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Building AI Search Engine for the GPT-5 Era | Will Bryk, Exa
@ EO
05/10/25
Takeaways
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
In five years, we could have artificial general intelligence systems that automate all human labor, allowing AI to handle repetitive tasks while humans focus on novel work.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
Every human will become a product manager overseeing a team of AIs, making it crucial to plan for this future.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
It's extremely challenging to predict the future in the rapidly changing AI market; one-year plans are feasible, but three- and five-year plans are nearly impossible.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
To navigate the fast-evolving AI landscape, startups should think from first principles about what the market will need in the long term, rather than just focusing on immediate needs.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
When I was in college, the idea that scaling compute in transformers could lead to artificial general intelligence was considered crazy, but I eventually recognized that scaling does improve performance.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
At Exa, we apply a scaling hypothesis for search, believing that increasing data and compute will enhance our search engine's capabilities, unlike traditional search engines that have stagnated.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
Exa understands the meaning behind queries, allowing us to find relevant information even when traditional search engines fail to match keywords, such as identifying a rocket company in San Francisco.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
We aim to achieve perfect search over the web, ensuring users receive exactly the information they seek, and we help companies integrate this high-quality knowledge into their applications.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
We recently raised $17 million from Lightseed and Nvidia, and our revenue is doubling every quarter as we build the next generation of search.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
My interest in computer science was influenced by the realization that AI could solve complex problems, leading me to shift from studying physics to focusing on AI and technology.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
Before Exa, I was writing a history book, driven by my excitement about world history and the desire to share that knowledge.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
Google is not sufficient for deep research; it excels at surface-level investigations but fails when you need to understand topics deeply.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
The goal of Exa is to create a search engine that understands user queries at a deep level, similar to how GB3 interacts with users.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
Persistence was crucial in developing Exa; without it, we might have given up after six months of challenges in creating a functional search engine.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
Exa was launched in November 2022, designed specifically for AI applications that require knowledge retrieval.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
AI applications are emerging everywhere, and they all require effective search capabilities, which is where Exa can provide significant value.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
Listening to market demands is essential; when customers repeatedly request API access, it's a sign to adapt and meet their needs.
WB
Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
AI will excel at tasks where training data can be generated easily, such as navigating the web, but robotics will take longer due to the complexity of hardware.
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Will Bryk
05/10/25
@ EO
To prepare for the future, envision how advanced technology will be in a year and build your projects accordingly.