🎮 When Berkeley classmates become co-founders: Michael joins Bruce on an unexpected journey to accelerate video game development through AI—and what they're building has massive implications for broadcast and media.
THE STORY:
Three UC Berkeley Applied AI cohort members reunite on the podcast. Michael—a behavioral economist and lifelong sales expert (from selling hotdogs at his mom's stand to selling buildings)—has just joined DevStream Labs as co-founder. Bruce, the founder's technical partner, is a former Shell Oil automation engineer turned UC Berkeley data scientist turned Applied AI instructor. Their unexpected collaboration offers a masterclass in how AI actually creates value in creative industries.
WHAT DEVSTREAM LABS SOLVES:
Video game development drowns in bottlenecks. A small code change can cascade through massive collaborative systems, breaking everything. Multiple departments (art, sound, design, code) work in siloed friction. DevStream Labs applies manufacturing principles to complex software development: smaller batches, contained changes, rapid iteration cycles. The result? Teams ship faster, catch bugs earlier, and maintain creative momentum.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL DISCOVER:
🎯 Michael's unconventional founder story—from building "Higher AI" (a voice analytics platform for sales performance) to angel investing in Bruce's company to suddenly becoming co-founder in just weeks
🎯 How behavioral economics intersects with AI strategy—understanding human motivation is just as critical as the technology itself
🎯 Bruce's technical journey: Shell Oil optimization engineer → recognizing ML was the future → UC Berkeley master's in data science → teaching applied AI → launching DevStream Labs with Bungee/Avid founder Brent
🎯 Why the Skydeck competition mattered—DevStream Labs placed in the top 50 out of 4,200+ applicants, attracting Michael's family investment
🎯 The manufacturing-to-software-development analogy—why smaller batches work in complex collaborative projects just like they worked at Shell Oil, and how this prevents catastrophic project failures
🎯 The trifecta of founders—how complementary skill sets (technical depth + domain expertise + business vision) drive successful startups
🎯 Why Jevons Paradox reshapes the AI conversation—during the Industrial Revolution, cheaper coal led to MORE demand, not less. Same principle applies to AI: better tools = higher demand for expert humans to guide those tools
🎯 The urgent broadcast problem: 3D studio recreation from still photos, world models creating simulated broadcast environments, real-time virtual production becoming increasingly accessible
🎯 Why the future demands human-in-the-loop augmentation—not replacement automation—to maintain creative control and quality
🎯 The productivity paradox—AI tools don't eliminate expertise; they multiply the value of expert knowledge and free creative teams for higher-impact storytelling work
🎯 What's next: aviation as the next frontier for complex software development optimization
THE BROADCAST ANGLE:
If you're in media, this matters. DevStream Labs is building tools that could transform how broadcast studios manage complex collaborative workflows. 3D environment recreation, world models, real-time asset management—all accelerated by AI while keeping humans in creative control.
RESOURCES & LINKS:
🌐 DevStream Labs: www.devstreamlabs.com
💼 DevStream Labs LinkedIn: Available for 12 Days of Christmas campaign
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dev-stream-labs/
🎮 Free Tools: Unity build error detection augmentation available now
🎙️ Broadcast Media: The Inside Track on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
www.ancast.co.uk
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