3 ms·

Also a lot of startups right now need 1 - N GPUs on demand. I do not think the author has ever worked on a growing product.

gcapu 3y ago
Right now GCP and lambda cloud have almost no GPUs available. I would have done better on prem.
tptacek 3y ago
Do they? Why?
- gadflyinyoureye 3y ago
  Startups are about hype. Current hype is AI. Google’s CPU based AI training system, whose name I’m blanking on now, doesn’t out perform GPU on smaller loads. Can’t say, “This pen is worth paying $10k unless you include ‘with AI’”.
  - tptacek 3y ago
    Right, I get the "AI -> GPU" connection, I'm asking: literally what does a startup do with an on-demand GPU? What is the workload?
- dvfjsdhgfv 3y ago
  Sadly, even if you do something absolutely non-"AI" related, you need to add "AI" somewhere, it's a kind of SEO for VC. Yesterday it was blockchain, tomorrow it will be something else.
  - optimalquiet 3y ago
    Did blockchain startups ever provide any real value to end-users? Like, at all? Speaking from my technical but not SWE perspective, the only things I'm familiar with using the blockchain are cryptocurrency (obviously) and NFTs, which as far as I'm concerned are a scam. AI does seem different in that regard, I think it is providing tremendous value to people. Just probably not in the random places where people are throwing it in where it doesn't actually fit.
    - dvfjsdhgfv 3y ago
      I agree with you but we're not talking about providing any value for end users but about venture investments and raising capital. You don't need to actually provide any value, you just need to convince someone with money to spend it, promising more money in the end. This money may never actually materialize (see Uber) but you can still receive a lot of money year by year, based on someone else's expectations.

3 ms·

Also a lot of startups right now need 1 - N GPUs on demand. I do not think the author has ever worked on a growing product.

by teaearlgraycold 3y ago

gcapu 3y ago
Right now GCP and lambda cloud have almost no GPUs available. I would have done better on prem.
tptacek 3y ago
Do they? Why?
- gadflyinyoureye 3y ago
  Startups are about hype. Current hype is AI. Google’s CPU based AI training system, whose name I’m blanking on now, doesn’t out perform GPU on smaller loads. Can’t say, “This pen is worth paying $10k unless you include ‘with AI’”.
  - tptacek 3y ago
    Right, I get the "AI -> GPU" connection, I'm asking: literally what does a startup do with an on-demand GPU? What is the workload?
- dvfjsdhgfv 3y ago
  Sadly, even if you do something absolutely non-"AI" related, you need to add "AI" somewhere, it's a kind of SEO for VC. Yesterday it was blockchain, tomorrow it will be something else.
  - optimalquiet 3y ago
    Did blockchain startups ever provide any real value to end-users? Like, at all? Speaking from my technical but not SWE perspective, the only things I'm familiar with using the blockchain are cryptocurrency (obviously) and NFTs, which as far as I'm concerned are a scam. AI does seem different in that regard, I think it is providing tremendous value to people. Just probably not in the random places where people are throwing it in where it doesn't actually fit.
    - dvfjsdhgfv 3y ago
      I agree with you but we're not talking about providing any value for end users but about venture investments and raising capital. You don't need to actually provide any value, you just need to convince someone with money to spend it, promising more money in the end. This money may never actually materialize (see Uber) but you can still receive a lot of money year by year, based on someone else's expectations.