Netflix’s AI Legacy Lives On: Outerbounds Applies Streaming Giant’s Lessons to Enterprise AI
Outerbounds, a machine learning infrastructure startup founded by former Netflix data scientists, Ville Tuulos and Savin Goyal, has announced new product capabilities aimed at helping enterprises harness the power of generative AI models like ChatGPT. With the increasing demand for large language models (LLMs), Outerbounds aims to position itself as a leading provider of ML infrastructure.
The newly-added features to the Outerbounds platform include GPU compute for generative AI use cases, bank-grade security and compliance, and workstation support for data scientists. These additions aim to enable customers to accelerate the development and deployment of data, ML, and AI projects while maintaining control over their data and models.
According to Tuulos, the adoption of generative AI and LLMs should not be seen as a quick fix or gimmick, but rather as a means of enhancing a company’s products in meaningful ways. He emphasizes the need for AI techniques to be tailored and customized to support specific product requirements, rather than being viewed as a mere add-on.
Since its launch in 2021, Outerbounds has proven instrumental in the success of several businesses, including Trade Republic, Convoy, and Wadhwani AI. Trade Republic, for instance, saw a significant uplift in product metrics within just six weeks of deploying a new ML-powered feature, thanks to Outerbounds.
The foundation of Outerbounds’ infrastructure lies in Metaflow, an open-source framework created by the founders during their time at Netflix in 2019. Metaflow is already widely adopted by leading ML and data science organizations across various industries, including Netflix, Zillow, 23andMe, CNN Media Group, and Dyson.
One aspect that sets Outerbounds apart in the crowded ML operations market is its human-centric approach to infrastructure. Tuulos emphasizes the importance of focusing on user experience rather than solely technical capabilities. By prioritizing user experience, Outerbounds aims to empower data scientists and data developers to be as productive as possible.
Addressing the challenges of model governance, transparency, and bias in generative AI models, Outerbounds offers tools that enable companies to customize and fine-tune AI models to their specific needs. Goyal, the co-founder and CTO, emphasizes that ML and AI should adhere to the same security standards as any other infrastructure, if not more.
Outerbounds envisions a future where AI and ML can be applied in all areas of business. With the latest feature updates, the company aims to address the fundamental bottleneck of data access and make it easier for companies to adopt ML and AI across their entire organization.
As the field of AI evolves, businesses continue to grapple with implementation and governance complexities. Outerbounds, with its new capabilities, positions itself at the forefront of this transformative landscape, offering technologically sophisticated solutions that prioritize user experience and governance concerns. These enhancements mark a significant step towards the broader and more effective use of AI and ML in enterprise settings.
