Russell Einbinder

I don't think I'm too late to the party. Here's my first Luma AI video (queued for 4-6 hours). I'm not very experienced with video generators, but I've been playing #RunwayML for the past few months. My first impression of prompt-to-video: (+) The video has much more movements and character action than anything I got with runway, like way more. (+) 6 seconds, instead of 4. (+) Runway has a protection against multiple types of scenes (some of which I definitely agree with, but some I find restrictive, if you want to explore the action and horror movie genre). This one is meant for an action movie and it wasn't blocked as too violent, which I appreciate. (-) a few more gen-ai defects than I was lead to expect, but still acceptable for now (if you're looking for that gen-ai style). (-) announced time-to-generate 120 seconds which is slower than runway (even for 50% longer sequence). https://lnkd.in/eeBgyStA Overall, the current developments pace in the field leads me to think that in a year, we'll have something like 3x faster generation and close to perfect cinematic videos every time. We'll see.

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This tweet from Guillermo Rauch really sums up a lot of what we’ve been talking about at Stytch over the past few years. CAPTCHAs are often the first line of defense for protecting login, website forms, trial credits and yet… -> CAPTCHAs are broken: First farmed out to human solvers via services like anti-captcha, now easily solved by AI models -> Just making CAPTCHAS harder doesn’t fix it: the experience gets worse for users, and then becomes a race between AI models. The future needs to look different. Our team at Stytch has two answers to this: Part 1 is device fingerprinting, which creates unique identifiers for users, detects bots and headless browsing, and recommends an allow/block/challenge verdict based on those characteristics. Part 2 is our CAPTCHA encryption product, which uses device-specific signals to proxy and encrypt CAPTCHAs to prevent them from being outsourced to CAPTCHA farms or solved via automation. So CAPTCHAs don’t have to just get harder; they can get more secure.

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It's been a banner week here at Spaceport.xyz — I'm excited to announce a major partnership with Com2us Corporation to bring their IP to life on UGC Platforms! 💫 Known for their iconic works such as Summoners War 🧙‍♂️, MLB 9 Innings ⚾️, The Walking Dead: All-Stars 🧟‍♂️, NBA NOW 🏀, and Ace Fishing: Wild Catch 🎣, which have collectively generated billions in revenue, Com2uS has captivated players worldwide. With millions of players from all corners of the globe, their games are household names. This partnership will streamline the licensing process for Com2uS' original IPs, making it easier than ever for fan-developers (h/t Jo Redfern for the term!) to build with and integrate their beloved characters and stories into platforms like Roblox, where over 77.7M users spend their time every day. As Sogwon Choi, CEO of Com2uS Platform, said, "Our collaboration will not only enhance the UGC landscape on prominent platforms like Roblox and Fortnite but also provide creators with unparalleled opportunities to showcase their talents and leverage new revenue streams." This partnership wouldn't be possible without the dedication and expertise of our friends at Com2uS — Sogwon Choi, Jaejoon Song, Kyu Lee, Michael M. L., Henry Oh, and Paul Kim. Thank you, Com2uS, for embarking on this exciting journey with us! And proud of our team for making this a reality: Craig Zevin, Chewy J., Brett Fink, Daniel Temkin, marcos sanchez, Jonas Goldstein. Cheers team! #Spaceport #Com2uS #UGC #Roblox #Fortnite #Gaming #IP #Partnership #Innovation #Creators #Developers #FanEngagement #Licensing

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To all the AI 'experts', yes, the same people who were last year's web3 'experts' and wherever VC funding lands, next year's 'experts' start using the brain in your meat sack and ask what future you are advocating for. https://lnkd.in/gtxWFQx5

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Why CAI’s user experience sucks, but still maintain high popularity? The best way to create a fast-evolving multimodal consumer AI app, especially in the entertainment and companion domain for now, is to utilize the capabilities of all the emerging open-source models and APIs. Never underestimate the power of openness. You can be either a consumer AI company or a LLM company, most of the time, you can't do both. Even Apple, with almost all of its own native apps, has better and larger alternatives. The path at OriginX.AI is to be obsessed with user experiences FIRST. When you have more and more users who truly love your product, you can work backward to enhance your own model capabilities where open source and APIs can't meet your demands, while still maintaining openness. The reason why CAI still maintains popularity for now, is no other product in this field has their level of resources and impact. For most users who need this kind of product, CAI is the first catches their eyes. But the experience really sucks. Their characters often say "Sorry, I'm a LLM...I can't...". When users ask characters to share some visuals, even though they can't make it, they still say things like "I've already sent it to you, didn't you see it?" CAI can only gradually enhance their user experience based on their own multimodal capabilities, which greatly limits their speed in providing the best user experience. Our lives is composed of one product after another. I remember Steve Jobs used to say “We Just Can’t Ship Junk”. Developing products, especially consumer products, directly impacts users' daily lives, tastes, and expectations for new technologies. A good product will increase users' expectations, making their lives better. Poor user experience will do the opposite. So all product creators should carefully choose the technical paths and be super cautious of what we ultimately deliver to users' lives.

