AI APPLICATION PLAYBOOK Building a large AI application company is not easy but it’s becoming very clear what to do. You only need to: a. Automate a high value workflow b. For a large end market c. While showing strong market pull d. With a repeatable motion e. And ample expansion opportunities If you can systematically prove that you can do each of the above, the world is yours. Inception / pre-seed: a, b Seed: a, b, c Series A: a-d + a bit of e Series B+: a-e Pls DM me if you’re an entrepreneur who would like to partner to build a generational AI company.

NON REGRETTABLE > 5% I don’t care how “cracked” your team is. If your team is bigger than 50 people and your annual non regrettable attrition is less than 5%, you’re not doing a good job of increasing talent density. This applies to every sub-team that’s > 50 people (including engineering). For context, a very large and spectacularly performing public tech company has 10%+ non regrettable attrition in their engineering team, which is widely regarded as one of the best teams on the planet. TLDR you need to raise the bar every year by weeding out the bottom 5%+. Period.

CREDENTIALS DON’T MATTER Over the last few months, I’ve seen several A+ execs and operators flounder and fail at AI startups, while young “inexperienced” builders have crushed execution and performed superbly. It’s the biggest discontinuity in talent evaluation I’ve seen in my 25+ years in technology. All of one’s prior experiences, credentials, and traditional markers of success have become nearly irrelevant when the fundamental rules of the game have changed so dramatically. The shift to AI represents such a paradigm break that institutional knowledge often becomes institutional baggage. The executive who masterfully navigated enterprise sales cycles finds themselves lost when the product builds itself. The operator who optimized for predictable growth metrics struggles when the core capability improves exponentially overnight. Meanwhile, the 22-year-old who’s been fine-tuning models in their dorm room intuitively understands token economics, reasoning patterns, and capability scaling in ways that no MBA program ever taught. These “inexperienced” builders don’t carry the weight of how things “should” work. They don’t waste time trying to force AI capabilities into traditional product frameworks or business models. And so, they win. If you’re an executive wanting to find a role at an AI company, be humble. Put in the work. Use the tools and create a personal AI stack. Train yourself to think differently - probabilistically, not deterministically. Be open to an IC role if needed. It’s not magic, but it will take real work. If you’re an AI company founder, ensure your hiring process is not blinded by credentials. What matters is raw building ability (in EVERY role, not just Eng/Product/Design), comfort with uncertainty, and the ability to iterate and experiment exceptionally fast. It’s a new era.

Excited to see @DeepCogito unveil Cogito v2. This family of models is a major step towards AI systems that reason carefully, ground their answers, and are self-improving. Among the strongest open models in the world, this new version is a great milestone towards superintelligent AI systems. I’m proud to support @drishanarora and the exceptional Deep Cogito team.

Congrats @tconrad on making it official! As a devoted and loyal @Sonos customer, very excited for the roadmap ahead.

Thinking Machines is the fastest growing company in history. No comparison. They've hit $80M ARR in 1 day. Take that, Mercor, Cursor and other contenders!!!!

A massive company is missing from this list. Starts with "Alpha" and ends with "bet". The future of Alphabet over the next 5 years might be the most polarizing topic in technology. Naysayers forget that even if you proclaim that search will go to zero by 2030 (SUPER far fetched), Alphabet have five businesses that could each be 1T by 2030: Android+Chrome, Apps (Gmail et al), Cloud, YouTube, Waymo.

BECOME AN INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR Over the past few months, I've seen several friends and ex-colleagues proactively move from leadership (manager or managers-of-managers) roles at non-AI companies to IC (individual contributo) roles at AI-native companies. While this might seem counter-intuitive and maybe even a career negative, I believe it's the right career move for leaders who want to move into AI. Every AI-native company is looking for leaders with AI native experience. If someone stays a mid-level manager in a non-AI role, they will not build the hands-on AI experience they need to become an effective AI leader. Even a couple years of IC work in an AI native environment will give them confidence and the optionality to either continue down the IC route or go back down the managerial path, now armed with real AI building experience and so a much better manager. Many AI companies are growing so fast that you might even get a "battlefield" promotion to people manager sooner than later, esp if you have prior management experience. Leaders / people managers in non-AI roles: If you're feeling stuck, please consider interviewing for and moving into an IC role at an AI company. It'll be lots of fun, plus you'll build durable skills you will use for the next several decades.

TAKE A STEP BACK Over the past few months, I've seen several friends and ex-colleagues proactively move from leadership (manager or managers-of-managers) roles at non-AI companies to IC (individual contributo) roles at AI-native companies. While this might seem counter-intuitive and maybe even a career negative, I believe it's the right career move for leaders who want to move into AI. Every AI-native company is looking for leaders with AI native experience. If someone stays a mid-level manager in a non-AI role, they will not build the hands-on AI experience they need to become an effective AI leader. Even a couple years of IC work in an AI native environment will give them confidence and the optionality to either continue down the IC route or go back down the managerial path, now armed with real AI building experience and so a much better manager. Many AI companies are growing so fast that you might even get a "battlefield" promotion to people manager sooner than later, esp if you have prior management experience. Leaders / people managers in non-AI roles: If you're feeling stuck, please consider interviewing for and moving into an IC role at an AI company. It'll be lots of fun, plus you'll build durable skills you will use for the next several decades.

Exec at F500 company: “AI is causing the lines between functions to blur. When I meet with a young person, if I don’t know their title beforehand, I wouldn’t be able to say if they are a PM, an analyst or an operations person. They are able to smoothly switch between these roles and do most of the job of these roles as a single person.” We are seeing in real time the rise of the Swiss army knife Designer + PM + Analyst + Operator.