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MTS · 2 min · Oct 30, 2026
Open models give companies ownership of AI
Marjorie Janiewicz argues that AI should not be controlled by a few providers.
The episode’s best minutes
Full analysis- 5:20Sovereignty means portability and model customization2 min
- 11:40Efficient, task-specific models can compete on less funding2 min
- 13:36Open models give companies ownership of AI2 min
- One more moment in the full episode
“You cannot rely on someone else. You cannot rent that intelligence from someone else. You need to own it.”
Takeaways
- Open models give companies more control over AI.
- Customization can help companies defend themselves, including in cyber.
- Broad testing helps strengthen the technology.
About this segment
Marjorie Janiewicz argues that AI should not be controlled by a few providers. Open models let companies own and customize the technology, and broad testing can make it stronger.
Marjorie Janiewicz is chief revenue officer at Mistral.
Theo Jaffee, Host · Co-founder & host, MTS
One of the first members of a16z's new media team; earlier hosted the Emergent Ventures-backed Theo Jaffee Podcast.
Sophia Dew, Host · Host, MTS
From “You Don't Need Billions to Build Frontier AI | Marjorie Janiewicz”, Oct 30, 2026. Watch the full episode
Thanks. We'll look at and fix what's off.
Transcript
Transcribed by machine (Whisper) from the episode’s audio, so a word may be off here and there.
- 13:39
But the open source being absolutely essential to ensure that you have state-of-the-art AI does not become concentrated in the hands of a few actors. I know that's something that's really important to you guys at Mistral. So tell me a little bit more about that and about that belief. And I know today is the official day that you guys announced this. This now is all in the public. Anyone can use these weights.
- 14:00
Tell me a bit more for someone who isn't familiar with Mistral, who isn't familiar with this debate. Why is open source so essential to the future of intelligence? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, this is existential, I would even say. this very important technology cannot be kept in the hands of a very few. It means that that very important technology needs to be open so that everybody can benefit from it and everybody can own it.
- 14:32
When you do that, of course, you create, I would say, a competitive differentiator for those companies that are able to customize the models. It means many companies are able to use the technology in a way that's going to help them defend themselves. An example of that is cyber. And they can do that also at a fraction of the cost. So the importance of really open source in this very broad context is really back to the topic of openness, control, and customization.
- 15:06
You cannot rely on someone else. You cannot rent that intelligence from someone else. You need to own it. And the open debate is really about ownership of that technology for business continuity versus relying on renting the technology for others. And I will tell you something as I've worked. This is my third open source company. Being open also means that that technology is better tested by everybody.
- 15:34
It makes it stronger. And I think that's something that the world should definitely seek. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, this is your third open source company. Yeah, I know you did stuff at Foursquare.