AI, Data Engineering, and the Modern Data Stack
AI + a16z20 Jun 2025

AI, Data Engineering, and the Modern Data Stack

In this episode of AI + a16z, dbt Labs founder and CEO Tristan Handy sits down with a16z's Jennifer Li and Matt Bornstein to explore the next chapter of data engineering — from the rise (and plateau) of the modern data stack to the growing role of AI in analytics and data engineering. As they sum up the impact of AI on data workflows: The interesting question here is human-in-the-loop versus human-not-in-the-loop. AI isn’t about replacing analysts — it’s about enabling self-service across the company. But without a human to verify the result, that’s a very scary thing.

Among other specific topics, they also discuss how automation and tooling like SQL compilers are reshaping how engineers work with data; dbt's new Fusion Engine and what it means for developer workflows; and what to make of the spate of recent data-industry acquisitions and ambitious product launches.

Follow everyone on X:

Tristan Handy

Jennifer Li

Matt Bornstein

Check out everything a16z is doing with artificial intelligence here, including articles, projects, and more podcasts.

Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(87)

Balancing AI Expertise and Industry Acumen in Vertical Applications

Balancing AI Expertise and Industry Acumen in Vertical Applications

In this episode of AI + a16z, Ambience cofounder and chief scientist Nikhil Buduma joins Derrick Harris to discuss the nuances of using AI models to build vertical applications (including in his space...

13 Sep 202442min

AI, SQL, and the End of Big Data

AI, SQL, and the End of Big Data

In this episode of AI + a16z, a16z General Partner Jennifer Li joins MotherDuck Cofounder and CEO Jordan Tigani to discuss DuckDB's spiking popularity as the era of big data wanes, as well as the appl...

30 Aug 202433min

The Researcher to Founder Journey, and the Power of Open Models

The Researcher to Founder Journey, and the Power of Open Models

In this episode of the AI + a16z podcast, Black Forest Labs founders Robin Rombach, Andreas Blattmann, and Patrick Esser sit down with a16z general partner Anjney Midha to discuss their journey from P...

16 Aug 202437min

Why Computer Science Subsumed Biotech

Why Computer Science Subsumed Biotech

In this episode, a16z General Partner Vijay Pande walks us through the past two decades of applying software engineering to the life sciences — from the Folding@Home project that he launched, through ...

9 Aug 202447min

Democratizing Generative AI Red Teams

Democratizing Generative AI Red Teams

In this episode of the AI + a16z podcast, a16z General Partner Anjney Midha speaks with PromptFoo founder and CEO Ian Webster about the importance of red-teaming for AI safety and security, and how br...

2 Aug 202444min

Augmenting Incident Response with LLMs

Augmenting Incident Response with LLMs

In this episode of the AI + a16z podcast, Command Zero cofounder and CTO Dean de Beer joins a16z's Joel de la Garza and Derrick Harris to discuss the benefits of training large language models on secu...

26 Jul 202440min

Scaling AI for the Coming Data Deluge

Scaling AI for the Coming Data Deluge

In this episode of the AI + a16z podcast, Anyscale cofounder and CEO Robert Nishihara joins a16z's Jennifer Li and Derrick Harris to discuss the challenges of training and running AI models at scale; ...

19 Jul 202437min

ARCHIVE: The Dream of AI Is Alive in AlphaGo

ARCHIVE: The Dream of AI Is Alive in AlphaGo

In this archive episode from 2015, a16z's Sonal Chokshi, Frank Chen, and Steven Sinofsky discuss DeepMind's breakthrough AlphaGo system, which mastered the ancient Chinese game Go and introduced the p...

5 Jul 202433min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
finansredaksjonen
pengesnakk
pengepodden-2
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
rss-sunn-okonomi
utbytte
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
rss-markedspuls-2
lederpodden
liberal-halvtime
rss-politisk-preik
okonomiamatorene