The MAD Podcast with Matt Turck

Nathan Lambert and Luca Soldaini from AI2 dive into the groundbreaking OLMo 3 release, showcasing their approach to open-source AI with full transparency. They discuss the significance of releasing comprehensive model data and the distinction between base, instruct, and thinking models. The conversation highlights the impact of Meta's retreat from the open-source space, leading to the rise of Chinese models. Nathan and Luca also explore the challenges of reasoning in AI, emphasizing the need for U.S. innovation and broader engagement in shaping AI's future.

Eiso Kant, Co-CEO and co-founder of Poolside, discusses groundbreaking advancements in AI infrastructure at Project Horizon, a massive initiative in West Texas. He emphasizes the importance of owning energy and compute resources over relying on hyperscalers. Eiso also explains his pioneering work on Reinforcement Learning to Learn (RL2L), which aims to decode web behaviors, and how continuous learning can enhance AI capabilities. Additionally, he outlines Poolside’s unique hiring strategy and its commitment to community impact through sustainable practices.

Join Nathan Benaich, Founder of Air Street Capital and author of the insightful State of AI report, as he unpacks the current AI landscape. He reveals that power, not GPUs, is becoming the critical bottleneck for AI advancement. Discover how reasoning models are revolutionizing science and the shift from theoretical to practical robotics. Nathan also discusses the real revenue flow in the AI sector, examines NVIDIA's dominance versus custom chips, and shares his investment predictions in fields like biology and defense.

Julian Schrittwieser, a senior AI researcher at Anthropic and former member of DeepMind's AlphaGo team, discusses the exponential growth in AI capabilities. He highlights potential breakthroughs in AI, predicting agents could work autonomously by 2026 and possibly achieve Nobel-level discoveries by 2027-2028. Julian delves into the integration of pre-training and reinforcement learning, challenges in AI alignment, and the importance of broader access in tech. He emphasizes gradual productivity gains and the effects on jobs in various sectors.

Join Jerry Tworek, VP of Research at OpenAI, as he dives into the fascinating world of AI reasoning. Discover how GPT-5 evolves from earlier models, emphasizing the crucial roles of pretraining and reinforcement learning. Jerry explains the mechanics of chain-of-thought reasoning, the significance of agentic tools like Codex, and the importance of robust collaboration in research. He even shares insights from his personal journey from math and trading to cutting-edge AI research. Could pretraining combined with RL be key to achieving AGI? Tune in to find out!

Sholto Douglas, AI researcher at Anthropic and former Google engineer, delves into the innovations of Claude Sonnet 4.5, claiming we're mere years away from AI matching human capabilities. He explains how reinforcement learning has suddenly made a breakthrough and how agents can maintain coherence during long coding sessions. Sholto also discusses the cultural differences across major AI labs, Anthropic's focused approach to coding, and the profound implications of AI's upcoming exponential progress, especially in economics and robotics.

Eléonore Crespo, Co-CEO of Pigment, is at the forefront of revolutionizing financial management with her $400 million AI platform. She discusses how Pigment enhances decision-making for companies like Coca-Cola and Uber using its innovative three-agent system. Eléonore argues that Excel will remain relevant, primarily as a user interface, and explains her choice to build from Paris. She highlights the potential for AI to create more CFO positions, making the case for a future where enterprises become increasingly autonomous.

Cristóbal Valenzuela, CEO & Co-Founder of Runway, dives into the revolutionary changes AI is bringing to the filmmaking landscape. He discusses the meteoric rise of AI film festivals, with submissions soaring from 300 to 6,000. Cristóbal highlights how Hollywood is increasingly adopting AI technologies, transforming storytelling and production. He also explores the balance between human creativity and accessible AI tools, emphasizing the evolving narrative possibilities in an AI-driven future.

Chris Pedregal, Co-founder and CEO of Granola, shares insights from transforming a simple idea into a favored AI tool for meeting notes. He discusses the power of community feedback, the importance of simplicity in design, and the lessons learned from onboarding users. With a focus on privacy and productivity, he reveals their tech stack choices and future plans, including dynamic documents and an AI coach. He also touches on the benefits of building an AI startup in London, highlighting local talent and a unique approach to product development.

Boris Cherny, creator of Claude Code at Anthropic, shares the fascinating journey of transforming a simple productivity tool into a $400 million AI coding powerhouse. He discusses how Claude Code uses an innovative terminal approach, enabling AI to plan, edit, and manage coding projects efficiently. Cherny reveals stories of drastically reduced onboarding times and highlights Claude's user-friendly design, making powerful coding accessible for non-coders. The conversation dives into the evolving role of AI in coding, advocating for a balanced partnership between humans and intelligent tools.