logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2024
44m 55s

Can this AI Chip Startup Beat NVIDIA? (S...

Yaniv Bernstein, Chris Saad
About this episode

Is it possible for a startup to compete with NVIDIA, the $1 trillion behemoth dominating AI hardware? Thomas Sohmers and his team at Positron are betting they can and they're moving at lightning speed to prove it.


In this episode, Chris Saad sits down with Thomas Sohmers, founder and CEO of Positron, to explore how this ambitious startup is aiming to disrupt the AI chip market currently dominated by NVIDIA.


In this episode, you will:

  • Discover how Positron achieved working hardware in just 18 months, defying typical timelines for chip startups
  • Learn about Positron's strategy for compatibility with existing AI frameworks like HuggingFace
  • Understand the performance and efficiency advantages Positron claims over NVIDIA's offerings
  • Explore how the team's deep industry experience from companies like Grok and F5 Networks gives them an edge
  • Gain insights into Positron's innovative use of FPGAs for rapid iteration before moving to custom chips
  • Hear about the company's funding journey and current Series A raise
  • Uncover valuable lessons for founders on competing against industry giants


Learn more about the startup

Skyfire Website: https://www.positron.ai/ 

Follow Thomas Sohmers on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trsohmers/ 


The Pact

Honour The Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please:


Key links


Learn more about Chris and Yaniv

Work 1:1 with Chris: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://chrissaad.com/advisory/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Chris on Linkedin: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


Credits

Editor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Justin McArthur⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Content Strategist: Carolina Franco https://www.linkedin.com/in/francocarolina/

Intro Voice: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jeremiah Owyang⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Up next
Nov 13
Insiders React: Reviewing Our Tech Predictions From January 2025
Were we wildly wrong, or surprisingly on the money? As 2025 wraps, Chris and Yaniv revisit the bold predictions they made at the start of the year. They reflect on their calls about AI, robotics, VC markets, crypto, and geopolitics. While some were accurate, some were also hilari ... Show More
40m 22s
Nov 6
Insiders React: Is OpenAI Evil? Reacting to Sam Altman's Latest Announcements w/ Jacob Ward
OpenAI may appear to be building the future, but are they leading the tech industry towards collapse?In this episode, Chris and Yaniv are joined by Jacob Ward (journalist, author of The Loop and NBC Technology Correspondent) to break down OpenAI’s latest livestream and what it si ... Show More
1h 9m
Nov 3
Replay: Engaging Young Employees - How to Attract the Best & Brightest Minds w/ Dan Brockwell from Earlywork
What do you need to do to keep employees engaged and committed? What should your position be on remote work? Side hustles? Ping pong tables? Should you offer all employees equity?Bringing Gen Z employees to your workplace is well worth it, but it means a mental pivot from the hir ... Show More
44m 34s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 11
$46B of hard truths from Ben Horowitz: Why founders fail and why you need to run toward fear (a16z co-founder)
Ben Horowitz is the co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, Silicon Valley’s largest and most influential venture capital firm, with over $46B in committed capital across multiple funds. He took Loudcloud public with just $2 million in revenue (dubbed “the IPO from hell”), sold it for ... Show More
1h 37m
Oct 14
How to Start a $1M Business Using Only AI
Get Greg's AI Million Dollar Idea Generator prompt: https://clickhubspot.com/kgj Ep. 370 Is making a million dollars with AI really that easy? Kipp, Kieran, and Greg Isenberg, Co-founder of Ideabrowser and host of The Startup Ideas Podcast, dive into Greg’s proven frameworks and ... Show More
45m 21s
Jan 2025
Mike Maples on 100-Baggers, David Swensen & the AI Revolution | #568
Today’s guest is Mike Maples Jr. a partner at Floodgate, a pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital firm that’s invested in companies like Twitter, Lyft, Twitch, Okta. He’s also the author of Pattern Breakers: Why Some Start-Ups Change the Future. In today’s episode, Mike shares h ... Show More
1h 10m
Jan 2025
E127: Interview with CEO of Top AI Company Backed by Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures
In this episode of How I Invest, I sit down with Felix Ejeckam, Co-Founder and CEO of Akash Systems. Felix discusses how Akash is leveraging synthetic diamond technology to revolutionize cooling for high-power microchips used in AI servers and satellite communications. He shares ... Show More
24m 6s
Mar 2025
Building Lovable: $10M ARR in 60 days with 15 people | Anton Osika (CEO and co-founder)
<p><strong>Anton Osika</strong> is the co-founder and CEO of Lovable, which is building what they call “the last piece of software”—an AI-powered tool that turns descriptions into working products without requiring any coding knowledge. Since launching three months ago, Lovable h ... Show More
1h 9m
Sep 18
How This AI Startup Grew to $50M ARR in 2 Years (Marketing Playbook)
Want to steal Gamma's influencer-led strategy? Get our 10 AI prompts: https://clickhubspot.com/hgb Ep. 363 Is influencer marketing the new product virality? Kipp and Kieran dive into the viral marketing playbook that skyrocketed an AI startup to $50M ARR and 50 million users with ... Show More
22m 4s
Jul 2025
VC React Podcast (E44): Arabic AI Stack, Morocco’s SuperApp, Embedded Insurance, Wild AI Acquihires
VC React Podcast:Every week, we bring you insights and reactions from top VCs, LPs, & Angel Investors, reacting to the latest news on MENA startups, VCs, and investment rounds. ---Hosts: Ahmad Takatkah, VCpreneur. Sign up to VCpreneur Newsletter on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ... Show More
58m 34s
Sep 18
Why experts writing AI evals is creating the fastest-growing companies in history | Brendan Foody (CEO of Mercor)
Brendan Foody is the CEO and co-founder of Mercor, the fastest-growing company in history to go from $1M to $500M in revenue (in just 17 months!). At 22, he is also the youngest American unicorn founder ever. Mercor works with 6 of the Magnificent 7 and all top 5 AI labs to help ... Show More
1h 6m
Aug 31
How we restructured Airtable’s entire org for AI | Howie Liu (co-founder and CEO)
Howie Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Airtable, the no-code platform valued at around $12 billion. After a viral tweet declared “Airtable is dead” based on incorrect data, Howie led a radical transformation: reorganizing the entire company around AI, becoming an “IC CEO” who cod ... Show More
1h 40m
Aug 28
How 80,000 companies build with AI: products as organisms, the death of org charts, and why agents will outnumber employees by 2026 | Asha Sharma (CVP of AI Platform at Microsoft)
Asha Sharma leads AI product strategy at Microsoft, where she works with thousands of companies building AI products and has unique visibility into what’s working (and what’s not) across more than 15,000 startups and enterprises. Before Microsoft, Asha was COO at Instacart, and V ... Show More
57m 11s