The MAD Podcast with Matt Turck cover image

The MAD Podcast with Matt Turck

Can AI Infrastructure Work Like Magic? | Erik Bernhardsson, CEO, Modal

Oct 31, 2024
Erik Bernhardsson, CEO of Modal and former Spotify developer, shares insights on transforming the AI infrastructure landscape. He discusses the shift from training to inference as a primary focus and highlights Modal's goal of simplifying the developer experience. Erik explains the challenges of GPU accessibility and the emergence of specialized AI cloud providers. He also envisions a future filled with AI-native consumer applications, emphasizing the importance of creating products that developers love and efficient feedback loops.
56:07

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Erik Bernhardsson highlights Modal's focus on simplifying the developer experience by abstracting infrastructure complexities for AI and data projects.
  • The podcast emphasizes the shift in the AI industry from training to inference as the primary use case for platforms like Modal.

Deep dives

Overview of Modal Labs and AI Compute Layer

Modal Labs is a serverless platform targeted at AI engineers, facilitating the building, scaling, and deployment of applications in the data, AI, and machine learning domains. The platform abstracts the complexities of infrastructure, allowing users to focus solely on their code without worrying about GPU management or cloud vendors. Eric Bernhardsen, the CEO, emphasizes that their primary use case is in modal inference, with users utilizing the platform for various applications, including batch jobs and large-scale video encodings. Furthermore, the discussion touches on recent developments in alternative cloud providers that focus specifically on GPU accessibility, showcasing the evolving landscape of the AI compute environment.

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