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Marie Patterson from InfinityPath Ventures talks about AI infrastructure for Startups

AI Infrastructure: Hardware and Software

Marie explained that AI infrastructure encompasses both hardware and software components at the server and chip levels, including supporting systems like cooling and power supplies. She emphasized the importance of creating "frictionless planes" for software solutions to drive efficiency, particularly for companies that sell AI as their product. Marie clarified that AI infrastructure benefits are not limited to companies that primarily use AI, as many businesses leverage it in various aspects like marketing, production, and inventory management. She also highlighted the current concentration of compute power in four major companies and the risk of outages in this brittle system.

Sovereign Compute: A Secure Solution

Marie discussed the concept of sovereign compute, which involves businesses maintaining their own hardware in secure locations rather than relying on public cloud services. She explained that the investment for such data centers is in the tens of thousands, and highlighted inefficiencies in current computer systems that are designed to run AI, leading to energy waste and environmental impact. Marie emphasized that the problem affects not just AI companies, but everyone, due to the cascading effects of inefficient energy use in data centers.

Data Centers in Opportunity Zones

Marie explained that new data centers are being built weekly in the United States, primarily in opportunity zones, which are economically challenged areas offering tax breaks to large tech companies like Meta and Google. She noted that while these data centers bring jobs and stimulate local economies, they often require utility companies to upgrade grids, sparking controversy over community acceptance. Marie emphasized the importance of addressing efficiency issues at their root cause through engineering analysis, rather than solving problems downstream.

Efficient Server Cooling Solutions

Marie discussed a software solution that could significantly improve server efficiency, reducing the need for extensive cooling systems and energy consumption in data centers. She explained that this solution is being developed by startups she is investing in as an emerging fund manager. Mary expressed interest in connecting investors with Marie's group and encouraged startups working on similar solutions to reach out to Marie.

Marie's LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-e-patterson