Brett Gibson sits down with cofounders Max Prilutskiy (CEO) and Veronica Prilutskaya (CPO) of Lingo.dev to talk about making every product multilingual—so teams “just keep shipping” and don’t have to worry about localization and translations at scale. Lingo.dev helps product teams develop multilingual user interfaces, uses LLMs to produce perfect translations, and automates localization end to end.
Chapters:
00:00 – The Future of Coding and “Vibe Coding”
00:50 – What Lingo.dev Does
01:24 – Built at a Hackathon
04:59 – From Google Translate to LLMs - for more context
06:20 – “Perfect Translation” - objective AI precision + subjective brand tone + cultural nuance
11:13 – Automating Translations with Pull Requests
13:41 – The New Compiler - making apps multilingual without refactoring
17:42 – How “Vibe Coding” Changed Software Development
19:10 – Write Once, Click Save, See It in Any Language
37:29 – AI Impact: “The Future of Coding” in Practice
Subscribe to High Bit for more conversations with technical founders building what’s next, hosted by Brett Gibson of Initialized Capital.
Follow Lingo.dev, Max and Veronica on X for more:
Orbital Operations is building high-thrust, cryogenic spacecraft designed to move freely in orbit—reshaping how we think about mobility, defense, and logistics in space.
Cofounder & CEO Benjamin Schleuniger joins Initialized Managing Partner Brett Gibson on High Bit to talk about the next generation of spacecraft that will move, refuel, and think for themselves:
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:10 What Orbital Operations is building and why it matters
01:26 Ben’s path: NASA → SpaceX → Relativity
02:17 Why satellites need to move now
04:30 Basics of propulsion and why mobility is limited in space
05:55 Satellites vs rockets: propellant tradeoffs
08:30 Choosing cryogenic propellants and rethinking storage
10:15 The refrigeration-cycle system that makes it possible
17:00 Thermal management and engineering challenges in orbit
22:30 Military and logistics use cases for in-space mobility
25:40 Refueling with water and the future of orbital logistics
27:50 Engineering vs. business challenges of building in space
30:50 Scaling missions and the path to commercial viability
33:30 The third age of space mobility and what comes next
35:20 AI tools in aerospace and autonomy in orbit
Subscribe to *High Bit* for more conversations with technical founders building what’s next, hosted by Brett Gibson of Initialized Capital.
Follow Orbital Operations and Benjamin Schleuniger on X for more:
@OrbitalOps_
@BenSchleuniger
“Robots are the only way my business survives, but it’s not viable for me.”
Formic founder and CEO Saman Farid joins Brett Gibson, managing partner at Initialized to unpack why that mindset keeps factories from adopting automation and how Formic closes the gap.
They cover: de-risking with financing, productizing complete robot work cells, and running fleets with teleoperation, intelligent error recovery, and careful staging to hit factory-grade uptime.
You’ll hear why palletizing is the ideal first beachhead, how the team cut deployment costs roughly in half, and why they say no to one-off requests until they can be productized.
Saman also shares how the company resists “fun” engineering in favor of scale, injects controlled chaos into his company, uses daily 8 a.m. meetings for problem solving, and bridges the culture gap between the manufacturing and software industries.
Subscribe for more builder-level deep dives from High Bit.
Follow Formic and Saman for more:
Formic: https://x.com/goformic
Saman: https://x.com/samanfarid
Content
00:00 “It’s not viable for me”—closing the adoption gap
00:44 What Formic does & where robots work today
02:24 Engineer → VC → founder: why start Formic
04:38 Adoption vs flashy demos. Solve one task well
05:47 De-risking with financing; manual first, then automate
08:23 The playbook: scope, build modules, deploy, operate1
0:36 Work cells, not just arms
13:38 99.9% uptime15:01 Why palletizing was the first beachhead
16:49 Cutting costs per deployment
18:08 Saying “no” & expanding scope the right way
21:15 Resisting “fun” engineering to serve more factories
22:07 Injecting chaos into your company
23:34 Daily 8am to crack hard problems
25:40 Culture clash: manufacturing × software
27:24 Evaluating new robots, regional rollouts
31:24 Where AI helps across the org
37:11 What’s next: more robots, more tasks, more factories
Daksh Gupta, co-founder and CEO of Greptile, joins Brett Gibson on High Bit and explains why human code review is essentially "security theater" and how Greptile uses AI to catch bugs by understanding entire codebases. He dives into why code generation and code review must stay separate, the surprising challenge of teaching AI what's a nitpick versus a severe issue, and how intelligence becoming "abundant and nearly free" is reshaping software practices.Plus: why some companies will be left behind if they don't adopt AI tools, what happens when human "taste" becomes the final bottleneck, and whether code legibility will matter in an AI-dominated future.