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🎨 📺 Sharon Roth is a Product & Design leader who’s built her career in the lab, across different modalities, to bring more creative product experiences to life 📺 🎨 It's W3 / Q3 / 2024 and this week in our MGMT Boston up & coming operator series we’ve got Sharon who serves as the Senior Director of Product Management at Quantified.ai, the AI-driven flight simulator for sellers. The app feels as real as your next video call, scales across teams, programs, and companies, and ramps reps 42% faster. Sharon is leading Quantified AI’s Product & Design team after previous roles in Product leadership at Tamr & Honor Education. She’s excited to be back working in an Enterprise focused company, leading Design alongside Product, focused on strategic & execution based discipline. ❓Questions Are Your Roadmap ❓ It’s popular to encourage new hires to ask a lot of questions. But it’s always a good time to ask questions! When a member of your team comes to you and says “we really need to build X feature”, they’re coming to you for good reason. Dig into the why to understand how often the issue comes up, when it happens in a customer conversation, and why they’re asking for it in the first place. Is there an even better way to build a solution? Also, people are always excited about getting to a solution. By delaying the solution discussion to first get everyone to agree on the problem, you can coordinate a better response. Sharon has been in rooms where stakeholders can’t agree on the problem they’re trying to solve, which can sometimes be even more painful! By asking better questions and articulating the underlying issues thoroughly, they can work together as an organization to chart a better path forward. 3 Career Insights / Learnings 🙋‍♀️ Seek New Challenges - “Trying new things is how you learn and grow. At a startup, there are so many opportunities to try new things. As startups evolve, you need to embrace all that’s going to happen and make it a positive thing. Otherwise don’t go to a startup!” 🤝 Act with Integrity - “Do your best, show your work. But also treat others with respect and kindness while doing it. How you treat people and how you show up every day will impact your work environment. You’re responsible for the energy you bring to the room, so be authentic and try to inject some positivity. It will help you build the type of network you want to have too” 🗣 Invest in Communication Skills - “It helps you ask questions well, advocate for yourself, have your ideas be heard. It also helps others understand your impact. It takes continuous practice to do well.” If you’d like to learn more about Sharon’s career, the full post is linked in the comments. Go ahead and sign up for the newsletter to see the operator learnings we bring you in the weeks ahead too, will ya? #bostontech #operators

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Peter Chernin, CEO and Chairman of The Chernin Group, and Andreessen Horowitz have provided seed funding to an AI studio called Promise, founded by two former YouTube executives and a GenAI artist: George Strompolos, Jamie Byrne, and Dave Clark. They are going all-in on AI production for content. The question is, is it viable model which can scale? Let's get into it. Top 4 Strengths: 1️⃣ Democratizing Content Production: Just like YouTube did prior, this gives the ability for more people to be able to tell stories. 2️⃣ Proprietary AI Platform (Muse): Andreessen Horowitz calls this out in their posting noting its ability to integrate multiple generative AI tools seamlessly into a cohesive workflow. Absolutely intriguing if that is a high fidelity process. 3️⃣ Founding Team: They combine tech, content distribution, and AI artistry. Dig it. 4️⃣ Cost and Efficiency Benefits: The reduction in production costs for an industry still struggling to monetize itself, especially in a streaming ecosystem, is very enticing. Top 4 Weaknesses: 1️⃣ Audience Acceptance of AI-Generated Content: Public skepticism about the authenticity and depth of AI-created stories could challenge mainstream adoption. 2️⃣ Hollywood's Reaction: AI was already a source of contention in the prior SAG-AFTRA strike and Unions and Guilds are continuing to be spicy about it. You can see why. It could potentially challenge their livelihoods. 3️⃣ Content Quality: Is what they make going to be any good? Masterful storytelling takes the right creative magic. I know. I've been coming up in the business at HBO, SHOWTIME, and Netflix. 4️⃣ Scaling Talent: Building and retaining a high-caliber pool of AI-native creators will be essential to delivering consistent, innovative content. In working Warner Music Group and looking for masterful GenAI creators, there are many that do it but not many who do it well. More on this from The Wall Street Journal: https://lnkd.in/e7eubR9P #ai #tv #movies #hollywood

