25 Feb 2026Citrini’s Market, META gets OpenClaw’d, Gokul Joins Us
Roman Chemet (Cactus): On-Device Inference, Hybrid AI, and Ambient Computing
Cactus founder Roman Chemet explains the YC-backed low-latency inference engine for running AI privately on phones, wearables, and laptops — "in a basement and on a plane." He describes YC's rapid 10-minute interview process, argues voice and dictation are the stickiest AI applications, and lays out the "hybrid AI" thesis of local and cloud models handing off tasks, recently stress-tested in a hackathon with DeepMind's Gemma models. They also debate always-on ambient AI wearables and how Europe's privacy norms versus San Francisco's convenience-first culture will shape adoption.
Teaser: Vento CEO Diallo Davini and Italian Tech Week's Rebrand
The hosts introduce their next guest, Diallo Davini, CEO of Vento and producer of Italian Tech Week, which was just rebranded as "Wave by Vento." The recording of this part ends during the introduction, before the interview begins.