Follow Greptile and Dkash for more:
Chapters
00:00 - About Greptile, the evolution to specialized bug detection
3:00 - Humans are bad at code review. Why AI works
6:00 - Intelligence becoming abundant
7:20 - Sneaky disruption - what people are looking for vs what they need
10:50 - Code gen and verification are different problems
14:00 - Code gen and code review should be separate
17:15 - Getting LLMs to understand code
24:15 - Claude 4's tool-using capabilities changed their approach
25:00 - Architecture: from flowcharts to agent tools
27:30 - What’s hard about code review - what’s a nitpcik vs. a severe issue
31:00 - What was the “High Bit”
35:06 - Whether code legibility will matter in an AI world
37:25 - Why Terraform and infrastructure code is particularly difficult
43:25 - Re-architecting systems to be AI-friendly vs. adapting AI to messy reality
45:55 - Human "taste" as the final bottleneck
47:14 - Rick Rubin level taste in software
47:55 - Human appetite for change - kitchen exhausts for stoves
50:50 - Working with companies that use AI to generate code
AyJay Lasater, cofounder and CTO of Albedo, joins Brett Gibson on High Bit to talk about the challenge of building satellites for one of the toughest places to operate in space: very low Earth orbit (VLEO). He shares how the idea took shape, the importance of avoiding fear-based calls, why they decided to bring key systems in-house, and the physics-driven design choices that shaped their approach. Along the way, AyJay walks through the mirror mishap that could have delayed them a year, the supply-chain chess it took to recover in just two weeks, and what it means to take on a mission where there’s no playbook to follow.
Chapters
00:00 – Knowing Everything – Why total system knowledge is the only way to do something that’s never been done
00:59 – Albedo’s Mission – Getting drone-quality imaging from space
04:21 – The Spark – From Lockheed to startup. How a single tweet ignited the VLEO idea
09:29 – Inside VLEO – Why it’s one of space’s toughest environments
14:46 – Breaking Down the Impossible – Applying first principles to the hardest orbit
18:17 – Ditching the Bullet – Rethinking design from physics up
21:09 – Make vs. Buy – The decision to take control in-house
28:55 – No Fear – Avoiding fear-based calls when stakes are high
35:37 – The Mirror Crisis – Saving a year’s work in two weeks
47:11 – 4D Supply Chain Chess – Creative problem-solving under pressure
50:38 – The Fun and Stress of Knowing It All – Why no detail can be left to chance
51:32 – What’s Next – Albedo’s path to VLEO and its first 10 centimeter images
Amir Elaguizy, cofounder and CEO of Poker Skill, joins Brett Gibson on High Bit for a look inside the mind of someone who’s been all in on AI long before it was everywhere. He explains what’s possible when you’re not just using AI tools, but constantly learning, testing, and pushing them to their limits, and he shares how he’s used AI to build his startups.
Follow Amir and Poker Skill for more:
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
01:36 - Amir's background and passion for AI
06:00 - How the landscape is changing
17:00-How Amir uses AI day-to-day
30:33 - Why AI isn’t a “do my job for me” button
34:44 - Transforming a company into a lean, AI-driven machine
39:09 - Amir’s newest venture: Poker Skill
46:47 - Picking the right tools
51:38 - Closing Remarks
Sol descriptionBrett Gibson hosts Sol’s Ben Chelf and John Boiles on the "High Bit" podcast to discuss their groundbreaking work on the Sol Reader, the world’s first wearable e-reader. They dive into the unique engineering challenges of integrating e-ink technology into a head-mounted format, the intricate development process of creating their own e-ink driver, and the importance of optimizing for user comfort and the reading experience.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
02:16 - The Birth of Sol Reader: From Idea to Prototype
05:19 - Comparing Sol Reader to Other Wearable Technologies
09:59 - Technical Challenges and Innovations in E-Ink Displays
20:30 - Manufacturing and Quality Control Processes
23:12 - Software Development and Optimization
33:40 - Future Plans
Vince Chu, cofounder of HomeVision, joins the "High Bit" podcast to discuss how his team is automating real estate valuations at scale. From overcoming technical challenges to scaling AI-powered underwriting, Vince explains how HomeVision is changing the game for both lenders and appraisers.
