The Next AI Wave Will Be Social, Not Solo

TL;DR: Today we’re releasing a new episode of our podcast AI & I. Dan Shipper goes in depth with Sarah Tavel, venture partner at the firm Benchmark. Watch on X or YouTube, or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Here’s a link to the episode transcript.

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Millions of users talk to ChatGPT every day—but none of them talk to each other. I’m one of them, and there’s no way for me to discover great prompts or share the ones that worked for me.

Sarah Tavel, venture partner at Benchmark, bets that the next generation of consumer AI apps will be built on this gap—by founders with product intuition.

As one of Pinterest’s earliest product managers, Tavel has witnessed a shift like this before. She saw Pinterest scale from six employees to 650, growing from a niche consumer tool into a beloved global community. In this episode of AI & I, Dan Shipper and Tavel talk about why the founders who mold new technology into delightful user experiences, and recognize the power of social dynamics will win in consumer AI. Tavel also shares her taste in founders, those who are almost compulsively committed to building their companies, and how AI can improve decision-making processes in venture capital.