# 01.29.25 - Founders You Should Know, Intelligence in Production The overarching theme of 2026 is the transition from **"Vibe Coding"** and experimental wrappers to **Provable Correctness** and **Reliable Autonomy**. Whether it’s fusion energy or women’s health, the focus has shifted from "can AI do this?" to "how do we scale this without it breaking in the real world?" **On Bicycle for the Mind:** Originally Steve Jobs’ favorite metaphor for the computer, the *bicycle for the mind* resonates with my current orbit - A mechanic for the high-performance bikes that enterprises users and startups alike are riding, or trying to. I see when the chain drops or the gears grind because the builders have designed for a flat road and the users are trying to climb a mountain. It helps that I love biking. ![[Pasted image 20260129122937.png]] ### 1. Applied Intelligence & Infrastructure These companies are building the "nervous system" for the next decade of industry. - **Applied Compute (Rhythm):** Moving beyond generic LLMs toward specific intelligence and RL (Reinforcement Learning) stacks. They are the "shipping lane" for intelligence into the enterprise, converting internal data into automated outcomes. - **Code Metal (Peter):** The antithesis of "vibe coding." As we move into deep tech (fusion, robotics, defense), "close enough" isn't good enough. They provide **provable correctness** for hardware/software translation, targeting high-stakes environments like GE Vernova and the Air Force. - **Raindrop (Ben):** The **"Sentry for Agents."** Traditional evals fail in long-trajectory agentic workflows. Raindrop captures "silent failures" in production, making agent behavior interpretable and safe—essential for industries where a mistake could cost lives or millions in capital. ### 2. Scaling the "Human-in-the-Loop" (Healthcare & Consumer) The challenge here is maintaining a high-trust, "human" feel while processing massive volume. - **Midi Health (Joanna):** A "healthcare system without walls." Addressing the OBGYN desert (50% of US counties) by scaling longitudinal care. - **Wispr Flow:** Solving the "Human-Computer Interaction" (HCI) bottleneck. They’ve cracked **zero-edit-rate voice input**, turning voice into a high-fidelity tool for professional workflows. The challenge is moving from "consumer delight" to "enterprise governance." ### 3. Frontier Deep Tech & Security - **Inertia (Jeff):** Focused on the "Engineering Risk" of commercial fusion. The path is clear: Science > Powerful Lasers > Mass-manufactured fuel targets > Gigawatt power plants. - **Outtake:** Cyber agents. with an office that has a 1:1 ratio of people to plants/devices. They are tackling identity and security in a world where digital threats move at agentic speeds. - **Dreamer AI:** Building the "bicycle for the mind" (and code). Focuses on providing high-quality tools for AI systems to build better data, reinforcing the loop of machine-assisted creation.