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Do "AI Startups" even make sense?

Do "AI Startups" even make sense? There appears to be a pattern. Unmet need is identified: "I want ChatGPT -- but able to read PDFs" or "I want ChatGPT -- but able to do research and produce lengthy reports." Startup gets funding for this and, if they're lucky, releases a rough beta that leans heavily on the OpenAI API. Two months later OpenAI launches a better, much more polished and seamless version, which is integrated into ChatGPT itself. I had briefly considered forming a Legal AI startup (going so far as to download the fulltext of every legal ruling ever made in the US -- something like 400GB) but then o3/DeepResearch got so good that it became apparent that there'd be little point. Steve Hsu claims to have solved hallucinations in a customer service context, which might be the only "startup-type" idea that has a head-start over the giants.

Posted by A_D_E_P_T on May 31, 2025, 8:12 AM

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Do "AI Startups" even make sense?

A_D_E_P_TMay 31, 2025, 8:12 AM

Do "AI Startups" even make sense? There appears to be a pattern. Unmet need is identified: "I want ChatGPT -- but able to read PDFs" or "I want ChatGPT -- but able to do research and produce lengthy reports." Startup gets funding for this and, if they're lucky, releases a rough beta that leans heavily on the OpenAI API. Two months later OpenAI launches a better, much more polished and seamless version, which is integrated into ChatGPT itself. I had briefly considered forming a Legal AI startup (going so far as to download the fulltext of every legal ruling ever made in the US -- something like 400GB) but then o3/DeepResearch got so good that it became apparent that there'd be little point. Steve Hsu claims to have solved hallucinations in a customer service context, which might be the only "startup-type" idea that has a head-start over the giants.

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