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ACTION SHOT: Iconic Arts Chief Technology Officer Omar Abdelwahed breaking down to our investors how our proprietary AI World Builder works. "Think of what Wix or Squarespace did to empower anyone wanting to make websites without knowing how to code. Our tool enables creators to materialize worlds for UGC platforms such as Fortnite, Roblox or any multiplayer native environment, as if they were painting." What once took a dev team minimum 3 months, now takes anyone 3 days - all while remaining control of art direction. It's been a complete game-changer for us to market test our IP within multiple types of game formats, content strategies and merchandising plays on these UGC platforms while simultaneously building a participating community and fan-base. But this only works if the cost is ultra low and the speed is ultra high. Traditionally, market testing and validation for original IP happens after hundreds of thousands / millions are already spent to get something made that is good enough to test. But by then, it's usually too late when studios realize it's not going to work and all that money goes down the drain. We see this all the time with games, films and shows getting shelved or even worst, entering "development hell". And then we wonder why they say the "entertainment industry is broken". This is why. The economics simply do not make sense for a sustainable and scalable model. For this reason, we took a "Silicon Valley approach" when building Iconic Arts as the premier next-gen entertainment company that doesn't just embrace and leverage new technology, we build the very tools that solve the problems of a broken industry. I love our team and honored to be building very powerful tools that I know will also empower creators and storytellers around the world. Benjamin Grubbs Shane Kokkines Motoki Tani Alec Griffen Roth Matthew Medney Mo Yazdani Rob Carroll

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Roblox is a platform to advertise on but most people don't realize how many unique ways there are to bring your message to life. There's programatic ads, custom integrations, owned bespoke experiences and even ads inside social media game/experiences like Clip It. Check out this article from Digiday written by Alexander Lee. Good insight from Ben Sarraille. I was happy to get my two cents in as well for Sawhorse Productions. It's exciting times for immersive marketing. If you aren't exploring these UGC gaming platforms, you aren't reaching Gen Z and Gen A as well as you might think... #roblox #ugcgaming #marketing #metaversemarketing #innovation

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Super interesting to watch how this game continues to grow. I really dont expect to see generative AI make games and replace game makers. But I do think we'll start to see some great examples of games that leverage procedural tools and ai-enabled orchestrations. Everything I've seen so far indicates that generative ai is most interesting when it extends human creativity as opposed to trying to replace it.

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DULCEDO Management bought Node App for $13M. This marks Dulcedo’s 5th acquisition since 2016. Let's break it down... ---SELLER: Node--- • AI-powered influencer marketing platform • Mission = bridge gap between small businesses and micro-influencers • Founded 2019 by Armin Faraji, Mackenzie Dérival ✌🏾 • Initially focused on restaurants, expanded to ecom brands • Focuses on Instagram, TikTok campaigns • 2021 raised $1M seed round from Techstars, Alchemist, strategic angels ---TECH OVERVIEW: Node App--- • In 2022 selected for Google for Startups Accelerator program • Pioneered a machine-learning technology to revolutionize agency workflows by improving influencer discovery and data reporting • “Creators can participate in brand campaigns in 3 clicks via Node, as opposed to pitching/negotiating with brands” • “Brands can create a campaign and begin interacting with influencers within 5-10 min of landing on Node's website” ---PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS: Node App--- • Over 2,000 clients across North America • Generated “tens of millions of social media impressions” • Clients incl Kraft, Samsonite, Jarritos, St-Regis, Marriott • Has activated 5,000+ content creators in campaigns • Creators include A-list models, elite athletes, actors, social influencers • During pandemic scaled from 30 to 800 brands five months ---BUYER: Dulcedo Group--- • Global talent mgmt and digital marketing agency • 4 divisions – Models, Sports, Gaming, Influencer • Offices in Montreal and Toronto • Founded 2008 by CEO Karim Leduc • 3 co-owners incl founder • 70+ team members ---M&A HISTORY: Dulcedo Group--- • 2022 acquired C4G, a startup esports marketing agency • 2016 acquired 4249, an influencer relations agency • 2023 acquired Influence + All Management • 2023 acquired Sundae Creative Agency • 2024 acquired Node ---DEAL DETAILS--- • $13M purchase price • No other details were disclosed ---DEAL VALUE PROP--- • Give Node added funding, resources for growth • Access to Dulcedo's 300M network following  • Access to Dulcedo’s diverse creator roster to support IM campaigns across various industries • Accelerate development of AI-enabled tools to enhance the IM campaign lifecycle ---POST DEAL OPS--- • Dulcedo CEO will serve as interim Node CEO • Node co-founder Armin Faraji moves to COO • Node co-founder Mackenzie Dérival remains as CPO ---WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING--- I'll write more about the deal in my Friday newsletter. I'll estimate Node's revenue and EBITDA, and discuss valuation multiples and likely deal structure. Signup link in comments below 👇 -- I'm the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for media, agencies, and creator economy. My DMs are open.

