Why Physical AI Needed a Completely New Data Stack

Why Physical AI Needed a Completely New Data Stack

Author: Lukas Biewald December 16, 2025 Duration: 1:00:52

The future of AI is physical.

In this episode, Lukas Biewald talks to Nikolaus West, CEO of Rerun, about why the breakthrough required to get AI out of the lab and into the messy real world is blocked by poor data tooling.

Nikolaus explains how Rerun solved this by adopting an Entity Component System (ECS), a data model built for games, to handle complex, multimodal, time-aware sensor data. This is the technology that makes solving previously impossible tasks, like flexible manipulation, suddenly feel "boring."

Connect with us here:

Nikolaus West: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolauswest/

Rerun: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rerun-io/

Lukas Biewald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lbiewald/

Weights & Biases: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wandb/


Lukas Biewald hosts Gradient Dissent: Conversations on AI, a series that moves beyond theoretical discussions to examine how artificial intelligence is actually built and deployed. Each episode features a direct, unscripted talk with a leading practitioner-you’ll hear from engineers and researchers at places like NVIDIA, Meta, Google, Lyft, and OpenAI. The focus is on the tangible challenges and breakthroughs they encounter, from initial research to the complex reality of putting models into production. This isn't about abstract futures; it's a grounded look at the decisions shaping the field right now. Biewald, bringing his perspective from Weights & Biases, steers conversations toward the practical trade-offs and collaborative efforts that define modern AI work. For anyone in technology or business who wants to understand the mechanics behind the headlines, this podcast offers a rare, candid window into the process. You’ll come away with a clearer sense of how ideas become functional systems and what it really takes to operate at the cutting edge.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Gradient Dissent: Conversations on AI
Podcast Episodes
Reinventing AI Agents with Imbue CEO Kanjun Qiu [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:37
In this episode of Gradient Dissent, Kanjun Qiu, CEO and Co-founder of Imbue, joins host Lukas Biewald to discuss how AI agents are transforming code generation and software development. Discover the potential impact and…
From startup to $1.2B with Lambda’s Stephen Balaban [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:56
In this episode of Gradient Dissent, Stephen Balaban, CEO of Lambda Labs, joins host Lukas Biewald to discuss the journey of scaling Lambda Labs to an impressive $400M in revenue. They explore the pivotal moments that sh…
Harnessing AI for legal practice with CoCounsel’s Jake Heller [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:16
In this episode of Gradient Dissent, Jake Heller, Head of Product, CoCounsel, joins host Lukas Biewald to discuss how AI is innovating legal practices and reshaping educational approaches for aspiring lawyers. From autom…
Transforming Search with Perplexity AI’s CTO Denis Yarats [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:54
In this episode of Gradient Dissent, Denis Yarats, CTO of Perplexity, joins host Lukas Biewald to discuss the innovative use of AI in creating high-quality, fast search engine answers.Discover how Perplexity combines adv…
AI in electronics: Quilter’s journey in PCB design [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:50
In this episode of Gradient Dissent, Sergiy Nesterenko, CEO of Quilter, joins host Lukas Biewald to discuss the groundbreaking use of reinforcement learning in PCB design. Learn how Quilter automates the complex, manual…
The Future of AI in Coding with Codeium CEO Varun Mohan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:53
In this episode of Gradient Dissent, Varun Mohan, Co-Founder & CEO of Codeium, joins host Lukas Biewald to discuss the transformative power of AI in coding. They explore how Codeium evolved from GPU virtualization to a w…
Shaping AI Benchmarks with Together AI Co-Founder Percy Liang [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:20
In this episode of Gradient Dissent, Together AI co-founder and Stanford Associate Professor Percy Liang joins host, Lukas Biewald, to discuss advancements in AI benchmarking and the pivotal role that open-source plays i…
Accelerating drug discovery with AI: Insights from Isomorphic Labs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:23
In this episode of Gradient Dissent, Isomorphic Labs Chief AI Officer Max Jaderberg, and Chief Technology Officer Sergei Yakneen join our host Lukas Biewald to discuss the advancements in biotech and drug discovery being…
Redefining AI Hardware for Enterprise with SambaNova’s Rodrigo Liang [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:04
🚀 Discover the cutting-edge AI hardware development for enterprises in this episode of Gradient Dissent, featuring Rodrigo Liang, CEO of SambaNova Systems. Rodrigo Liang’s journey from Oracle to founding SambaNova is a t…