在人工智能领域，李沐被誉为华人AI学者和BosonAI的联合创始人，他在AI研究和开发方面有着丰富的经验。近日，李沐在InfoQ上分享了他在创业第一年的经历，包括重要转折、关键进展以及对创业意义的深入思考。
李沐在亚马逊担任首席科学家期间，就已经萌生了创业的想法。然而，疫情的到来打乱了他的计划。直到第七年半的时候，他感到内心的创业冲动难以抑制，于是决定离职，开始了他的创业之旅。回顾过去，他认为如果有什么事情是这辈子一定要尝试的，那就是创业。因为一旦开始，就会发现有太多新事物需要学习，他总是感慨为什么没有早点开始。
BosonAI这个名字的由来与李沐在亚马逊和微软的联合项目有关。在量子物理中，玻色子是绑定夸克的一种粒子，这个名称象征着联合项目的起源。在创业前，李沐和他的团队曾使用Gluon命名了一系列项目，但发现给程序员取名是一个难题，每天都在纠结文件名和变量名。因此，新公司决定使用“Boson”作为名称，希望这个名称能够引起人们的共鸣。尽管这个名字有时会被误认为是“波士顿”，但团队希望人们能够理解这个梗并会心一笑。
在融资方面，李沐在2022年底提出了两个利用大型语言模型（LLM）进行生产力工具的想法。在与字节跳动创始人张一鸣的交谈中，张一鸣建议他们不应该仅仅停留在LLM工具层面，而是应该尝试开发LLM本身。李沐接受了这个建议，并组建了一个由数据、预训练、后训练和架构负责人组成的团队。很快，他们就获得了种子轮融资，但由于担心资金过多可能会带来退出困难或被市场架空，他们没有继续扩大融资规模。现在回过头看，李沐认为创业就是要逆天改命，不应该考虑退路。
在机器硬件方面，李沐和他的团队遇到了一些挑战。他们购买GPU时遇到了困难，但通过与NVIDIA和超微半导体公司（AMD）的直接沟通，他们得以提前获得机器。虽然他们遇到了各种技术问题，但这些问题似乎大买家也没有完全避免。
在商业方面，BosonAI在创业第一年实现了收支平衡。他们主要通过为大型客户定制模型来获得收入，而这些客户能够果断地推动内部团队尝试新技术，为BosonAI提供了宝贵的时间和空间。
展望未来，李沐和他的团队计划在接下来的时间里，为客户提供更多定制化的模型，并继续在AI领域深耕。
英语如下：
Title: “Li Mou Shares: Challenges and Reflections on the First Year of LLM Startup Venture”
Keywords: Entrepreneurship, AI, Reflection
News Content:
In the field of artificial intelligence, Li Mou is recognized as a prominent Chinese AI scholar and co-founder of BosonAI, possessing extensive experience in AI research and development. Recently, Li Mou shared his experiences during the first year of his startup journey on InfoQ, including significant turning points, key advancements, and deep reflections on the meaning of entrepreneurship.
While serving as the Chief Scientist at Amazon, Li Mou had already conceived the idea of entrepreneurship. However, the pandemic disrupted his plans. It wasn’t until the seventh and a half year that he felt an irresistible entrepreneurial impulse, leading him to resign and embark on his entrepreneurial journey. Looking back, he believes that if there’s something one must try in a lifetime, it’s entrepreneurship. He often reflects on why he didn’t start earlier, realizing that there are so many new things to learn once you begin.
The name BosonAI originates from Li Mou’s joint project with Amazon and Microsoft. In quantum physics, bosons are particles that bind quarks, symbolizing the origin of the joint project. Before starting the company, Li Mou and his team had used the name “Gluon” for a series of projects, only to find naming challenges for programmers, constantly struggling with file and variable names. Therefore, the new company decided to use “Boson” as the name, hoping it would resonate with people. Despite sometimes being mistaken for “Boston,” the team hopes people will understand the pun and smile.
In terms of financing, Li Mou proposed two ideas for productivity tools using large language models (LLM) at the end of 2022. During a conversation with the founder of ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, Zhang suggested that they should not just stick to LLM tools but try to develop LLMs themselves. Li Mou accepted this advice and formed a team comprising data, pre-training, post-training, and architecture leads. They quickly secured seed funding, but concerned that too much capital might lead to difficulties in exiting or being at the mercy of the market, they did not expand the funding. Looking back now, Li Mou believes that entrepreneurship is about changing one’s fate and should not consider exits.
In terms of machine hardware, Li Mou and his team faced challenges when purchasing GPUs, but through direct communication with NVIDIA and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), they were able to secure machines ahead of schedule. Despite encountering various technical issues, these seemed to be unavoidable for large buyers as well.
In the commercial aspect, BosonAI achieved breakeven in its first year of operation. The company generated revenue by customizing models for large clients, who were bold enough to push their internal teams to try new technologies, providing BosonAI with valuable time and space.
Looking ahead, Li Mou and his team plan to provide more customized models for clients and continue deepening their work in the AI field.
【来源】https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/HdaiHxVqVBEzLhmRClb8bg
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