
The Delphi Podcast
Conversations with Crypto Gigabrains. Hosted by Tommy, Co-Founder and Founding Partner at Delphi Ventures
Latest episodes

Jul 24, 2023 • 39min
Jesse Pollak: Coinbase Launches Base - An Ethereum L2 Accessible To 100 Million Coinbase Users
Podcast description
In this episode we talk to Jesse Pollak, Head of Protocols at Coinbase where he leads the development of Base, Coinbase’s L2 built on the OP Stack. Prior to leading Protocols, he led retail engineering at Coinbase for many years, building Coinbase, Coinbase Pro, and Coinbase Wallet.
We explore how Base went from idea to product inside of Coinbase, how Base and Coinbase will reconcile their differences in technical and social centralization, how Base compares to other solutions, and much more.
If you enjoy the podcast, please follow us on Spotify and rate us 5 stars on Apple Podcasts.
Socials
Jesse Pollak
Base
Tommy’s Twitter
Follow Delphi Digital
Subscribe to Delphi Digital: https://members.delphidigital.io/home
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Delphi_Digital
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@Delphi_Digital
Disclosures: This conversation is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or investment advice. Actual results may vary materially from any forward looking statements made and are subject to risks and uncertainties.
Chapters:
(0:00) - Introduction
(0:58) - History of Base
(7:47) - Base vs other L2 blockchains
(12:50) - Reconciling Coinbase and Base’s differences
(16:08) - Why L2?
(20:47) - ZK rollups vs OP stack
(29:16) - Growing the Base ecosystem
(30:42) - Coinbase’s neutrality framework
(32:23) - Base and Coinbase are complementary
(34:27) - Base vs other CEX blockchains

Jun 22, 2023 • 46min
Andriy Mulyar: The AI Trailblazer Making Personal ChatGPT a Reality With GPT4ALL
In this episode, we discuss the impact of AI with Andriy Mulyar, co-founder of AtlasAI and creator of GPT4All. We explore how running local private language models can provide competitive benefits over using public models like ChatGPT without confidential data. Additionally, we delve into the importance of embeddings in AI and their potential impact on understanding data semantically. Finally, Andriy shares his thoughts on crypto/AI overlap, specifically focusing on data provenance as a key area for collaboration.
Socials
Andriy’s Twitter
GPT4ALL
AtlasAI
Tommy’s Twitter
Follow Delphi Digital
Website: https://members.delphidigital.io/home
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Delphi_Digital
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Delphi_Digital
Disclosures
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed here.

Jun 13, 2023 • 55min
Emad Mostaque: Stability AI's Open Source Models To Drive Human Potential vs OpenAI’s One Model To Rule Them All
In this episode of the Delphi podcast, host Tommy interviews Emad, the CEO of Stability.ai, an open source AI company dedicated to democratizing access to AI tech. Emad explains how his company handles the rapidly evolving field of AI and machine learning, including their curation filtering priority setting process and the importance of building all types of models. The discussion also touches on the potential threat of artificial general intelligence to humanity.
[00:01:32] Artificial General Intelligence.
[00:04:11] Misaligned AI and ISIS.
[00:07:26] Need for decentralization in AI.
[00:11:17] Optimizing data for aligned AI.
[00:13:46] Culture-specific AI models.
[00:17:53] Standardized models for intelligence.
[00:21:19] OpenAI's objectives and actions.
[00:24:07] AGI vs. productivity.
[00:30:07] The era of big models.
[00:30:51] AI's mind-boggling compression.
[00:36:37] Education with AI tablets.
[00:38:31] AI's emergent behavior.
[00:41:02] AI and Government Control.
[00:44:53] New definition of intelligence.
[00:48:45] The AI Bubble.
[00:52:23] Impact of AI on economy.
Socials
Emad's Twitter
Tommy's Twitter
Recent Articles to Note
Forbes article against Stability.AI
Emad's Response
Disclosures
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed here.
Keywords
Stability.ai, open source AI, machine learning, text to image AI, artificial general intelligence.,AGI, dangers, AIs, humans, fake news,AI, education, healthcare, productivity gains, unemployment, panopticon, centralized control, propaganda, metaverse, regulations, government control, decentralization, distribution, Internet 2.,Google, Microsoft, Meta, AI, China Social Credit Score System.,entity, alignment, national models, data sets, AGI.,information rails, Reddit, structured data sets, AI, business model,data center, cloud, partnerships, revenue, open auditable AI,Google Search, standardized models, primitive building blocks, custom model creation, Amazon SageMaker.,models, business, culture, library, AGI,education, healthcare, AGI, automation, open source A.I.,Amazon, supercomputer, petaflops, ranking, infrastructure.,technology, deals, GPUs, super compute, partners,stable diffusion, clusters, optimization, speed, size,language, AI, productivity, scalability, data,GPT-4, compute, training, language models, productivity increase.,supercomputer, AI, training, terrorism, model weights,Iran, nuclear weapon, technology, AI, government.,GPUs, data, compute, intelligence, deep learning,protests, deep learning models, AGI, swarm intelligence, AI bubble,investing, business model, AI, finance, moats,AI startups, SaaS revenue, exit, Stability, Web3 chains, infrastructure, consolidation waves, CACLTVs, open side, production models.

