EO What Leaving a $50B Company Taught Me About Startups | Articul8, Arun Subramaniyan | EO
Dec 10, 2025
Arun Subramaniyan, Founder and CEO of Articul8 and a former leader in AI at Intel, dives into the challenges and triumphs of entrepreneurship. He shares how leaving a $50 billion company shaped his startup journey, emphasizing the importance of ownership and perseverance. The discussion spans the crowded generative AI landscape, the significance of targeting high-impact use cases, and maintaining balance through personal support. Arun's insights on transforming failures into breakthroughs and democratizing technology for equity spark a compelling dialogue.
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Hire For Hustle And Humility
- Hire people who understand there is no safety net and who can hustle relentlessly.
- Expect to do everything yourself and model humility as a leader in an early startup.
Ownership Is Purposeful Intervention
- Ownership means acting like you can change outcomes even when systems say you can't.
- The dam-building example reframes responsibility as purposeful intervention, not passive acceptance.
Scaling COVID Models That Influenced Policy
- At AWS Arun's team scaled COVID simulations that helped predict California's hospital bed shortage.
- Those simulations contributed to the state's decision to announce the first statewide shutdown.