How can startups truly differentiate themselves in the new era of AI?
We’ve been discussing that question recently on the GeekWire Podcast, and on this episode, we’ll get a first-hand look from business and technology veteran Pete Christothoulou, who has been immersed in this world for many years.
Christothoulou is the former CEO of Marchex, the call and conversational analytics company, who is now founder and CEO of Xembly, a Seattle-based startup developing AI-powered technology that replicates a chief of staff and executive assistant — automating tasks such as meeting notes, scheduling, and action items.
Xembly was founded out of Madrona Venture Labs nearly three years ago, long before the current mania over large language models. The company has raised $20 million from major venture capital firms and angel investors. It employs about 45 people, with customers including Salesforce, Qualtrics, and Twilio, among others.
“I think the next decade will be the most transformative decade we’ve had. How we buy things will change, how we live will change, how we work will change. I’m really excited about advances in medicine that are taking place. It’s just going to be incredible,” Christothoulou says.
However, he adds, “I also am sensitive to all the slop that’s going to happen. … There are a lot of cool companies, or seemingly cool companies, doing interesting things. But it’s really interesting demoware — they’re not businesses.
“So the things I watch for are, who are the people, and what are the companies, really obsessing about a problem, and really obsessing about customers, and not building something cool because it’s cool,” he adds. “I’d like to see a little more focus on hard-core problem solving.”
We talk about the rapid developments in AI over the past year, and take a close look at Xembly as a case study for insights into how startups can differentiate themselves in this new era of AI.
In the final segment, we consider the big-picture implications of AI in the current deluge of information and the quest for meaningful productivity.
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Related links and resources
- An executive assistant for every worker: Startup’s AI takes meeting notes, follows up on email, and more
- Seattle startup Xembly raises $15M for AI ‘chief of staff’ that automates tedious conversational tasks
- Microsoft’s optimistic view of AI sees technology ending the drudgery of ‘digital debt’
- What Happened to All of Science’s Big Breakthroughs? (New York Times)
- Papers and patents are becoming less disruptive over time (Nature)
- A Decline in Scientific Innovation? (Science)
Audio edited and produced by Curt Milton.
