# Baseten CEO and co-founder Tuhin Srivastava on inference and feedback loops

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/scaling-devtools/baseten-ceo-and-co-founder-tuhin-srivastava-on-inference-and-feedback-loops.md
Podcast: [Scaling DevTools](https://stenobird.com/podcast/scaling-devtools)
Published: 2025-11-14T17:29:17+00:00
Episode link: https://podcast.scalingdevtools.com/episodes/scaling-ai-infrastructure-with-basetens-tuhin-srivastava
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/5e289b9a/31f1913a.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/scaling-devtools/episodes/baseten-ceo-and-co-founder-tuhin-srivastava-on-inference-and-feedback-loops
Duration seconds: 1451

## Resource

Baseten CEO Tuhin Srivastava discusses the strategic shift from building ML primitives to scaling a high-growth GenAI inference platform. He explores how to navigate rapid market shifts by prioritizing developer experience and tight customer feedback loops.

## Highlights
- Main idea: As model capabilities commoditize, the real value shifts to the underlying inference infrastructure and developer experience
- Practical takeaway: Minimize the distance between you and your customers to create ultra-fast feedback loops
- Failure mode: Avoid making irreversible early architectural abstractions before you have fully honed the product's developer experience
- Strategic insight: The future of enterprise software lies in being either AI-first or AI-enabled, driving massive demand for inference-centric tools
- Product philosophy: Focus on making the easy things easy and the hard things possible without blocking the developer's workflow

## Topics

GenAI, Inference Infrastructure, Developer Experience, Machine Learning, DevTools, Scaling Startups, Cloud Computing, Software Engineering

## Chapters
- 1:00 — The Pre-GenAI Build Phase: Reflecting on the years spent building machine learning primitives before the massive market demand arrived in 2023.
- 2:45 — Navigating Market Shifts: How Baseten repositioned itself to meet the sudden explosion of interest in generative AI.
- 8:05 — The Power of Feedback Loops: Why small companies must prioritize direct, rapid communication with customers to iterate effectively.
- 11:40 — The Future of Inference: Discussing why every company will eventually need inference-based infrastructure as models become commoditized.
- 15:20 — Prioritizing Developer Experience: The importance of building tools that provide observability and ease of use without creating friction.
- 20:45 — Advice for DevTool Founders: Lessons on managing early technical decisions and the importance of staying close to the user.

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