Open Source Models Could Outperform Frontier Models | Fireworks AI Co-Founder | Apex Series

Open Source Models Could Outperform Frontier Models | Fireworks AI Co-Founder | Apex Series

Watch our exclusive interview with Benny Yufei Chen [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#], Co-Founder of Fireworks AI [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#]. Fireworks raised ~327M, most recently at a $4B valuation to change the AI space, enabling the enterprises to own the model themselves. We started by exploring Fireworks AI [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#]'s mission of enabling companies to access, fine-tune, and deploy #AI models through a simple platform - and the significant #cost savings potential. We then shifted to the #developer perspective, exploring how teams should choose a base model for Reinforcement Fine-Tuning (#RFT) and the impact considering the customization thereafter. As many organizations still rely on closed-source models, we dove into the advantages of #OpenSource alternatives and the key tradeoffs involved. We discussed the launch of #FireFunctionV2 and how it has changed the game for function-calling models and AI applications. Other interesting topics we covered: -  Can open-source models outperform frontier models? - The tradeoff between cost, latency, and model quality and does it depend on the vertical? - Advice for Founders And guess what's is Benny [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#]'s favorite #movie is? 🛸🌌🪐 Check our new website: https://www.boardroomclub.net Register for our newsletter https://boardroomclub.substack.com Interviewers: Yossi Garmazi [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#] & Ellie Bleiberg [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#] #ai #tech #agent #RFT #OpenSource Chapters: 00:00 Why Open Source? 00:34 into 01:14 From Meta to Fireworks 03:13 What is RFT? 04:39 Raising Money in the AI era 06:54 Fireworks Customers 08:48 Developers & RFT 11:02 Why move from Closed-Source to Open Source? 13:10 FireFunction V2 15:19 Open Source to outperform Frontier models? 16:33 Lessons from Meta Vs the new AI world 19:17 Tradeoff between Cost, Latency and Model 20:26 Lessons from the AI World 23:28 Maintaining rigorous valuation & Startup speed 25:09 Principles by Ray Dalio 26:48 Advice for Product Leaders 28:29 Mentors 29:11 Hobbies 30:02 Coffee Question 30:44 Favorite Movie

Glean CEO: Save 50% of Tokens Using Glean | Apex Series

Watch our exclusive interview with Arvind Jain [https://www.linkedin.com/company/102144486/admin/page-posts/published/#], Founder and CEO at Glean [https://www.linkedin.com/company/102144486/admin/page-posts/published/#]. Glean [https://www.linkedin.com/company/102144486/admin/page-posts/published/#] has raised over $770M and is valued at $7.2B, with a mission to unlock enterprise knowledge. As they cracked the enterprise #search space, we started by discussing Glean [https://www.linkedin.com/company/102144486/admin/page-posts/published/#]'s early #contrarian bets - from defining the problem differently to building a single-tenant architecture that could be easily deployed within a customer's environment. And #growth is booming. We explored the key differentiators that helped Glean scale from roughly $100M ARR at the beginning of 2025 to more than $300M today. But besides being a search tool, we discussed how Glean [https://www.linkedin.com/company/102144486/admin/page-posts/published/#] is also reshaping the AI #token economy by providing critical context to AI models, helping customers reduce token consumption by as much as 50% in some cases. We then dove into Glean [https://www.linkedin.com/company/102144486/admin/page-posts/published/#]'s #AgenticEngine2, and touched on why product they give users direct control over AI reasoning power. Other topics we covered: • How AI has changed hiring at Glean • What launching Google [https://www.linkedin.com/company/102144486/admin/page-posts/published/#] #MapMaker in #India taught Arvind about building and scaling data platforms And Arvind [https://www.linkedin.com/company/102144486/admin/page-posts/published/#]'s favorite #movie? 🔒⛏️🌅 Check our new website: https://www.boardroomclub.net Register for our newsletter https://boardroomclub.substack.com Interviewers: Yossi Garmazi [https://www.linkedin.com/company/102144486/admin/page-posts/published/#] & Sanat Mouli [https://www.linkedin.com/company/102144486/admin/page-posts/published/#] #ai #tech #agent #token #search Chapters: 00:00 How Glean works? 00:48 Intro 01:30 From Rubrik to Glean 03:49 Glean Early Beginning 06:12 Contrarian Bets 08:36 Explosive Growth 11:04 Token Economy 14:54 Saving 30% Less Tokens 17:07 Agentic Engine 2 19:32 Enterprise Search Future 22:27 AI Impact on Glean Hiring 23:38 Assessing Candidate AI Skills 25:39 Building Google Map Maker in India 28:14 AI Impact on New Tech Hubs 29:40 Advice for Founders 30:58 What is AI Native Company? 32:47 Mentorship 32:47 Hobbies 34:28 Coffee Question 35:28 Favorite Movie

