Clem Delangue, CEO of Hugging Face, shares his insights as a leader in AI model hosting. He argues against a few dominant foundation model companies, envisioning a future filled with specialized AI models from myriad developers. The conversation dives into the balance of open-source versus proprietary systems, discussing how Hugging Face facilitates collaboration and innovation. Clem also highlights the need for a diverse ecosystem to enhance accessibility and safety in AI, reflecting on the evolving landscape and its impact on software entrepreneurship.

Clem Delangue is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Hugging Face, the AI community building the future. To date, Clem has raised over $160M from the likes of Sequoia, Coatue, Addition and Lux Capital to name a few. Prior to Hugging Face, Clem was in product and marketing at two different startups both of which were acquired. In Today's Episode with Clem Delangue: 1. From Tamagotchi to Leading the World of AI: How did a Tamagotchi startup turn into one of the hottest AI startups in the world? What does Clem know now that he wishes he had known when he started? What are Clem's biggest pieces of advice to founders on pivoting? 2. AI: Trend or Transformation: To what extent does Clem believe the current hype in AI is justified? What is overblown? What have been some true and groundbreaking developments? How far away does Clem believe AGI is? What is a massive misconception the public has that Clem wishes he could change? 3. Open vs Closed: Which Model Wins: Why does Clem believe the future of AI will be won by open-source? What is his reasoning to suggest closed is fundamentally a weaker model? Does Clem acknowledge that in the short term, enterprises will buy from a closed model with greater ease? How does he plan to tackle this? 4. Regulation: What Happens Now: What regulatory changes need to be made in the world of AI most urgently? Is Elon Musk right to suggest the immediate pausing of developments in AI? What does Clem believe to be the most likely scenario to AI regulation in the next 12 months? 5. Fundraising: Lessons and Reflection on Raising $160M: Do AI startups fundamentally cost more money than normal startups to build? Why does Clem not meet investors in between rounds? What does Clem believe is the most helpful thing an investor can do? What are Clem's spiciest takes on venture as a financing model?

One of the core questions in AI and investing today; who wins, startups or incumbents? Startups have speed and innovation but incumbents have scale, resources, and distribution? Today we hear from 6 leading investors and founders discussing where they place their bets who has the advantage; startups or incumbents? Emad Mostaque is CEO @ StabilityAI, the parent company of Stable Diffusion. To date, Emad has raised over $110M with Stability with the latest round reportedly pricing the company at $4BN.  Yann LeCun is VP & Chief AI Scientist at Meta and Professor at NYU. He was the founding Director of FAIR and of the NYU Center for Data Science. Clem Delangue is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Hugging Face, the AI community building the future. Clem has raised over $160M from the likes of Sequoia, Coatue, Addition and Lux Capital to name a few. Sarah Guo is the Founding Partner @ Conviction Capital, a $100M first fund purpose-built to serve “Software 3.0” companies. Prior to founding Conviction, Sarah was a General Partner at Greylock. Vince Hankes is a Partner @ Thrive Capital where he has led the firm’s investments in OpenAI, Melio, and Airplane.dev. Prior to Thrive, Vince learned the craft of venture from Lee Fixel @ Tiger. Tomasz Tunguz is the Founder and General Partner @ Theory Ventures, a $230M fund that invests $1-25m in companies that leverage technology discontinuities into go-to-market advantages. The Question of the Day: Who wins? Startups or Incumbents?

Clem Delangue, Co-founder and CEO of Hugging Face, discusses how his company has transformed from a chatbot project to a $4.5B platform for open-source AI, highlighting its role in fostering community collaboration. He delves into the shifting dynamics of AI, comparing the approaches of the U.S. and China. The conversation touches on the evolution of AI modalities beyond text, the importance of company culture, and innovative hiring practices that prioritize teamwork. Clem also shares insights on the future of customized AI solutions and the impact of investment in emerging technologies.

After starting as a talking emoji companion, Hugging Face is now an organizing force for the open source AI research ecosystem. Its models are used by companies such as Apple, Salesforce and Microsoft, and it's working to become the GitHub for ML.This week on the podcast, Sarah Guo and Elad Gil talk to Clem Delangue, co-founder and CEO of Hugging Face. Clem shares how they shifted away from their original product, why every employee at Hugging Face is responsible for community-building, the modalities he's most interested in, and what role open source has in the AI race.Show Links: Hugging Face website The $2 Billion Emoji: Hugging Face Wants To Be Launchpad For A Machine Learning Revolution - Forbes Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.comFollow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @ClementDelangueShow Notes: [01:53] - how Clem first became interested in ML, being shouted at by eBay sellers, and the foretelling of the end of barcode scanning[3:34] - early iterations of Hugging Face, trying to make a less boring AI tamagotchi, and switching directions towards open source tools[5:36] - advice for founders considering a change in direction, 30%+ experimentation[7:39] - 1st users, MLTwitter, approach to community[10:47] - enterprise ML maturity, days to production[12:54] - open source vs. proprietary models[15:56] - main model tasks, architectures and sizes[19:12] - decentralized infrastructure, data opt out[24:16] - Hugging Face’s business model, GitHub[28:09] - What Clem is excited about in AI