Gennady Pekhimenko is the CEO and Co-Founder of CentML.

Gennady is also an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and a Faculty Member at Vector Institute.

Takeaways

• Genesis of CentML - from academia to industry
• Commercializing university research
• Tailwinds behind AI and market opportunities
• Three Pillars of AI - models, data and hardware
• Enterprise adoption of AI - trends and insights
• The future of AI models - commoditization vs. innovation
• Raising $30M+ from Gradient Ventures, Radical Ventures, Deloitte Ventures, Nvidia, Thomson Reuters Ventures and more
• Attracting talent - competitive AI job market
• The UofT AI talent pool with Geoff Hinton, Raquel Urtasun, Aidan Gomez and many more
• What the federal government should do with the $2.4B in AI funding
• Why compute in Canada is critical to our AI success
• The role of Vector Institute
• Personal growth as a CEO and constantly learning

Chapters

00:00 The Genesis of CentML: A Journey Through Academia and Industry

04:31 Commercializing University Research: The Builder Mindset

07:47 The Tailwinds of AI: Market Opportunities and Challenges

11:01 Three Pillars of AI: Models, Data, and Hardware

15:19 Enterprise Adoption of AI: Trends and Insights

18:37 The Future of AI Models: Commoditization vs. Innovation

21:46 Building a Flexible and Scalable AI Business

25:35 Attracting Talent: Competing in the AI Job Market

29:06 The Power of Networking: The Toronto AI Ecosystem

32:11 Government Initiatives: Building AI Infrastructure in Canada

37:42 AI Adoption in Enterprises: A Gradual Shift

40:57 Personal Growth: The Journey of a Startup CEO

Keywords

CentML, AI, machine learning, commercialization, university research, enterprise adoption, AI infrastructure, talent acquisition, Toronto AI ecosystem, government initiatives