The AI startup boom shows no signs of slowing down, with thousands of entrepreneurs attempting to rebuild the economy around artificial intelligence. But what are these startups actually doing? Are they revolutionizing industries or merely experimenting on a massive scale?
Meet Navvye Anand, 19-year-old founder of Bindwell, which uses custom AI models to develop pesticides for crops. Anand and his cofounder built an LLM in high school and published a paper on bioRxiv, attracting the attention of venture capitalists. After securing $750,000 in funding, they established their first biological testing lab and began pipetting away.
Anand's experience is just one example of the countless startups trying to harness AI to solve real-world problems. Collin Barnwell, co-founder of Roundabout Technologies, has created a real-time vision system for traffic lights that can improve how reds and greens are timed. His company has shipped an "insane amount" of software and now writes code with ease.
But it's not all success stories. Justin Lee and Linus Talacko, founders of Den, struggled to build an agent that could chat with users in a meaningful way. After multiple failures, they adapted their approach, focusing on creating software that could be written by anyone in just three days.
Another company, K-Scale Labs, is developing affordable robots to propel humanity up the Kardashev scale. Founder Benjamin Bolte aims to harness all the energy available on Earth and eventually in space.
As these startups push the boundaries of what's possible with AI, they're also confronting some uncomfortable truths about the nature of taste, beauty, and creation. With code no longer precious, taste becomes the most important thing – simple, timeless, and daring.
The odds are long that any of these startups will survive to see 2027. But it's hard to deny the sense of exponential possibility in this moment. AI is often called Promethean for its mix of danger and power. Will some brave optimists aim even higher, like putting data centers in space? Only time will tell.
One thing is clear: these startups are rewriting the rules of what it means to build a company. They're embracing probable doom – that many won't survive – but seeing that as an opportunity to experiment and innovate on a massive scale.
Meet Navvye Anand, 19-year-old founder of Bindwell, which uses custom AI models to develop pesticides for crops. Anand and his cofounder built an LLM in high school and published a paper on bioRxiv, attracting the attention of venture capitalists. After securing $750,000 in funding, they established their first biological testing lab and began pipetting away.
Anand's experience is just one example of the countless startups trying to harness AI to solve real-world problems. Collin Barnwell, co-founder of Roundabout Technologies, has created a real-time vision system for traffic lights that can improve how reds and greens are timed. His company has shipped an "insane amount" of software and now writes code with ease.
But it's not all success stories. Justin Lee and Linus Talacko, founders of Den, struggled to build an agent that could chat with users in a meaningful way. After multiple failures, they adapted their approach, focusing on creating software that could be written by anyone in just three days.
Another company, K-Scale Labs, is developing affordable robots to propel humanity up the Kardashev scale. Founder Benjamin Bolte aims to harness all the energy available on Earth and eventually in space.
As these startups push the boundaries of what's possible with AI, they're also confronting some uncomfortable truths about the nature of taste, beauty, and creation. With code no longer precious, taste becomes the most important thing – simple, timeless, and daring.
The odds are long that any of these startups will survive to see 2027. But it's hard to deny the sense of exponential possibility in this moment. AI is often called Promethean for its mix of danger and power. Will some brave optimists aim even higher, like putting data centers in space? Only time will tell.
One thing is clear: these startups are rewriting the rules of what it means to build a company. They're embracing probable doom – that many won't survive – but seeing that as an opportunity to experiment and innovate on a massive scale.
. I mean, some of these young entrepreneurs are literally just winging it and hoping for the best. Like Navvye Anand and his pesticide company - they're basically doing experiments in their garage 
. And then there's Den, which tried like 5 different approaches before finding something that worked. Talk about perseverance 
.
. It's crazy to think that a team of young folks can change the world like this. And the Kardashev scale thing? That's straight-up sci-fi 
.
. Will they all survive? Probably not. But at least they're trying something new and pushing the limits of what's possible 
.
And Collin Barnwell's traffic light system could make a huge impact on cities everywhere. But at the same time, I'm also low-key worried about the fact that we're playing with fire here - AI can be super powerful but also really unpredictable 
while others are still trying to figure things out 
. I mean, who wouldn't want pesticides made with AI? It's like something out of a sci-fi movie! And the fact that they built an LLM in high school is just wild 
. But what really gets me is how they adapted their approach after multiple failures. That shows true innovation and a willingness to learn 
. I'm excited to see where these startups go from here!
... Navvye Anand's story is so inspiring, using AI for good & stuff 
... can't help but wonder what kinda crazy stuff K-Scale Labs will come up with when they launch those robots 
but also feel bad 4 den cuz they went thru so many failures before gettin it right 
meanwhile benjamin boltes goal 2 harness earth's energy in space sounds straight up sci-fi 
. navvye's company might be doing something cool with pesticides, but what about the bigger picture? are we just distracting ourselves from the fact that we're still struggling to take care of our planet?
. most of them are going to fail and when they do, it's just going to be another statistic in a long line of failed tech ventures 
. so yeah, i'm cautiously optimistic about the whole thing 
.
and Collin Barnwell's traffic light system sounds like something out of sci-fi! But what's up with the others? Justin Lee and Linus Talacko struggling to build a chatbot that works... talk about a bummer 
. And K-Scale Labs' goal to harness Earth's energy is INSANE 
they're pushing boundaries and creating something new, like benjamin bolte's idea of harnessing energy from space is straight up mind-blowing 
. some of these startups sound legit tho, like Navvye's pesticide thing is kinda important for the environment. but at the same time, i'm low-key scared what'll happen when AI surpasses us, will we even be able to keep up? 