Taking on Nvidia and betting on transformers with Gavin Uberti from Etched

In this episode of Found, Becca and Dom sit down with Gavin Uberti, co-founder and CEO of Etched, an AI chip startup focusing on developing specialized chips. Gavin shares the bold bet his startup is making on transformer models for AI chips, aiming to take on industry giant Nvidia. They discuss how Etched is developing specialized chips that they claim will be an order of magnitude faster than competitors, and Uberti shares his insights on the future of AI hardware as models continue to rapidly scale up in size and capability.

[00:00] Introduction to Etched and AI chips 

[03:46] The bet on transformer models

[05:08] Competition with Nvidia 

07:45] Environmental impact of chip manufacturing

[10:13] Etched's chip development progress

[12:35] Customer demand and strategic investors

[14:06] Fundraising journey

[15:23] Dropping out of Harvard

[21:25] Building the company and hiring

[24:01] Leadership philosophy

[31:05] Future outlook for Etched and AI 

[32:31] Wrap-up and reveal of the "two truths and a lie"

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