No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups

Google’s purchase of Spirit Airlines’ data out of bankruptcy signaled a shift in how the tech world values real-world datasets. Although compute and models get much of the attention, in this landscape, it’s data that is a company’s protective moat. Eon CEO / Co-Founder Ofir Ehrlich and President / Co-Founder Gonen Stein join Elad Gil to talk about how Eon is redefining cloud backup into a secure data foundation designed to power and protect enterprise AI. Ofir and Gonen discuss why historical enterprise data is in demand by AI labs, and how Eon facilitates access to scattered and locked data across business units through providing the mapping, classification, and access controls needed to connect it into AI workflows. They also explore how traditional ransomware defenses must now protect against rogue AI agents with legitimate system permissions, concerns around the influx of autonomous agents and non-human identities, and the implications for the breakneck speed of AI adoption compared to the slowness of the cloud era.

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Chapters:

00:00 – Cold Open Trailer

00:59 – Ofir Ehrlich and Gonen Stein Introduction

01:27 – What Eon Does

02:41 – Data as Moat

06:43 – Training Agents with Good Data

09:39 – Data is the New Oil

15:00 – Autonomous Security Threats

18:15 – How Agents Change the Enterprise Stack

22:11 – Re-imagining Data Infrastructure

27:52 – Cloud vs. AI Era Shift

30:26 – How AI is Changing Companies

34:31 – Conclusion

Max Hodak, co-founder and CEO of Science Corporation, joins Sarah Guo to discuss the future of vision, brain-computer interfaces, and the human experience. Max explains how Science’s PRIMA retinal implant could restore functional vision for people who have lost their sight, and why treating the brain as a computational system could unlock new approaches to medicine.

They explore the broader potential of neural devices, from restoring lost capabilities to expanding human potential, as well as deeper questions around identity, consciousness, and whether the human experience can persist as our biological hardware changes.

Max also shares Science’s long-term vision for reducing the fragility of the human condition by repairing, replacing, and ultimately upgrading parts of ourselves. Finally, he discusses the surprising parallels between AI models and biological brains, and why AI may offer a powerful new lens for understanding intelligence.

Chapters:

00:00 – Cold Open Trailer

01:40 – Max Hodak Introduction

02:00 – Science Corporation Overview and Origin

02:53 – A Revolutionary Solve for Blindness

06:32 – Scope of Timeline and Engineer Cost

09:10 – Clinic Trial Process

09:45 - The Response from Clinicians

12:21 – Broader Biotech Landscape

14:59 – Brain’s Relationship to Senses

17:35 – The Study of Consciousness

19:50 – Investments in Brain Computer Interface

22:10 – Fertile Ways to Study Neuroscience

24:46 – Biotech Expansion for Science Corporation

27:50 – What Success Looks Like in Neuroscience and Tech

29:06 - Goals Within Human Preservation vs. Adaptation

30:25 – Conclusion

In a world of infinite gaming and entertainment possibilities, how does a centuries-old game stay so popular? Chess.com co-founder and CEO Erik Allebest joins Sarah Guo to explain how the evolution of technology has kept people coming back to chess, even when machines can beat us at the game. Erik talks about how the desire to build a MySpace-like community for chess led to the purchase of a domain name from a bankruptcy sale back in 2005, and scaled into a community with 10 million daily active users and 250 million total registered members. He also discusses the growth of the cultural relevance of chess, how investments from private equity firms General Atlantic and CVC helped grow and strengthen their platform, and how Chess.com is leveraging AI both within the business itself and to make a better product for its community.

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Chapters:

00:00 – Cold Open Trailer

01:05 – Erik Allebest Introduction

01:48 – Chess.com Today

02:57 – Buying and Scaling Chess.com

06:29 – Competition and Growth

11:52 – Chess and Cultural Relevance

14:32 – Private Equity Investment

19:31 – Playing Games Amid Evolving Tech

25:09 – Tech, Skill Distribution, and Expertise

28:40 – Chess and Cheating

31:20 – What Makes Chess Special

33:17 – Chess.com Future Vision

34:54 – Founder Advice

36:48 – AGI/ASI Predictions

40:02 – AI Investments at Chess.com

42:13 – How AI May Change Product at Chess.com

43:27 – Poker Rating Algorithms

46:07 – Conclusion

Is the tech industry moving too quickly, or are founders letting fear of AI labs stunt their ambitions? Sarah and Elad explore the current landscape of artificial intelligence, venture capital, and startup dynamics. They discuss the realities of building multi-trillion-dollar companies, shifting market sizes and outcome-based pricing models, and how founders are reacting to the rise of major AI labs. They also talk about what the framework for startup exits should look like, the potential for researcher burnouts in the next eighteen months as ASI looms on the horizon, bottlenecks for compute, and the impact of regulatory capture and shifting ecosystems from California to Texas.

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Chapters:

00:00 – Cold Open Trailer

00:31 – Episode Introduction

01:44 – The Next Trillion-Dollar Company

03:12 – Tech Waves as Punctuated Equilibria

04:42 – TAM vs. Revenue Reality

07:14 – Market Size vs. Speed

10:32 – When Founders Should Sell

14:04 – Financing and Time Cost

17:57 – RSI and the Looming Promise of ASI

21:49 – Compute Power Laws

28:12 – Regulations and Disruption

33:06 – Beyond Transformers

34:26 – Tradeoffs - Safety vs. Progress

39:11 – Conclusion

When your AC fails in a heatwave, you don’t want a busy signal; you need a solution. Netic founder and CEO Melisa Tokmak joins host Elad Gil to explain how Netic’s autonomous AI platform acts as an intermediary between companies and customers, deploying agents to instantly handle essential services, from emergency home repairs to hospitality to pet care. Melisa describes the complexity of these real-world workloads, which have traditionally relied on large human support teams, and how over 70% of Netic’s customers interact first with AI. She also talks about the reasoning behind building a scalable product company rather than an AI roll-up, why she believes robotics will not catch up in these industries in the near future, why she doesn’t view large frontier labs as competitive threats, and how private equity’s playbook has shifted toward measurable ROI in the AI-era. Plus, why Melisa is optimistic about the impact AI will have on education.

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Chapters:

00:00 – Melisa Tokmak Introduction

00:32 – What Netic Builds

03:53 – Automating Workflows for Essential Services

06:26 – Building a Service vs. AI Roll-Up

10:38 – AI for the Real World Timeline

12:56 – Can Big Labs Compete?

15:35 – Modern Founder Mindset

19:09 – Screening for Agency

22:25 – Five Year Vision

23:53 – Selling to Slow Industries

27:23 – How Private Equity Approached AI

31:14 – What Excites Melisa About the Future of AI

34:27 – Conclusion