Near Horizon
Near Horizon
Podcast Description
We chat with AI founders about building great companies. As former entrepreneurs ourselves, we're not just investors - we work alongside our founders as true partners. Our focus is helping early-stage AI businesses, especially solo founders, tackle everything from product development to landing first customers. Join us for practical insights from the startup trenches.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
Centers on topics relevant to early-stage AI startups, including product development, customer acquisition, and founder experiences, featuring episodes like Frank Li discussing the implications of brightfield imaging in biotech and Andrew Pannu sharing insights on competitive intelligence in BioPharma, along with specific discussions on challenges faced by solo founders.
We chat with AI founders about building great companies. As former entrepreneurs ourselves, we’re not just investors – we work alongside our founders as true partners. Our focus is helping early-stage AI businesses, especially solo founders, tackle everything from product development to landing first customers. Join us for practical insights from the startup trenches.
(2:05)LoRA origins — Edward describes the practical need that led to the creation of LoRA at Microsoft in 2021 while collaborating with OpenAI
(6:50)Why LoRA worked — Low-rank updates to large models made fine-tuning efficient and widely accessible
(9:45)Biological analogy — LoRA as the equivalent of learning a new instrument with shared prior knowledge
(11:35)Industry adoption — Edward reflects on companies thanking him for saving compute costs and resource usage
(13:30)Intelligence as compression — Discussion of whether brains and AI share a compression-based structure for learning
(17:15)Risks of over-biological inspiration — Why not everything in AI needs to imitate the brain
(18:45)MuTransfer explained — Training stability via infinite-width theoretical insights and their practical payoff
(23:00)Real-world impact of MuTransfer — Especially valuable for massive models at top labs like OpenAI, Anthropic
(26:30)The joy of theory with impact — The rare but powerful moment when theory turns into applied breakthrough
(28:05)Training trillion-parameter models — How MuTransfer enables precise hyperparameter prediction at scale
(30:30)Edward’s path — From Microsoft to PhD with Yoshua Bengio to OpenAI and now entrepreneurship
(34:00)Why leave OpenAI? — Personal itch for autonomy and new challenges, despite leaving pre-vesting
(37:20)From researcher to founder — Edward’s shift to launching multiple ventures with strong partners
(41:00)“Tech alone isn’t enough” — Why proprietary data + distribution is the real edge for AI startups
(44:00)Vertical vs horizontal plays — Studio model allows broad application of AI in many industries
(46:40)Laura-as-a-metaphor — Marc proposes a meta analogy: Edward as the foundation, fine-tuned by domain experts
(49:25)The fall of engineering costs — Why software is easier to build than ever, and what that unlocks
(52:00)The new venture model — VCs must adapt to a world with lower costs and smaller teams
(55:45)Edward’s self-awareness — On knowing his strengths and staying in his zone of genius
(57:10)The Compute Exchange — Edward unveils a new project: a dynamic GPU auction platform for buyers and sellers
(1:00:20)Compute is the new oil — Making GPU access as transparent and efficient as financial markets
(1:02:10)On IP and creator rights — Edward’s take on respecting creativity, compensating artists, and not undermining the creative industry
(1:06:00)The soul in human creation — Machines may be good imitators, but creativity may still be uniquely human
(1:08:00)Recommended Reading — Edward recommends The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin as a meditation on creativity across disciplines
(1:10:15)Outro — Marc reflects on Edward’s polymath career arc and cross-industry potential
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