EPISODE
Dylan Byers, Fidji Simo, Angela Jiang, Jonathan Slotkin, Aaron Cannon, Karan Kunjur
00:01:00 Dylan Byers, a founding partner and senior correspondent at Puck, covers the media industry, including business and gossip. He discusses the media's tendency toward self-obsession, highlighting how minor gossip can overshadow significant industry events. Byers also examines the personal dynamics influencing major mergers, such as the competition between Paramount and Netflix for Warner Bros. Discovery, and the role of AI in the future of media, noting Disney's partnership with OpenAI to create interactive experiences with its characters.
00:02:00 Fidji Simo, a French-American businesswoman, is the CEO of Applications at OpenAI, having previously served as CEO of Instacart and as head of the Facebook app at Meta. In the conversation, she discusses her transition to OpenAI, emphasizing her commitment to democratizing AI by transforming ChatGPT from a chatbot into a personal super assistant that can manage various aspects of users' lives, such as travel planning and health management. She also highlights the importance of integrating AI into both consumer and enterprise applications, aiming to enhance productivity and accessibility across different sectors.
00:03:00 Angela Jiang, a former product manager at OpenAI who contributed to the launches of GPT-3.5 and GPT-4, has co-founded Worktrace AI, a startup focused on automating repetitive tasks in large enterprises. In the conversation, she discusses how Worktrace AI observes employee workflows to identify tasks suitable for AI automation, aiming to bridge the gap between advanced AI models and their practical application in real-world business scenarios. The company recently emerged from stealth mode, announcing a $9 million seed funding round led by Conviction and 8VC, with participation from the OpenAI Fund and notable figures such as Mira Murati and Jason Kwon.
00:04:00 Jonathan Slotkin, a practicing neurosurgeon and health system leader, discusses the significant public health benefits of autonomous vehicles, emphasizing that data from Waymo's 100 million miles of operation show a 91% reduction in serious injury crashes compared to human drivers. He argues that widespread adoption of self-driving cars could eliminate traffic deaths as a leading cause of mortality in the U.S., highlighting the need to overcome regulatory challenges and public skepticism to realize these life-saving advancements.
00:05:00 Aaron Cannon, co-founder and CEO of Outset, discusses his company's AI-moderated research platform that enables enterprises to conduct and synthesize video interviews at scale, combining the depth of one-on-one interviews with the speed of surveys. He highlights Outset's recent $17 million Series A funding led by 8VC, bringing total funding to $21 million, and mentions partnerships with Fortune 500 companies like WeightWatchers, Nestlé, and Microsoft. Cannon emphasizes the platform's ability to deliver in-depth insights rapidly, noting that clients have experienced research processes that are over eight times faster and capture ten times more interviews than traditional methods.
00:06:00 Karan Kunjur, co-founder and CEO of K2 Space, discusses the company's focus on developing large, high-power satellites to meet the growing demand for advanced space capabilities. He highlights the shift from smaller satellites to larger platforms, leveraging the capabilities of modern heavy-lift rockets like SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Starship. Kunjur also emphasizes K2 Space's commitment to providing cost-effective, high-capacity satellite solutions for both commercial and government clients.