The MAD Podcast with Matt Turck

Renen Hallak, CEO of VAST Data, discusses disrupting the data storage market with AI infrastructure, selling over a billion in software, and technical innovations behind their architecture. Topics include transitioning from storage to databases, working with open source, sales strategy, and Hallak's journey from technical founder to CEO.

Dive into the 2024 MAD landscape with Matt Turck and Aman Kabeer as they discuss open-source AI, market saturation, Gen AI, emerging AI stack, VCs excitement, full-stack AI platforms, modern data stack, and what's next for the MAD Landscape. Gain insights into the evolving AI, machine learning, and data scene with a mix of analysis, industry perspectives, and foresight into the technological future.

Join Morgan McGuire, Chief Scientist at Roblox, as he delves deep into the platform's AI tools, including AI Code Assist, Material Generator, and ControlNet. Learn how Roblox is revolutionizing game creation and democratizing development. Explore the diverse backgrounds of Roblox team members and the collaborative work environment shaping the future of the gaming industry.

Tech industry expert Benedict Evans discusses the future of generative AI, AR/VR landscapes, AI bias issues, and the hype surrounding AGI in 2024. Delve into the platform vs. paradigm shift debate and the hidden problems in data. Explore the Apple Vision Pro and the potential of AR/VR technology.

In this episode, we sit down with Gary Little, CEO of Foursquare, to discuss Foursquare's remarkable evolution from a social app to a leader in location intelligence. Gary discusses how Foursquare uses smartphone ubiquity to create a global map through crowdsourcing, covering 190 countries and over 200 million points of interest. Learn about the challenges of managing complex, real-time datasets and how Foursquare employs machine learning and knowledge graphs to analyze foot traffic and device movements. The conversation also covers the critical role of privacy and data security in location tracking, especially in light of recent regulatory changes. Gary explains Foursquare's platform strategy, drawing parallels with Amazon's AWS, to enable customers to process and utilize location data for their applications. Foursquare Website - https://location.foursquare.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/Foursquare Gary Little (CEO) LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-little-0670ba4 Twitter - https://twitter.com/garylittlefsq FIRSTMARK Website - https://firstmark.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/FirstMarkCap Matt Turck (Managing Director) LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/turck/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattturck (00:00) Intro (01:10) Brief history of Foursquare (03:07) What makes Foursquare's location data unique? (05:17) Foursquare Platform. What is it? (08:07) A glimpse into the future of Foursquare (10:00) More customers want to process the data themselves. Why? (13:42) Data privacy of today vs 10 years ago. What has changed? (16:41) Foursquare Graph: what does it do? (19:17) How is Foursquare utilizing AI? (22:17) How will AR/VR influence location intelligence?

In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of AI art with Cris Valenzuela, CEO of Runway. Runway is a generative AI startup that co-invented Stable Diffusion, the deep learning technology that has captured the attention of the creative industry, including luminaries such as ASAP Rocky and Madonna's teams, by pushing the boundaries of digital creativity. We explore how generative AI tools empower visual artists to unleash their imaginations without the need for Hollywood-size budgets. We also discuss the effect of AI on the entire creative industry, similar to how the camera changed things back in the day. Join us for a glimpse into the future of creativity. RUNWAY Website - https://runwayml.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/runwayml Cris Valenzuela (Co-founder & CEO) LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cvalenzuelab Twitter - https://twitter.com/c_valenzuelab FIRSTMARK Website - https://firstmark.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/FirstMarkCap Matt Turck (Managing Director) LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/turck/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattturck Foursquare Website - https://location.foursquare.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/Foursquare (00:00) Intro (00:55) What is Runway? (03:09) Runway started before the GenAI boom. How? (04:41) What do people get wrong about GenAI? (07:18) How AI is going to change creative software? (08:44) What is Gen-2? (12:02) Runway's role in creating Stable Diffusion (14:25) Gen-1: a model or a product? (15:11) Runway's evolution from image generation to video (18:18) Runway partnered with Getty. Why? (19:52) How has the AI video generation ecosystem evolved? (21:58) Adoption cyсle for AI video generation. Where are we now? (24:45) Challenges of building a research-focused company (26:25) How to build and maintain a soul in a startup? (28:27) "It's like an invention of new art form" -

Exploring the world of enterprise AI with Dataiku's CEO, Florian Douetteau. Discussing the differences between traditional AI and generative AI, emerging uses cases in the enterprise, and Dataiku's LLM Mesh breakthrough. Addressing challenges in adopting AI, from managing costs to uncertainties. Recorded live at Data Driven NYC event.

