Edwin Chen, founder and CEO of Surge AI, discusses his contrarian approach to building a bootstrapped, billion-dollar company, the critical role of high-quality data and 'taste' in training AI, the flaws in current benchmarks, and why reinforcement learning environments are the next frontier for creating models that truly advance humanity.
Garrett Lord, CEO of Handshake, details the company's extraordinary pivot from a college career network to a dominant AI data provider. He explains how they leveraged their proprietary network of 500,000 PhDs and 3 million advanced degree holders to build a business on track to surpass $100 million ARR in its first year by providing high-quality, expert-generated data for training frontier AI models.
OpenAI researchers discuss the step-change in capabilities in ChatGPT-5, from coding and reasoning to creative writing. They detail the data-centric training processes, the shift toward asynchronous agentic workflows, and the future of AI development and its impact on the startup ecosystem.