Inside AI

In this episode, Marcel Salathé talks with Babak Falsafi, professor at EPFL and founder of EcoCloud, about the growing energy demands of AI and cloud computing. They dive into the real-world impact of data centers, the technological and geopolitical dynamics of AI infrastructure, and what it means for sustainability. From GPU power trends to cooling challenges, and from energy-efficient algorithms to national strategies, this conversation unpacks the complex trade-offs at the intersection of AI and energy. Find out more : https://parsa.epfl.ch/~falsafi/#portfolio-area https://www.sdea.ch/

In this episode of Inside AI, Marcel sits down with Stef van Grieken, co-founder and CEO of Cradle, the company rewriting the rules of biology through generative AI. From a small Dutch village to building Google’s TPU and now the frontier of synthetic biology, Stef shares the journey that led him to ask a transformative question: What if we could design proteins the way we generate images or text? Cradle’s software is already helping design next-generation drugs, materials, and sustainable alternatives to oil- and animal-based products — even enabling interns with no biology background to outperform billion-dollar pharma solutions.

In this episode, Marcel speaks with Anton Osika, CEO and co-founder of Lovable, the fastest-growing AI startup (by ARR) in 2025. Anton shares insights into Lovable's journey, exploring how recent advancements in large language models (LLMs) have enabled their rapid takeoff. He highlights current technical challenges, including growth strategies and navigating security issues inherent in AI-driven coding, and also provides a glimpse into Lovable's roadmap. Finally, Anton reflects on the experience of launching and scaling Lovable within Europe's startup ecosystem.

In this mind-bending episode of Inside AI, we dive into the fascinating world of human-AI hybrid systems. Forget your sci-fi dystopias — Marcel and Nicholas Christakis talk about bots that make us better humans. From robots that crack jokes to boost group morale, octopus's consciouness, and digital assistants that might be raising your kids (politely or not), we explore how social AIs can change the way we interact — with each other and with machines. Christakis also explains why your AI co-pilot should maybe come with flaws (on purpose), how simple bots can catalyze group cooperation, and why your emotional bond with ChatGPT might be more revealing than you think.

In this episode, Marcel speaks with Charlotte Bunne, professor at EPFL specializing in AI and molecular medicine. Charlotte's groundbreaking research focuses on using AI to tackle challenges in personalized medicine, particularly oncology. They discuss her work on developing AI systems inspired by biological structures, the creation of AI Virtual Cells that integrate multiple biological scales, and the concept of Digital Twins to enhance diagnostics and treatment. From better understanding disease mechanisms to predicting the efficacy of new drugs, Charlotte explains how AI is transforming medicine at a molecular level.

In this episode, Marcel sat down with Daniel Yanisse,Co-Founder and CEO of Checkr, a background screening platform revolutionizing hiring with AI. Daniel shares his journey from EPFL to Silicon Valley, how Y Combinator helped turn Checkr into a unicorn, and the role AI plays in reshaping the HR industry. He also offers candid insights into the challenges of scaling a startup, navigating regulation, and the differences between the European and U.S. startup ecosystems. Tune in for a deep dive into entrepreneurship, AI, and the future of work!

Nicolas is a partner at Y Combinator, the legendary startup accelerator. We draw from his experience as both a successful startup founder and investor. He has now a front row seat to AI’s rapid evolution and its impact across the startup ecosystem. With his international outlook and deep expertise and scaling companies, Nicolas shares his insights on startups, keys to founders’ success and why we might be on the cusp of the next consumer AI revolution.

How will AI shape education, work, and society? In this episode Marcel Salathé speaks with Daniel Huttenlocher, Dean of MIT’s Schwarzman College of Computing. They discuss AI’s role in reshaping learning, the future of jobs, and the geopolitical shifts driven by AI.

In this episode, we sit down with Urs Hölzle, Google Fellow and former SVP of Technical Infrastructure at Google. He joins us in his personal capacity to talk about many issues, including one of AI’s biggest topics: energy consumption. From optimizing data centers to the future of AI efficiency, Urs shares his unique perspective on balancing AI’s rapid evolution with sustainability. We also cover the role of AGI, autnomous vehicles, economic sustainability, and Europe’s AI outlook

JP is one of the co-founders of Cerebras, a company known for pioneering AI hardware. JP has focused much of his career on designing and optimising hardware solutions for high performance computing environments. Cerebras is currently on an impressive trajectory, having produced the largest and fastest AI chip in the world. In this episode, we look into his journey as a founder in the AI chip industry, and we at the rapid development of AI in the recent years. We'll gain his unique perspective on navigating the startup landscape during this transformative period.