Jun 9, 2023 • 57min
RISC Zero’s Brian Retford: Zero Knowledge Returns Trust To The World and Interplay of ZK and AI
We sit down with Brian Retford, founder of RISC Zero, to discuss the vision and potential of zero-knowledge (ZK) technology and its impact on the world. ZK technology, although currently in its early stages and with high costs, has the potential to fundamentally change trust assumptions and enable privacy and scalability.
RISC Zero's thesis is centered around making cloud computing universally accessible, privacy-focused, and owned by users. By removing barriers imposed by profit-driven cloud players, RISC Zero aims to create an open marketplace for automation and cloud services, challenging the dominance of a few companies in the industry.
The conversation delved into the technical aspects of RISC Zero, such as the zkVM (zero-knowledge virtual machine) and its applications. The zkVM allows developers to write programs in various languages and generate proofs to verify their intended execution. RISC Zero targets a wide range of use cases, both within and beyond the blockchain space, aiming to automate manual processes, enhance trust, and ensure privacy. They also discussed Bonsai, an L2 network running on the zkVM, which enables seamless integration of ZK proofs into various blockchain protocols.
The podcast explored the interplay between ZK technology and artificial intelligence (AI), highlighting how ZK can serve as a check on automation and support authenticity, privacy, and generative art. While acknowledging the mathematical complexities involved in ZK, Brian emphasized RISC Zero's goal of making it accessible and user-friendly, allowing users to focus on the possibilities it offers rather than the underlying intricacies. The AI angle was discussed in terms of leveraging ZK to enable new forms of social networking that emphasize privacy and individual responsibility.
In conclusion, the podcast provided insights into RISC Zero's mission to democratize cloud computing, the potential of ZK technology to revolutionize trust assumptions, and the broad range of applications enabled by the zkVM. The conversation also touched on the future implications of ZK in AI, identity and privacy. RISC Zero aims to overcome the challenges of ZK adoption and create a more open and accessible computing landscape.
This summary was written with the help of ChatGPT.
Social Links
Brian Retford
Risk Zero
Tommy Shaughnessy
Follow Delphi Digital
Website: https://members.delphidigital.io/home
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Delphi_Digital
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Delphi_Digital
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed here.
Additional disclosure: Delphi Ventures is invested in RISC Zero.

Jun 6, 2023 • 1h 6min
Jake Brukhman: Is ChatGPT Alive, OpenAI vs Stability AI’s Approaches to Avoid Killer Terminators, and Scanning Eyeballs with Worldcoin
In this captivating episode of the podcast, we are joined by Jake Brukhman, an expert in OpenAI and large language models (LLMs), to discuss the interplay between AI and crypto. We dive into various thought-provoking topics, starting with the concept of moats in AI and whether they are sustainable in the long term. Jake shares his insights on the limits of LLMs and their future, highlighting their impressive ability to continue text but also shedding light on their inherent limitations.
We then explore the intriguing dynamics between established tech giants like Microsoft and Apple and the disruptive potential of AI. Jake shares his perspective on how these incumbents (and OpenAI) may leverage their massive distribution channels and data to maintain their dominance in the AI space. The conversation takes an interesting turn as we discuss OpenAI's cautious approach towards AI progress and their concerns about its potential dangers, contrasting with Stability.AI's more adventurous perspective.
Delving into the intersection of crypto and AI, Jake provides valuable insights into the current and future possibilities of AI technology in the crypto landscape. From there, we move into fascinating discussions on far-fetched AI ideas, the potential of AI-driven crypto projects, Paradigm's transition to a Crypto and AI fund, and the intriguing concept of Worldcoin's solution for sybil resistance.
Finally, we explore the impact of AI on the traditional job market and the potential for unlocking a greater form of humanity. Jake reflects on his past predictions in the AI field, sharing what he got wrong and how his views have evolved over the years. Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking conversation with Jake Brukhman, where we explore the fascinating world of AI and its interplay with crypto.
Social Links
Jake Brukhman
Tommy Shaughnessy
Follow Delphi Digital
Website: https://members.delphidigital.io/home
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Delphi_Digital
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Delphi_Digital
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed here.

May 25, 2023 • 1h 6min
Jayendra Jog: Robinhood's GameStop Fiasco Inspires Sei, The Layer 1 For Trading
Sei is a Layer 1 blockchain built for trading. It was co-founded by Jay, who was inspired to create a decentralized trading platform after working at Robinhood during the GameStop trading fiasco. Sei is designed to offer the best trading experience possible, with fast finality, high throughput, and specialization for its core focus.
Sei achieves its goals through a number of innovative technologies. These include frequent batch auctions, twin turbo consensus, and parallelization. Frequent batch auctions prevent front running and ensure that everyone gets the same trade price. Twin turbo consensus achieves faster time to finality and eliminates the risk of re-orgs. Parallelization increases throughput and allows for more transactions to be processed per second.
Sei is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to revolutionize the way we trade. It is a powerful new tool that could give traders more control over their assets and make the markets more fair and transparent.
Social Links
Sei Network
Jayendra Jog
Tommy Shaughnessy
Follow Delphi Digital
Website: https://members.delphidigital.io/home
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Delphi_Digital
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Delphi_Digital
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed here.
As an additional disclosure Delphi Ventures is an investor in Sei.