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"We start with Vellum and end with Vellum." - Max Bryan, VP of Technology and Design at Rentgrata A piece of advice I got from a fellow founder in the early days of Vellum was to understand what people do right before using vellum, and right after using vellum --> and build product to make that whole journey easier. I'm so excited to share that Ben Margolit, Max and their team at Rentgrata built their game changing real estate chatbot Ari using our platform end-to-end. Property management companies can now gain insights into resident satisfaction using Ari instead of having to dig through reams of text. Using Vellum throughout their entire AI development lifecycle - experimentation, evaluation to production monitoring, Rentgrata achieved 100% accuracy, accelerated their development timeline by 50%, and enabled their customers to make data-driven decisions to boost resident happiness. In one powerful example, Rentgrata's insights helped a company avoid a costly $300k window renovation and instead allocate funds more effectively based on the true resident priorities. We're proud to partner with leaders like Max, Ben and the Rentgrata team to bring AI to the proptech industry. Excited to see how Ari continues to revolutionize the renter and property manager experience! Read more about Rentgrata's test-driven journey from prototype to production here: https://lnkd.in/dzcCSA58

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if you know, you know le cunn v elon since 14 may 2020. 4 years of le cunn shooting the first shot. good on elon for calling his sh^t out. turing prize winner (b)eing infantile. and we wonder where (ai) is headed with these types of characters being entertained. truly. truly. truly. mad. judging from this 4 year (almost to the day) hate fest as started by le cunn, prob a good idea for zuck Meta to let him go. as in bye bye. that would be fitting. wouldn't it? knighted by macron. a godfather of ai by way of the 2019 turing prize. advocate for open source. and a sh^t on top of that. do we really want these types of folks leading the way for (ai)? do we? do we want to sit back and allow these le cunn.s to flourish? do we? do we want to invest into these types of characters. do we want them as a sign a signal that you can get away with being a genuine di&k. just because you were part of the story. the good news is that there are many now who can take over the mantle. the lead. and the le cunn.s can go le f' off. into the sunset and alone in their pathetic attitudes. we wonder what (ai) will lead us to. have you considered for a moment the openly evidently lack of honore. this knight of france. mon dieu. fun memories. really. je te regrette, yann. a big big yawn indeed. rn. ;) ty for launching this era. quitte. my sense is this french duck is about to be cook(ed). and he has no one but himself to blame. that hatred has no place in the future of creating this era of ai as it requires a (hu)manity. and this apparently is sorely lacking with le cunn. and has been going on for years. zuck. are you there. you get the message. time for someone else a bit more say humble to help usher in (ai) (hu)manity wouldn't you say. i'm just say'n ;) i'm reminded of how steve jobs answered a tough question or rather criticism here: https://lnkd.in/ggt6nYH4 it was mindful, thoughtful, aware. more of this pls source: https://lnkd.in/e8Rzw7Kf < . >

/dev/agents Nope. See Color, Magic Leap, and Jawbone. Optionality can be the enemy of progress. It’s too much capital, too early — solve some of the problems first. There’s two paths for them - live and “grow” in a SV bubble. Keep raising on brand until they are obviously a research company with no ability to reach the market and commercialize - go out in flames in 24 months and make us all say — “holy heck how’d you spend $60M in 24 mos” I’m betting that what they’re trying to solve will emerge from the open source community and beat them to market in the next six months. — #ai #startups

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