The hottest Substack posts of Pratap’s Substack

And their main takeaways

6 lessons from Y-Combinator, 10 years later

317 implied HN points • 26 Mar 24
💼 Business Startups Entrepreneurship Innovation Product Development Customer Service
  1. Speed is important. It's better to launch something quickly, even if it has some flaws, than to wait for everything to be perfect.
  2. Don't always trust the experts. Sometimes, it's better to have fresh perspectives, and young talent can surprise you with their creativity.
  3. Talking to users is crucial. Getting direct feedback and engaging with them in person helps to really understand their needs and build a stronger product.

The Rise of the Joint-Mission Startup

277 implied HN points • 22 Feb 24
💼 Business Startups AI Enterprise Innovation Consulting
  1. AI can do much more than just make companies more efficient. It can actually change how we work and team up with machines.
  2. Working together as partners is key for big companies when using AI, not just buying software. They need deep collaboration to succeed in a new AI world.
  3. Startups have a big chance to tackle larger problems by creating complete solutions instead of just quick fixes. This approach can reshape how businesses operate.

6 Lessons from Palantir

237 implied HN points • 09 Jan 24
  1. Access to problems is earned, solving one problem leads to another.
  2. STFU and Take Notes: Recognize everyone's intelligence and take the opportunity to learn from them.
  3. Learn with a thief's mindset: Steal knowledge like a thief, always be eager to learn and grow.

Data doesn't fuel AI. Entropy does.

237 implied HN points • 01 Jan 24
  1. Information is not the same as data - it's about the degree of surprise when you learn something.
  2. In AI, data with more entropy is more valuable.
  3. Pricing datasets based on their entropy can incentivize capturing valuable AI fuel over just collecting more data.

Escaping Plato’s Cave with Multimodal AI

198 implied HN points • 05 Jan 24
  1. Multimodal AI seeks to learn about objects from various perspectives, not just text or images.
  2. Domain-specific multimodal AI can revolutionize industries by incorporating different modes of perception beyond text and image.
  3. Integrating multimodal AI in different fields will lead to faster innovation and problem-solving, enhancing expertise and collaboration.
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Should we build AI data centers on the moon?

138 implied HN points • 22 Jan 24
  1. Building AI data centers on the moon could be 40% cheaper due to lower cooling costs in space.
  2. Consider constructing AI chips in space to take advantage of lower launch costs and cleaner environment for fabrication.
  3. Space-based chip fabs for AI could have easier access to rare earth materials from near Earth asteroids.

Transformers, Cortical Columns & AI’s x86 Moment

138 implied HN points • 12 Jan 24
  1. Transformers are like a microprocessor for AI, making them adaptable to different problems without changing the underlying architecture.
  2. Transformers resemble how our brains work, with a replicable circuit that can handle various tasks.
  3. Transformers utilize an attention mechanism to understand context, allowing them to process data in a nuanced way.

We Wear Neon Shoelaces in the Arena

118 implied HN points • 24 Jan 24
  1. In a startup, intensity matters like in a triathlon - aim for victory and make explicit choices, not aiming for balance.
  2. Symbolic gestures like neon shoelaces can remind a team of their commitment to a common goal in a startup.
  3. The journey of a startup is an endurance race requiring mental fortitude and intensity to make countless decisions towards success.

The Light Cone Strategy for AI

2 HN points • 18 Jan 24
  1. AI innovation is accelerating with deep learning, but choosing the right strategy is crucial in this rapidly evolving landscape.
  2. Adopting the 'light cone' concept from physics can help navigate the AI strategy by focusing on application boundaries and future opportunities.
  3. Light cone thinking involves selecting problems that may not be obvious now, but align with future AI advancements to expand technological differentiation.

Coming soon

0 implied HN points • 01 Jan 24
  1. Pratap Ranade has a Substack newsletter coming soon.
  2. The Substack link is pratapranade.substack.com.
  3. The newsletter will be available starting Jan 1, 2024.