Tech on the Rocks

SummaryIn this conversation, the founders of Bauplan, Jacopo and Ciro, share their extensive backgrounds in AI and data infrastructure, discussing the evolution of NLP and the challenges faced in the industry. They highlight the importance of data pipelines in AI effectiveness and the complexities of building data infrastructure. The discussion also covers lessons learned from previous ventures, the shifting dynamics of the AI market, and the need for collaboration between data scientists and engineers. They emphasize the significance of simplicity in data tools and the future of data management focusing on standardization and accessibility.In this episodeBauplan was founded by experienced professionals in AI and data.Data challenges remain significant despite advancements in AI.Lessons from previous ventures inform current strategies.Building data infrastructure is complex and requires careful planning.Collaboration between data scientists and engineers is essential.Data engineering will resemble more and more software engineering.Simplicity in data tools can enhance user experience.The future of data management will focus on standardization and accessibility.If you care about making AI features shippable by regular software teams—not just data specialists—this conversation maps the terrain and the trade-offs.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Bauplan and Founders' Background02:27 The Evolution of NLP and AI Challenges05:05 Shifts in Data and AI Application07:56 Lessons from Previous Ventures10:20 The Search Market Landscape13:05 Behavioral Data's Role in Search15:52 Building Data Infrastructure vs. Applications18:22 The Complexity of Data Management21:03 Bridging the Gap Between Data Science and Engineering23:39 Challenges in Infrastructure Development29:52 Navigating the Infrastructure Landscape32:19 The Pendulum of Centralization and Decentralization34:00 The Need for Standardization in Data Infrastructure36:52 Simplifying Data Workflows40:29 Radical Simplicity in Data Management45:28 Overcoming Resistance to Change48:50 The Future of Data Abstractions and Git for Data

SummaryBrett — founder & CEO of Micro — joins Nitay and Kostas to share how he’s turning email into a knowledge graph and rebuilding CRM right inside the inbox. He traces a path from Google’s M&A and Allo product team to Clearbit and Launch House, then digs into why most “inbox zero” workflows fail, how interoperability and AI agents shift power to the interface, and what it takes to design an email experience people actually live in.What you’ll learnWhy email is a system of record—and how Micro converts threads into people, companies, attachments, tasks, and “updates”The wedge: founders’ real workflows (fundraising, hiring, sales) and why CRM belongs in the inboxProduct & UX lessons: skeuomorphic first, flexible theming (consumer vs. enterprise), and copy-the-UI-before-evolving-itM&A realities from Google: talent vs. tech vs. business acquisitions, and why culture kills most dealsBurnout and agency: why founders report less burnout than big-company rolesThe next phase: cross-app “updates” (email, LinkedIn DMs, etc.), Salesforce/HubSpot read–write, and agentic automationChapters00:00 Brett's Journey: From Consulting to Tech Innovator02:41 The Role of Strategy in Tech Companies05:16 Understanding M&A: Successes and Failures07:55 The Evolution of AI in Corporate Strategy10:26 Transitioning to Product Management13:19 Lessons from Clearbit: Culture and Growth15:50 The Impact of Burnout on Career Choices18:15 Finding Fulfillment in Entrepreneurship21:09 Navigating the B2B Landscape23:34 The Necessity of Products in a Crisis33:24 The Unexpected Layoff and New Beginnings34:39 The Launch House Experience37:16 Transforming Reality into an Accelerator39:17 The Evolution of Founders and Content Creation41:52 Introducing Micro: A New Email Experience47:02 Extracting Information for Better Workflows53:49 Integrating with Existing Ecosystems01:01:16 The Future of Email and AI

SummarySteve Klabnik has spent the last 15 years shaping how developers write code—from teaching Ruby on Rails to stewarding Rust’s explosive growth. In this wide-ranging conversation, Steve joins Kostas and Nitay to unpack the forces behind Rust’s rise and the blueprint for developer-first tooling.From Rails to Rust: How a web-framework luminary fell for a brand-new systems language and helped turn it into today’s go-to for memory-safe, zero-cost abstractions.Community as UX: The inside story of Cargo, humane compiler errors, and why welcoming IRC channels can matter more than benchmarks.Standards vs. Shipping: What Rust borrowed from the web’s rapid-release model—and why six-week cadences beat three-year committee cycles.Three tribes, one language: How dynamic-language devs, functional programmers, and C/C++ veterans each found a home in Rust—and what they contributed in return.Looking ahead: Steve’s watch-list of next-gen languages (Hylo, Zig, Odin) and the lessons Rust’s journey holds for anyone building tools, communities, or startups today.Whether you’re chasing segfault-free code, dreaming up a new PL, or just curious how open-source movements gain momentum, this episode is packed with insight and practical takeaways.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Personal Connection00:59 Journey from Ruby on Rails to Rust02:21 Early Programming Experiences and Interests07:20 Community Dynamics in Programming Languages13:59 The Importance of Community in Open Source14:37 How Ruby on Rails and Rust Built Their Communities21:44 Standardization vs. Unified Development Models30:55 Community Debt in Programming Languages36:24 Release Cadence vs. Feature Development37:36 Rust's Unique Selling Proposition43:30 Attracting Diverse Programming Communities52:31 The Future of Systems Programming Languages

SummaryJosh Howard, Senior Engineering Manager at Cloudflare, joins Kostas and Nitay to discuss Cloudflare's innovative serverless platform, Durable Objects, and Workers. Learn how Cloudflare enables developers to build stateful applications with global scale, consistency, and simplicity at the network edge.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Background02:01 Journey into Storage Systems04:24 Cloudflare's Evolution and Developer Platform06:29 Understanding Durable Objects08:57 Durable Objects in Modern App Development11:18 Use Cases for Cloudflare's Developer Platform13:36 Building Agents and Real-Time Applications16:19 Developer Experience and Migration Strategies25:09 Exploring Workflow Systems: OLAP vs Applications26:47 Cloudflare's Development Platform: Future Offerings for Data Professionals28:42 Transitioning from Data Processing to Application Development31:37 The Impact of LLMs on System Design33:44 Serverless Platforms: Challenges and Limitations40:01 Future Directions: Cloudflare's Storage Relay Service and Global ExpansionClick here to view the episode transcript.

