From PhD to AI Innovator: Aninda Saha discusses joining Leonardo AI's founding research team, the Phoenix foundational model, Leonardo's integration with Canva, tackling bias in AI research and more. This podcast is brought to you by SaladCloud: www.salad.com In this episode of the AI Innovators Podcast, host Prashanth interviews Aninda Saha, a Senior AI Research Engineer at Leonardo, now part of Canva. Aninda shares his journey from completing a PhD to joining Leonardo, helping build their Phoenix model, and the eventual acquisition by Canva. The discussion covers the challenges and innovations in AI generative art, particularly focusing on prompt adherence, knowledge distillation, and the democratization of AI. Aninda also provides insights into the technical aspects of AI research, including issues of diversity, regional tastes, and optimizing generative models. The episode concludes with Aninda's thoughts on the future of AI, including generative gaming and sustainable AI development strategies. 00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome 00:23 Aninda's Journey from PhD to Leonardo 01:31 Early Days at Leonardo and Startup Experience 04:11 PhD Research and Knowledge Distillation 07:37 Democratization of AI 12:25 Leonardo's Growth and Success 14:51 Technical Challenges and Innovations 19:29 Leonardo's Integration with Canva 32:02 Future of AI and Closing Remarks