Regression Games Aaron Vontell on building AI bots to compete in games, raising a $4M seed in a week from NEA and A16Z, and the future of AI in gaming
Description
We sat down with Aaron to talk about building bots to compete in games, Raising a $4M seed in a week from NEA and A16z, building an AI-powered company, and the future of AI in gaming.
Aaron is the Founder and CEO of Regression Games, a company making artificial intelligence in games and esports accessible and enjoyable for everyone. He was previously an early engineer at Instabase, working on low-code machine-learning products. He received his Bachelors and Masters from MIT, where he helped develop Battlecode, MIT's annual AI gaming competition.
Start competing in Minecraft - Ultimate Collector challenge at https://play.regression.gg
Timestamps:
0:00 - Why let people build AIs that will compete in games
2:10 - Which games to use as arenas for AI bots' competition
8:10 - First tournament - Minecraft Ultimate Collector
10:46 - RG approach vs. other companies applying AI in games
16:40 - The toolset to program bots
18:33 - Leveling the field for players with various programming skills
21:00 - Origins: First robotics, MIT Battlecode, Instabase
31:00 - Applying Natural Language and LLMs to programming bots
35:10 - How to monetize AI bots
38:15 - Starting RG as a solo founder, first steps, NEA, A16z, Roosh
41:00 - Navigating the venture ecosystem as a first-time founder
45:05 - Building initial team
48:37 - Future of AI gaming
52:25 - Advice to founders starting an AI company
57:05 - Future of AI in general, AI as a companion
Links:
Regression Games: https://www.regression.gg
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/925SYVse2H
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RegressionGG
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