Why data is the biggest AI bottleneck (feat. Arthur Mensch of Mistral AI) | E2212

Video Description

Today's Show: The race for more compute gets all the attention, but Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch tells us the real challenge may soon be a shortage of high-quality data. On TWiST, Jason and Alex talk with the head of Mistral AI — one of Europe’s leading foundation model companies — about how businesses can get more value from their AI pilots, whether the industry needs more direction around open-source development, why Mistral doesn’t pursue every possible AI application, and how to optimize models for meaningful performance instead of chasing benchmarks (aka “benchmaxxing”). They also discuss what it’s like to lead a fast-growing AI company in today’s competitive environment. PLUS… a look at the tech industry’s biggest upside surprises… Kraken’s new $20 billion valuation… Jason’s message for companies considering M&A… and much more! Timestamps: (3:35) What people misunderstood about the evolution of major AI companies (10:51) Jason’s view on how drone delivery could improve everyday logistics (9:53) SQUARESPACE: Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.squarespace.com/TWIST (11:26) Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch joins the show (14:50) How enterprises can get more impact from AI and how Mistral helps (18:45) Why Mistral AI’s long-term goal is to become an invisible layer of technology (20:20) LinkedIn Ads: Start converting your B2B audience into high-quality leads today. Launch your first campaign and get $250 FREE when you spend at least $250. Go to /thisweekinstartups to claim your credit. (22:49) How different regions approach open-source AI (24:53) Why focus is a major strategic advantage for AI companies (27:05) The two major bottlenecks in machine learning: compute and data (29:01) How Mistral collaborates with expert annotators and where those experts come from (30:08) Nexos.ai: Stop Shadow AI with a unified platform for secure AI adoption and productivity. Try it with a free 14-day trial at https://nexos.ai/twist (34:24) Is optimizing for benchmark tests (“benchmaxxing”) useful or misleading? (40:08) When we might realistically run smaller AI models on personal devices (44:21) Arthur’s view on when helpful humanoid robots could become common (49:42) Suno lawsuits and why Jason says you should never break rules in the music world (54:28) Kraken’s $20 billion valuation (56:48) Jason is heading to F1… should he try a practice session? (58:30) How Meta succeeded in a major legal case and why Jason is excited about it (1:01:37) Who might be the ideal buyer for Crunchbase? * Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com/ Check out the TWIST500: https://twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp * Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons * Follow Alex: X: https://x.com/alex LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelm/ * Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis/ * Thank you to our partners: (9:53) SQUARESPACE: Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.squarespace.com/TWIST (20:20) LinkedIn Ads: Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. Launch your first campaign and get $250 FREE when you spend at least $250. Go to http://linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups  to claim your credit. (30:08) Nexos.ai: Stop Shadow AI in its tracks with the unified platform for secure AI adoption and productivity. Try it with a free 14-day trial at https://nexos.ai/twist. Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara https://youtu.be/pvJa2pzuXWQ Eoghan McCabe https://youtu.be/9dHN4YFkgv4 Steve Huffman https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-on-mod-revolt-building-a/id315114957?i=1000617333424 Brian Chesky https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky-on-early-rejection-customer/id315114957?i=1000611761112 Bob Moesta https://youtu.be/y2UMzSqX94Q Aaron Levie https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/box-ceo-aaron-levie-breaks-down-box-ai-and-generative/id315114957?i=1000612384545 Sophia Amoruso https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/sophia-amoruso-on-branding-raising-a-fund-portfolio/id315114957?i=1000601352978 Reid Hoffman https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/reid-hoffman-on-ais-crescendo-moment-regulation-and/id315114957?i=1000612548498 Frank Slootman https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/snowflake-ceo-frank-slootman-on-moving-the-needle-win/id315114957?i=1000602560622 Billy McFarland https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/billy-mcfarland-on-fyre-fest-fraud-failure-hacking/id315114957?i=1000610922577 * Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis * Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin