Is OpenAI Still the Front-Runner?

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The re:Start Pod

59 episodes

2 weeks ago

Three founders. One exit. Countless new beginnings. We sold our AI company — and now we’re back at square one, figuring out our next re:Starts. Every week, join Damon Burrow, Lakshya Bakshi, and Shashi Mudunuri as we digest the biggest stories in AI, tech, and innovation while also sharing the behind-the-scenes of building what’s next. From brainstorming new ventures to collaborating across industries and hosting candid conversations with fellow builders, The re:Start Podcast is where post-exit founders trade playbooks, predictions, and lessons learned for the sake of discovering their next

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Is OpenAI Still the Front-Runner? - Ep. 51

The re:Start Pod

55 minutes 56 seconds

7 months ago

Is OpenAI Still the Front-Runner? - Ep. 51

Three founders. One unfiltered take on AI’s future.

In this episode of the ScholarAI Founders Pod, Damon, Shashi, and Lakshya return for a packed discussion on:

- The real implications of open-source AI vs. closed models

- Whether Anthropic, OpenAI, and Mistral are over- or under-valued

- NVIDIA’s dominance and how founders should think about compute

- Why the next great AI company might not be a chatbot

- Whether GPT-4.5 is quietly disrupting everything

- And the honest debate: are we running out of GPUs?

This one’s full of real founder talk — from infrastructure bets to application strategy and beyond. A must-listen if you’re building in AI or investing in it.

(0:00) Open vs. Closed-Source AI: What’s Actually at Stake?

(6:03) Mistral’s New Model & Product: How Does It Stack Up?

(10:56) Should Founders Build on Open-Source or Closed Models?

(17:35) GPU Bottlenecks & Infrastructure Tradeoffs

(22:45) Model Hosting Costs Are Wild—Who Can Keep Up?

(26:31) Infra vs. Product: What Really Drives Adoption?

(31:12) GPT-4.5 vs. GPT-5: What's the Real Leap?

(36:55) Building an AI Company in 2025: Advice for Founders

(42:47) When Will AI Agents Finally Deliver on the Hype?

(48:23) Founders Roundtable: Big Lessons from the Past Year

(52:11) What We’re Most Excited to Build Next

Follow the Founders:

https://x.com/DamonBurrow

https://x.com/Lakshya__Bakshi

https://x.com/reShashi

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TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@founders.pod

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/scholar-ai/