YC
How To Build The Future: Sam Altman
@ Y Combinator
11/09/24
Takeaways
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
The world is still largely unaware of the value of having extreme conviction in a single bet, which is why I'm excited for startups right now.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
I believe this is the best time yet to start a technology company, as each major technological revolution allows for more impactful companies to emerge.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
I predict that Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) is just a few thousand days away, and if we maintain our current rate of progress, we could achieve significant advancements in the next several years.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
The potential for breakthroughs in areas like climate change, space colonization, and limitless intelligence is closer than we might think.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
YC encourages a culture of techno-optimism, pushing founders to think bigger and believe in their ability to solve complex problems.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
Achieving abundant energy could unlock significant advancements in both knowledge work and physical labor, leading to a new age of abundance.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
Finding a peer group of inspiring individuals early on is crucial for young founders, as it can significantly influence their journey.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
The early days of YC Research were about experimenting with various ideas, including AI, even when it wasn't clear what would succeed.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
From the very beginning, we aimed to pursue Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) at a time when it was considered crazy to even mention it.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
After raising a round, it's not time for celebration; that's just the starting point, and the real work begins.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
The original ideas that guided us were incredibly accurate, even though the journey had many twists and turns.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
Our initial goals included figuring out unsupervised learning and solving reinforcement learning, while keeping our team small.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
Deep learning works and improves with scale; this belief was considered heretical at the time.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
We were confident that larger neural networks would yield better results, even before we had the data to prove it.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
We focused on one approach rather than spreading our resources too thin, which is a key takeaway for startups.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
When you find something that improves with scale, you should pursue it aggressively, as more can often be better.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
Even when we were relatively unknown, we had a highly talented team that could tackle significant challenges.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
The skepticism we faced about resource allocation was common, but we believed in the value of deep conviction on a single bet.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
The ability to adapt and embrace being wrong is crucial; conviction must be balanced with a willingness to change based on new data.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
We started with many assumptions about technology and our company structure, and we learned from being wrong.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
The journey to discovering the potential of language models was not straightforward; we initially explored various other technologies.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
The breakthrough with GPT-1 came from recognizing a unique property in unsupervised learning that others had overlooked.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
The transition from GPT-3 to GPT-4 marked a significant moment where users began to see real value in the technology.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
I learned a lot from my early experiences, even though my first company didn't succeed. The rate of learning in startups is incredibly high.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
Your 20s are often an apprenticeship, and you may not know what you're preparing for until later in life.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
I never found product-market fit with my first startup, which made it a painful experience, but it was invaluable for my education.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
The transition from dumb cell phones to smartphones was a significant platform shift, and being part of that change was a valuable experience.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
The current tech landscape is ripe for startups because many established companies are unaware of the rapid advancements in AI.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
Young innovators are often the ones who drive platform shifts, as they are less constrained by prior knowledge and can think creatively.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
Startups have a unique advantage right now due to their speed and ability to adapt quickly to new technologies, especially AI.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
It's crucial for startup founders to build something with AI and to act quickly rather than getting bogged down in lengthy planning cycles.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
While new technology can create short-term growth, it's essential to remember that the fundamentals of building a sustainable business still apply.
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Sam Altman
11/09/24
@ Y Combinator
I'm incredibly excited about the potential of AGI and the profound changes it will bring to our lives.