AI + a16z

There are few terms in the world of AI — if any — that invoke more of a reaction than a simple four-letter word: Open. Whether it’s industry debates over business models and the actual definition of open, or the US government actively discussing how to regulate open models, seemingly everyone has an opinion on what it means for AI models to be open. The good, the bad, and the ugly.But to be fair, there’s good reason for this. In a world where many developers have come to expect open source tools at every level of the stack, the idea of powerful models locked behind enterprise licenses and corporate ethics can be disconcerting — especially for a technology as game-changing as AI promises to be. It’s a matter of who has the ability to innovate in the space, and whose release schedules and guardrails they’re beholden to.This is why, back in February, a16z convened a panel of experts to discuss the state — and future — of open source AI models.Featuring:Jim Zemlin (Executive Director, Linux Foundation)Mitchell Baker (Executive Chair, Mozilla Corp.)Percy Liang (Associate Professor, Stanford; Cofounder, Together AI)Anjney Midha (General Partner, a16z)Derrick Harris (Editorial Partner, a16z) Check out everything a16z is doing with artificial intelligence here, including articles, projects, and more podcasts. Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Naveen Rao, vice president of generative AI at Databricks, joins a16z's Matt Bornstein and Derrick Harris to discuss enterprise usage of LLMs and generative AI. Naveen is particularly knowledgeable about the space, having spent years building AI chips first at Qualcomm and then as the founder of AI chip startup Nervana Systems back in 2014. Intel acquired Nervana in 2016.After a stint at Intel, Rao re-emerged with MosaicML in 2021. This time, he focused on the software side of things, helping customers train their own LLMs, and also fine-tune foundation models, on top of an optimized tech stack. Databricks acquired Mosaic in July of 2023.This discussion covers the gamut of generative AI topics — from basic theory to specialized chips — to although we focus on how the enterprise LLM market is shaping up. Naveen also shares his thoughts on why he prefers finally being part of the technology in-crowd, even if it means he can’t escape talking about AI outside of work.More information:LLMs at DatabricksMosaic ResearchMore AI content from a16zFollow everyone on X:Naveen RaoMatt BornsteinDerrick Harris Check out everything a16z is doing with artificial intelligence here, including articles, projects, and more podcasts. Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The AI + a16z podcast captures our thinking on AI across a broad swath of areas, from the infrastructure that powers today’s foundation models to how specific tools, like LLMs, are reshaping the hiring process. Looking forward, you can expect to hear about a list of topics that includes the latest advances in generative AI, cybersecurity, and the emerging stack of tools for building and running LLMs. Check out everything a16z is doing with artificial intelligence here, including articles, projects, and more podcasts. Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.