E44: How Benchmark Invests in AI with Eric Vishria and Quilter Founder Sergiy Nesterenko

"Turpentine VC" | Venture Capital and Investing

In today's episode, we discuss Benchmark's investment philosophy in the AI era with general partner Eric Vishria, and Sergiy Nesterenko, the Founder and CEO of Quilter. Sitting in for Erik Torenberg as host is AI Scout and Cognitive Revolution host Nathan Labenz. They cover the questions that Benchmark asks to determine whether a new company is solving an enduring or temporary problem, and the reasons why Benchmark hasn't invested in a foundational model to date. They also discuss the innovation behind Quilter's groundbreaking use of reinforcement learning to automate integrated circuit board designs. They delve into the importance of thinking beyond 'co-pilots' to fully automated AI solutions, and explore the balance of research and engineering in the AI space.

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LINKS:

Automating Circuit Board Design Using Reinforcement Learning w Sergiy Nesterenko, Founder of Quilter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXH-KtwcevQ&ab_channel=AutopilotwithWillSummerlin)

Chris Dixon’s The Idea Maze:

https://cdixon.org/2013/08/04/the-idea-maze

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Follow on X

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

@ericvishria (Eric)

@sergiynest(Sergiy)

@turpentinemedia (Turpentine)

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(01:13) Eric's Investment Thesis at Benchmark

(03:35) The "AI and Done" Approach

(07:15) Diverging from Large Language Models

(09:27) The "Idea Maze" Framework

(12:40) Disruptive Innovation

(16:00) Exploring the Data Landscape

(21:12) Extrapolation vs. Interpolation

(29:45) Compute Allocation

(31:53) Different Physics Simulation Techniques

(40:08) Timeline and Bottlenecks

(41:43) Unsolvable Problems and Gradual Progress

(42:03) The Future of Circuit Board Design

(50:22) Benchmark Portfolio

(53:34) The Gap Between Research and Engineering

(53:52) Call for Startups