Vertical AI: The Next Big Startup Trend

Summary

The transcript discusses the emergence of vertical AI startups focused on specific roles in society, such as AI for lawyers, doctors, and software engineers. These startups aim to enhance productivity by automating complex tasks. The conversation highlights the potential for AI to transform various professions, suggesting a future where individuals can leverage AI 'conductors' to manage virtual teams, leading to a significant increase in productivity and the possibility of millions of small companies run by solo entrepreneurs with AI assistance.

Takeaways

• 🚀 The emergence of vertical AI startups is focused on specific roles in society, building specialized applications for tasks like law, medicine, tax assistance, and customer support.
• 🤖 Large, general-purpose AI language models like OpenAI's GPT and Google's Gemini are trained on the open internet and can answer a wide range of questions, though not always accurately.
• 🔧 A startup named Cognition has debuted an AI software engineer tool called Devon, which has gone viral for its ability to fix bugs and build apps in real-time.
• 💬 Speculation suggests Devon may be built on GPT-4 from OpenAI, though this is unconfirmed. The tool is designed to enhance reasoning and long-term planning capabilities within existing language models.
• 📈 Benchmarks are being developed to test the performance of language models in coding, with Devon showing superior results compared to generic language models.
• 🌟 The progress in AI is rapid, with the potential to make complex jobs more accessible through command line interfaces, automating processes behind the scenes.
• 🔥 The increased efficiency of developers through AI tools like Devon could lead to a greater demand for human expertise to manage and refine AI-generated code.
• 🛠️ The shift from AI co-pilots assisting developers to AI taking the pilot role signifies a transition in how AI is integrated into the development process.
• 🌐 The evolution of AI is expected to lead to the creation of more solo entrepreneurs and smaller companies, leveraging AI to multiply productivity and reduce operational costs.
• 📊 The long-term impact of AI on job roles may not be about replacement but rather about 'leveling up', where humans work alongside AI to achieve higher productivity and innovation.

Q & A

What is the main difference between general-purpose AI language models and vertical AI startups?

General-purpose AI language models like OpenAI's GPT and Google's Gemini are trained on the open internet and can answer a wide range of questions, while vertical AI startups focus on specific job titles or roles in society, building applications tailored to those specific functions.

How does the AI startup Harvey assist lawyers?

Harvey is an AI specifically designed for lawyers, presumably to automate legal tasks, provide legal research assistance, or offer other law-related services that save time and improve efficiency.

What is the role of the AI notaker developed by the startup Bridge?

Bridge's AI notaker is designed to assist doctors by taking notes during their work, potentially saving them hours each day by automating the documentation process.

How does the AI tax assistant, Tax GPT, function?

Tax GPT is an AI tool that assists with tax-related tasks, likely automating tax preparation, calculations, and offering guidance on tax laws and regulations to streamline the tax process for users.

What is the primary function of the AI software engineer tool called Devon?

Devon is an AI tool that mimics the role of a software engineer, capable of fixing bugs, fine-tuning AI models, and building applications end-to-end, thereby assisting or even replacing human engineers in certain coding tasks.

What is the speculated basis of the Devon AI tool?

There is speculation that Devon was built on GPT-4 from OpenAI, although this has not been confirmed. The CEO has mentioned that Devon was created by tweaking reasoning and long-term planning capabilities in an existing large language model (LLM).

How does the performance of Devon compare to other major coding models?

According to the data from coding benchmarks, Devon outperforms generic language models, indicating that it is more effective in coding tasks due to its specialized training and capabilities.

What is the potential impact of these role-based AI tools on the job market?

These role-based AI tools are expected to make certain job functions more accessible and automate complex tasks, potentially increasing productivity and efficiency. However, they may also require human oversight, especially for tasks that the AI does not perform perfectly, leading to a need for human expertise and creativity.

How does the evolution of AI in coding compare to the evolution of the internet?

The evolution of AI in coding is similar to the internet's impact on networking software. Just as the internet enabled new business models by moving traditional businesses online, AI is now enabling the creation of specialized AI tools that replace specific human roles, leading to a new era of productivity and innovation.

What is the potential future of startups and solo entrepreneurs with the advent of AI conductors?

The future may see millions of companies run by solo entrepreneurs with the help of AI conductors, agents, and bots. This would allow individuals to manage and scale their businesses with minimal human resources, leading to a significant increase in productivity and potentially a reduction in operational costs for companies.

How has the process of creating and launching a new product or service evolved over the years?

The process has become significantly easier and more cost-effective over time. The advent of cloud services like AWS, developer tools, APIs, and app stores has abstracted away much of the infrastructure and distribution challenges, allowing solo developers and small teams to launch products with less capital and resources than ever before.