In an insightful discussion, Erik Swan, a serial entrepreneur and former Splunk executive, shares lessons from his extensive tech career. He introduces the concept of the 'physics of business,' emphasizing how brand strength, pricing strategies, and product design are pivotal for success. Erik highlights the importance of starting with simple tools before scaling, and the challenges of maintaining a long-term vision amidst short-term pressures. He also hints at his new venture, Bestimer, which aims to tackle data challenges using AI.

SummaryIn this episode, Gilad Kleinman, co-founder of Epsio, shares his unique journey from PHP development to low-level kernel programming and how that evolution led him to build an innovative incremental views engine. Gilad explains that Epsio tackles a common challenge in databases: making heavy, complex queries faster and more efficient through incremental materialization. He describes how traditional materialized views fall short—often requiring full refreshes—and how Epsio seamlessly integrates with existing databases by consuming replication streams (CDC) and writing back to result tables without disrupting the core transactional system. The conversation dives into the technical trade-offs and optimizations involved, such as handling stateful versus stateless operators (like group-by and window functions), using Rust for performance, and the challenges of ensuring consistency. Gilad also contrasts Epsio’s approach with streaming systems like Flink, emphasizing that by maintaining tight integration with the native database, Epsio can offer immediate, up-to-date query results while minimizing disruption. Finally, he outlines his vision for the future of incremental stream processing and materialized views as a means to reduce compute costs and enhance overall system performance.Chapters00:00 From PHP to Kernel Development: A Journey07:30 Introducing Epsio: The Incremental Views Engine10:56 The Importance of Materialized Views15:07 Understanding Incremental Materialization19:21 Optimizing Query Performance with Epsio24:53 Integrating Epsio with Existing Databases27:02 The Shift from Theory to Practice in Data Processing29:42 Seamless Integration with Existing Databases32:02 Understanding Epsio Incremental Processing Mechanism34:46 Challenges and Limitations of Incremental Views36:49 The Complexity of Implementing Operators39:56 Trade-offs in Incremental Computation41:21 User Interaction with Epsio43:01 Comparing EPSIO with Streaming Systems45:09 Architectural Guarantees of Epsio50:33 The Future of Incremental Data Processing

Viktor Kessler, co-founder of Lakekeeper and former solutions architect at MongoDB and Dremio, discusses his journey through data management. He explains the shift from data mesh concepts to lake house architecture, highlighting how it aligns technical solutions with business needs. Viktor dives into the role of actionable metadata and the evolution of cataloging systems. He emphasizes the importance of a centralized approach in decentralized environments and shares ways for listeners to engage with the Lakekeeper community.

In this installment, Apurva Mehta, co-founder and CEO of Responsive, shares insights from his journey in stream processing at LinkedIn and Confluent. He breaks down the evolution of stream processing from simple tasks to powering complex applications. Apurva clarifies the concept of 'real time,' emphasizing low latency over instant responses. He discusses the pitfalls of traditional databases in handling high-update rates and explains how Responsive innovates by decoupling state from compute to enhance efficiency and operational simplicity.

David Jayatillake, VP of AI at Cube, shares his expertise on the critical role of semantic layers in bridging raw data and actionable insights. He reveals how Cube achieved 100% accuracy in natural language data queries using semantic layers, vastly outperforming traditional methods. The conversation dives into the challenges of building these layers, emphasizing the significance of clear naming and documentation. Jayatillake also discusses future trends, including AI-powered features set to launch in 2025, and the potential of LLMs as intelligent agents.

In this episode, we chat with Yaron Hadad, a fascinating individual who transitioned from theoretical physics to entrepreneurship. We explore his groundbreaking work on black holes and gravitational waves, and learn about the Ramanujan Machine - an algorithmic system he helped develop that discovers new mathematical formulas and democratizes mathematical research. We'll hear about the scientific community's mixed reactions to this innovative approach. The conversation then shifts to his work with Neutrino, a company he founded that uses AI and continuous monitoring devices to understand how food affects individual health. We delve into the complexities of nutrition science, the challenges of processing multiple data streams, and the future of personalized health monitoring. Throughout the episode, Yaron shares insights on bridging theoretical research with practical applications, and the role of AI in advancing both pure mathematics and healthcare.00:00 Yaron Hadad's Journey: From Physics to AI in Healthcare04:50 The Complexity of Einstein's Equations and Their Solutions10:12 AI in Mathematics: The Ramanujan Machine and Conjectures15:41 Navigating Criticism: The Scientific Community's Response to Innovation29:24 The Impact of Algorithms in Mathematics35:30 The Planck Machine: A New Approach41:15 Neutrino: A Personal Journey in Nutrition50:11 Connecting Food Complexity to Health Metrics