Re:What is ZIRP, and how did it impact the startup world?
by gfourfour on Friday June 21, 2024 @12:57AM
(#40746289)
I think wrapper companies could do very well if AI does end up becoming having an impact near on the order of the internet or smartphones, which it may never.
A product that incorporates a foundation model could still require solving a hard engineering problem separately from the training and provision of said model. Someone who could, say, provide a reliable filter for copyrighted content from an LLM is providing real value and has a tangible moat.
> We see this so commonly at YC that we have a term for it. It's called a "Solution In Search of a Problem," or a SISP. And these are usually not great, because usually, you never actually find the problem. You're much better off starting with a problem, and then looking for solutions.
https://www.ycombinator.com/library/8g-how-to-get-startup-id...
Very few people have a problem that AI can currently solve. It might not _stay_ that way... but man I wonder what kind of moat a startup could build when they're just wrappers around foundation models.