A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

He built Cohere into a $5.5B AI startup; How to Win in AI; & Why LLMs won't lead to AGI. | Nick Frosst, Co-Founder of Cohere

Sep 9, 2024

Nick Frosst, co-founder of the $5.5B AI startup Cohere, shares insights from his journey in the enterprise AI landscape. He argues that while large language models (LLMs) are powerful, they won't achieve artificial general intelligence. Nick emphasizes the importance of solving real problems rather than leveraging AI for its own sake and considers ChatGPT a UI/UX revolution. He offers advice for founders about navigating intense competition and the need for a niche to thrive in the AI ecosystem.

46:42

Episode guests

Nick Frosst

AI Summary

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Nick Frosst emphasizes that while large language models are powerful, they have significant limitations and will not lead to artificial general intelligence.

Founders are advised to manage emotional stress effectively, recognizing that personal resilience is crucial in navigating the entrepreneurial journey.

Cohere distinguishes itself in the AI market by focusing on enterprise solutions that address specific business needs rather than pursuing broader consumer applications.

Deep dives

Skepticism Towards AGI Development

There is a strong belief that developing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is not an immediate goal and might not even be desired. The speaker expresses that while the advancements in AI technology are exciting, there is skepticism about the need for computers to emulate human-like intelligence. They emphasize that current models are primarily sequence models that predict words based on training data. This indicates a recognition of the limitations of current AI technology and a focus on practical applications rather than pursuing the elusive goal of AGI.

Intro

2min

Evolution of AI and Language Models

14min

Navigating the Competitive Landscape of Large Language Models

2min

Enterprise-Centric AI Solutions: Maximizing Data Utility and Security

3min

Navigating the Nuances of Open Source AI Technologies

2min

Navigating the Landscape of Language Models in Business

21min

The Founder’s Emotional Rollercoaster

3min

In this episode, I sit down with Nick Frosst, Co-Founder of Cohere, the $5.5B AI startup that’s targeting the enterprise landscape.

We go through the origin story of Cohere, the challenges of building foundational models, and why he believes large language models (LLMs) won’t lead to artificial general intelligence (AGI). We also explore the fierce competition in AI, what sets Cohere apart, and Nick’s advice for founders building in AI today.

Why you should listen

LLMs are powerful but have clear limitations and won't lead to AGI.
Why AI startups need to start with real problems vs leveraging AI for its own sake
Why ChatGPT was as much of a UI/UX revolution than a technological one
What tech founders need to do to win in AI

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Intro
(00:03:21) AI Expectations
(00:06:05) A Unique and New Moment
(00:09:38) Resource Intensive Industry
(00:12:03) Zero to One
(00:15:07) Base Language Model to Chat Model
(00:17:15) Carving Out a Niche
(00:21:03) Open Source
(00:24:00) The Limits of LLMs
(00:26:18) Agents
(00:29:30) AGI
(00:34:04) A Little Bit of Data
(00:39:05) Speed of Development
(00:40:47) Finding True Product Market Fit
(00:43:37) One Piece of Advice