Harvey COO: The $11B Legal AI Empire | Apex Series

Watch our exclusive interview with Katie Burke [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#], Chief Operating Officer at Harvey [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#]. Harvey [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#] is growing fast. Super fast. They have #raised over $1B at $11B valuation. Coming from experience working with a well-known #sports team and athletes, we started by discussing whether building at Harvey [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#] feels more like extended sprints or a true marathon. An interesting fact, is that Harvey [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#] already runs ~25,000 #agents (!) and as such we discussed the #LongHorizon agents, and their potential taking law firms to the next level. With so many agents in the loop, much of the work still depends on close collaboration with #humans. That led us to explore the idea of “human-in-the-loop” in the #legal space, and the potential friction that comes with it. We then moved on to discuss their #SharedSpaces product and how it is transforming the way in-house legal teams work. Other interesting subjects we covered: - Do we still need lawyers in this new era of compute? - The future of AI-native companies - The concept of “service-as-software” And what #book did Katie [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#] recommend us to read? 📚🔄⏳ Check our new website: https://www.boardroomclub.net Register for our newsletter https://boardroomclub.substack.com Interviewers: Yossi Garmazi [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#] & Jason Woolf [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#] #ai #tech #law #music #SaulGoodman Chapters: 0:00 Harvey Mission 00:33 Intro 1:29 Pro sports performance & Tech 3:11 From Hubspot to Harvey 5:24 Harvey & Running 7:15 25,000 Agents in Harvey 9:47 Agents Vs Humans 11:27 Harvey hiring philosophy 14:27 Harvey Shared Spaces Product 16:40 Torys Partnership & What's next for Harvey 18:30 No more Lawyers? 20:36 Competition with AI Models 23:02 Successful AI company in 10 years 26:28 Harvey' Service-as-a-Software playbook 28:41 How failing the LSAT altered her career path 31:52 Applying NHL leadership philosophies 34:22 Non-family mentors who heavily influenced her life 35:45 Advice for Founders 37:26 Hobbies 38:12 Alternative Career 39:13 Ideal coffee date 39:51 Books and Movies

We Double every 6 months! | ElevenLabs Head of operations | Apex Series

Watch our exclusive interview with Victoria Weller [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#], Head of Operations at ElevenLabs [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#]. ElevenLabs [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#] just raised $500M Series D at $11B valuation, and the future of Voice & AI couldn't be clearer. We started by discussing the company’s #NoTitle policy and how it enables them to scale rapidly while still preserving #culture. From there, we explored the challenge of maintaining that culture while doubling headcount every six months. Interestingly, ElevenLabs [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#] operates across both #B2B and #B2C markets, so we looked at how the team structures itself to effectively serve two very different types of customers at the same time. Ans as they continue reshaping the Voice & AI space, and specifically the #music industry, what does it mean to become a #Star in this new era of the music industry? Other interesting topics we covered: - ElevenLabs [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#]’ $1B pledge toward free voice restoration technology for people who have lost their voices - How to optimize the product roadmap for different user groups - Advice for entrepreneurs And guess what Victoria [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#]’s favorite #movie is? 🧑‍💻🎧🌆 Check our new website: https://www.boardroomclub.net Register for our newsletter https://boardroomclub.substack.com Interviewers: Yossi Garmazi [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#] & Amado Vargas IV [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/?_bprMode=vanilla#]. #ai #tech #voice #music #agents Chapters: 00:00 AI & Music 00:41 Intro 01:35 From Astrophysicist to ElevenLabs 04:32 Palantir Lessons: No Title Policy 07:23 Growing Fast & Culture 11:24 Compliance Importance 15:11 Serving B2C & B2B 17:40 No more Music Stars? 20:27 $1B Pledge for Voice Restoration 22:15 From 24kHz to 44.1kHz 23:45 Product Roadmap 25:26 Advice 27:10 What's an AI Native Company? 28:33 Mentorship 30:03 Coffee with Historical Figure 30:44 Hobbies 31:30 Favorite Movie

Nebius CMO: $47B Deals in 7 Months | Apex Series

Watch our exclusive interview with Daniel Bounds [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/#], Chief Marketing Officer at Nebius [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/#] (NASDAQ: NBIS). In 7 months period they signed $47B deals with Microsoft [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/#] and Meta [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/#]. and with a recent partnership with NVIDIA [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/#] it feels like this is just the beginning. We started by discussing what it takes to serve both #developers and #enterprises simultaneously, and how a community-led growth model helps them better understand and anticipate customer needs. We then delved deeper into their #philosophy and how it works in practice when serving millions of developers across different geographies and verticals, while providing a #360° -degree approach that spans GTM support, partnerships, and even VC connections. But as the world rapidly evolves with the rise of foundational models, how has their #ICP changed over the years? From there, we shifted to discussing their #PhysicalAI Data Factory Blueprint partnership with NVIDIA [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/#], and how it is helping take robotics innovation to the next level. Lastly, we also explored several fascinating #GTM topics, including: - Debunking Marketing myths. - AI impact on marketing today - Advice for builder in todays world. And Daniel [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/#]'s favorite #movie actors of all time? 🗽🎩🎬 Check our new website: https://www.boardroomclub.net Register for our newsletter https://boardroomclub.substack.com Interviewers: Yossi Garmazi [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/#] & Sanat Mouli [https://www.linkedin.com/preload/#]. #ai #tech #cloud #developers #infra Chapters: 00:00 Marketing Myth 00:33 Intro 01:10 From Silicon to Cloud 03:00 Serving Enterprises & Developers 05:11 Nebius & Developers relationship 08:03 ICP Evolution 11:31 Partnership with Nvidia 15:43 Marketing Metrics 18:17 Marketing 3 Continents 20:48 Nebius in Space? 22:01 Acquiring Tavily 25:02 Debunking Marketing Myths 27:25 Using AI in Marketing 29:51 Where Modern B2B Marketing Underinvesting? 37:26 Advice for Builders 34:57 Mentor 37:10 Coffee with Historical Figure 38:23 Alternate Universe Profession 40:22 Favorite Movie Actor