In this episode, we sit down with Bob Moore, the CEO of Crossbeam, who turned a $2.6 billion mistake into a masterclass on Ecosystem-Led Growth (ELG). Fresh off publishing his new book, Bob shares why ELG is the future of business growth, challenging traditional strategies with data-driven insights and partnerships. Bob reveals how Crossbeam can help companies of any size leverage ELG to achieve remarkable growth. He dives into the role of data in ELG, the impact of AI on marketing, and practical steps for implementing ELG in your own company. From discussing the "slow heat death" of traditional growth strategies to unveiling the potential of data-driven partnerships, this episode is packed with eye-opening revelations. Bob also tackles the practical steps companies can take to implement ELG, making this a must-watch for CEOs, leaders, and entrepreneurs aiming to catapult their businesses into a new era of growth. Book: https://www.amazon.com/Ecosystem-Led-Growth-Blueprint-Marketing-Partnerships/dp/1394226837 Crossbeam Website - https://www.crossbeam.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/crossbeam Bob Moore LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertjmoore/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/robertjmoore FirstMark Website - https://firstmark.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/FirstMarkCap Matt Turck (Managing Director) LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/turck/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattturck (00:00) Intro (00:43) Bob recently wrote a book. Why did he do that as a CEO? (03:20) Bob's $2.6 billion mistake (12:15) What is ELG? (17:30) How does Crossbeam work? (20:51) Why do we need another type of go-to-market motion? (25:00) AI is killing inbound/outbound marketing (31:50) Applying ELG to your company (36:13) When should you do ELG and partnerships? (43:34) Outro

In this episode, we sat down with Emi Gal, founder and CEO of Ezra, a startup that leverages AI to detect cancer early and inexpensively. Emi provides insights into the landscape of the healthcare sector and talks about the differences between building an AI startup in healthcare versus SaaS. Turns out that "(In AI skills)... are not that transferable." EZRA Website - https://ezra.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/ezrainc Emi Gal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/emigal Twitter - https://twitter.com/emigal FIRSTMARK Website - https://firstmark.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/FirstMarkCap Matt Turck (Managing Director) LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/turck/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattturck (00:00) Intro (01:50) Ezra raised $21 million in series B round (02:55) The origin of Ezra (06:06) Sourcing AI talent (06:52) Building a proof of concept (09:05) The tipping point for the product market fit (10:57) Y Combinator wants more MRI startups. Why? (11:37) Ezra's vision for MRI (13:25) Is it covered by insurance? (16:15) Full stack vs Software only (20:00) Training AI (22:55) Building an MRI database (25:45) Will radiologists get replaced by AI? (27:52) Creating reports with Generative AI (30:50) Can we trust AI in healthcare? (33:44) What are the specific challenges of building an AI startup? (39:01) Healthcare entrepreneurship (43:59) Staying fit as a CEO: Emi's mental and physical health routine (48:28) Plans for 2024

In this episode, we sat down with Des Traynor, co-founder of Intercom, to explore the seismic shift towards Artificial Intelligence in customer service software. Intercom has gone all-in to embrace AI as people's expectations of what chatbots can do started growing with the release of ChatGPT. Des shares the pivotal moments and strategic decisions that led to this transition, highlighting the urgency and vision that propelled Intercom to integrate AI into their core offerings. Des also delves into the challenges of building a bicontinental startup and the strategic pivot towards becoming an AI-first company. Tune in for an enlightening discussion on the strategy and journey of adapting AI. INTERCOM Website - https://www.intercom.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/intercom Des Traynor LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/destraynor/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/destraynor FIRSTMARK Website - https://firstmark.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/FirstMarkCap Matt Turck (Managing Director) LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/turck/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattturck (00:00) Intro (01:16) How did Intercom make a transition to a generative AI product (Fin)? (05:34) Did the Intercom manifesto play a role in the transition? (07:16) What was the Intercom before Fin? (09:01) How much development effort did you spend on AI? (12:31) UX (15:20) People used to hate chatbots (17:51) GPT and building layers around it (20:50) The future of customer service (23:57) GPT-4/Llama/Mistral/Claude (25:58) Are multimodal AI-bots the future? (27:08) AI-hallucination (30:11) Customization (34:34) Will Fin get a voice? (36:26) Customer support cost and impact on profitability (39:58) How much should you charge? (45:26) AI-bot resolution rate (46:43) Can bots take action? (48:40) AI-adoption (51:14) How the Intercom team evolve (53:38) How did 4 Irish guys create a bi-continental startup? (56:17) Work distribution (58:38) Tech in Europe vs tech in the US