What Lies Beneath the API — Benjamin Cowen, Modal
As AI applications mature, companies increasingly turn to fine-tuning models for improved performance and cost efficiency. This talk explores the transition from using frontier APIs to custom model development, highlighting the emerging middle ground that simplifies fine-tuning and deployment. It suggests that differentiated products naturally evolve towards domain specificity, prompting a reevaluation of when custom models become necessary and feasible.
Europe 2026 13 min