May 9, 2023 • 1h 12min
Jose Macedo: Delphi Labs' Mission to Incubate the Brilliant Crypto Minds of Tomorrow
In this episode, Jose Macedo offers an inside look into the world of Delphi Labs' recently launched Incubator and valuable advice for startups.
Episode Overview
Insights into project selection process
Delphi Labs' multi-decade commitment to lasting legacy
Comparison between Delphi Labs Incubator and Y-Combinator model
Technical process to guide projects towards success
Jose provided valuable insight into the decision-making process behind selection projects for incubation, touching on first principles thinking and inbound ideas from founders. He also discussed how Labs balances incubating projects with near-term profit potential versus those focusing on long-term, game-changing technologies.
Jose shared his unique views on the future of capital formation, the importance of founders building up their EQ to handle the highs and lows of the startup world, and Labs' multi-decade approach that gives founders confidence that they will be a part of a long-lasting brand.
Additionally, we delved into the topic of how Delphi Labs compares and contrasts with Y-Combinator's successful incubator model, considering aspects to emulate or avoid. Jose shared his thoughts on building a supportive network for startups, including the importance of adapting and evolving the incubator's model, resources, and support structures to stay relevant in the ever-changing startup ecosystem. He also discussed the technical process behind guiding incubated projects to be the most successful versions of themselves.
Links
Delphi Labs
José Maria Macedo
Tommy Shaughnessy
Follow Delphi Digital
Website: https://members.delphidigital.io/home
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Delphi_Digital
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Delphi_Digital
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed here.
As an additional disclosure the host has ownership interests in Delphi Labs but is not a day to day operator in this entity.

May 2, 2023 • 1h 34min
Shadow Realms: Decrypting Privacy with Penumbra’s Henry de Valence
Henry de Valence, one of the deepest thinkers of privacy and the founder of Penumbra joins the podcast for a comprehensive discussion on privacy. Can Gurel, a research lead at Delphi Digital, joins as a co-host given his recent in-depth Privacy report.
In this episode, we covered:
The importance of privacy for humans and in crypto
Financial privacy as a human right
The limits of what can be built on a fully transparent chain
Different ways teams deal with regulation in the ever-evolving crypto landscape
Whether we can expect most liquidity to be in private form in the next 5-10 years
In the technical segment, we dove into various infrastructures of private design, including privacy built on L1s, L2s, dApps and via smart contracts like Tornado Cash. We discussed Penumbra's unique two-phase protocol for privacy vs. concurrent-access-to-state and the potential of threshold decryption as a go-to MEV solution. Our conversation also covered private staking designs, challenges with IBC, and the exciting possibilities enabled by interchain accounts with Penumbra.
If you like this episode, share this episode on Twitter and let us know what you think.
Links
Penumbra
Henry de Valence
Tommy Shaughnessy
Can Gurel
Can’s Privacy Report
Follow Delphi Digital
Website: https://members.delphidigital.io/home
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Delphi_Digital
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Delphi_Digital
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed here.

Apr 25, 2023 • 51min
Karate Kombat: Blood, Sweat, and Battle Royale – Inside the World of a Web3 Owned Fight League
Karate Combat is UFC for the next generation and is built on crypto rails.
Co-Founder OnlyLarping joins the podcast to discuss the fight league, tailoring the entire sport for short and engaging experiences, catering to online fans of a younger demographic, bucking the trend by not signing exclusive distribution agreements so the sport is available everywhere and the token dynamics around UpOnly Gaming.
This conversation was a ton of fun, we hope you enjoy it. Special thanks to Paul Buralge for his help in planning this episode.
Social Links
Karate Combat
OnlyLarping
Tommy Shaughnessy
Follow Delphi Digital
Website: https://members.delphidigital.io/home
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Delphi_Digital
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Delphi_Digital
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed here.
Additional disclosure: Delphi Ventures is an investor in Karate Combat.

Apr 12, 2023 • 57min
The Future of Crypto Insurance With Hugh Karp and Robert Forster
Hugh Karp, Founder and CEO of Nexus Mutual, and Robert Forster, executive director of Ease, join to discuss the future of Crypto Insurance.
With billions in hacks and new code released every day, insurance will be crucial for the future of Crypto. We talk about why crypto insurance hasn't taken off, how insurance should be priced, the risks of insurance, and more.
Social Links
Hugh Karp
Rober Forster
Host Tommy Shaughnessy
Follow Delphi Digital
Website: https://members.delphidigital.io/home
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Delphi_Digital
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Delphi_Digital
Disclosures: This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token. Delphi’s transparency page can be viewed here.