July 2023. and has gone from 0 to over $30M in revenue this year in just 6 months.

In this episode, Sandhya Hegde and Wei Lien Dang chat with Naveen Rao, co-founder of MosaicML and now the head of Generative AI at Databricks

Join us as we discuss:

00:00 Preview: Future of foundation model companies

2:16 How Naveen’s previous experiences led to MosaicML

7:29 The core insight behind the founding of MosaicML

9:52 MosaicML’s approach to building an end-to-end platform

12:09 Why MosaicML focused on open models and LLMs

14:25 Why most foundation model companies will fail

15:52 How MosaicML found early adopters

18:14 Early use cases for MosaicML’s product

21:27 Impact of early feedback on MosaicML’s product roadmap

25:21 Why Naveen decided to move ahead with the Databricks acquisition

31:44 How Naveen sees the AI ecosystem evolving

34:08 Regulation of AI and the importance of open source

41:15 Advice for founding building AI infrastructure

Sandhya Hegde is a General Partner at Unusual Ventures, leading investments in modern SaaS companies with a focus on AI. Previously an early executive at Amplitude, Sandhya is a product-led growth (PLG) coach and mentor.

Wei Lien Dang is a General Partner at Unusual Ventures and leads investments in infrastructure software, security, and developer tool. Wei was a co-founder of StackRox, a cloud-native security company prior to its acquisition by Red Hat.

Naveen Rao is the co-founder of MosaicML (now a Databricks company) and currently the head of Generative AI at Databricks

Unusual Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm designed from the ground up to give a distinct advantage to founders building the next generation of software companies. Unusual has invested in category-defining companies like Webflow, Arctic Wolf Networks, Carta, Robinhood, and Harness. Learn more about us at https://www.unusual.vc/.

Further reading from Unusual Ventures:

Starting an open source company

Open source customer development

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