Our managing partner, Brett Gibson, spoke with Playground AI founder Suhail Doshi about advancements in AI-driven image generation and their new Playground v3 image foundation model. Suhail shared Playground’s mission to make graphic design more accessible, enabling users to create items such as T-shirts, logos, social media posts, and even memes. They discussed the gap between language and image models, as well as the underinvestment in AI for images.
Check out the new Playground here: https://playground.com/design
Playground’s white paper introducing their image foundation model Playground v3 here: https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.10695
On the latest episode of our podcast “High Bit,” Brett Gibson spoke with Pratap Ranade, CEO of Arena, about the intricacies of using AI to convert data into real-time simulations for optimizing sales, pricing, and marketing strategies. Pratap explained how Arena navigates the complexities of large-scale enterprises, including those in the consumer goods and advanced manufacturing industries. He also shared insights from his background in quantum physics and machine learning and discussed future partnerships and product developments for Arena.
00:00 Introduction
00:47 Meet Pratap Ranade, CEO of Arena
01:58 Understanding Arena’s core functionality
02:44 Challenges in building Arena
05:03 Consumer goods and advanced manufacturing
07:09 The importance of abstraction and metadata
13:50 Pratap's journey and vision
19:35 The future of Arena
In this episode of "High Bit," Initialized partner and Rent the Runway co-founder Jenny Fleiss discusses how she developed a proprietary logistics system for a consumer brand. Jenny opens up about the early challenges faced in starting Rent the Runway, the strategic decisions made in scaling a complex operation, and how she built an in-house logistics team.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
1:45 Jenny's transition to investing and current areas of investing interests at Initialized.
4:38 The initial logistics challenges at Rent the Runway.
6:36 Partnering with local dry cleaners and scaling operations.
9:01 Building a proprietary logistics system from scratch.
13:00 Key takeaways from managing and scaling a complex logistics operation.
In this episode of "High Bit," Automat founder and CTO Gautam Bose talked about the challenges of working with LLMs in robotic process automation, and the importance of rigorous testing procedures.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:30 What Automat Does and How They Started
03:06 Challenges in Building RPA
08:46 What the Future of RPA Looks Like
12:52 How Automat Ensures Reliability in Its LLMs
14:53 Automating Complex Workflows With Robust SOP Collections
20:17 Coming Up With Solutions to Complex Orders
23:41 Improving Ideas Through Iteration
In this episode of "High Bit," Peter Kieltyka discusses the dual challenge of maintaining decentralization and accessibility in blockchain technology, and the growing significance of APIs in building connected systems.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:38 What Horizon Does and the Challenges in Delivering the Crypto Gaming Platform
04:53 How Peter Came to the Decision of Working on Blockchains
07:07 How APIs Are Created for Modern Client Server Web Applications
12:25 All About GRPC
15:40 Chi: Peter’s Software That Lets You Write Microservices
21:15 Peter’s 2 Favorite Books He Recommends to Everyone He Works With
27:27 What Else to Look Forward To from Horizon
In this episode of "High Bit," Brett Gibson chats with Kurt Mackey, CEO of Fly.io, to break down how they challenge big cloud providers, overcome global logistical nightmares, and continuously evolve their software stack. From hardware setup challenges to growth-driven solutions, Kurt explains the highs and lows of managing a developer-focused public cloud.
00:00 Introduction
1:21 Starting off with what Fly.io is
3:26 Zooming in on the developer experience
6:19 What Fly.io’s journey was like
19:23 Key takeaways from setting up the public cloud globally
25:20 What we can expect from the developer-facing stack trend
In this episode of "High Bit," host Brett Gibson interviews Rahul Raina, cofounder and CTO of TRM Labs. Rahul shares insights into TRM's mission of creating a safer financial system and discusses the launch of their innovative features. The conversation delves into Rahul's background, TRM's approach to tackling financial crimes, and the challenges of processing massive amounts of data in the ever-evolving world of crypto.
00:00 Introduction
2:09 TRM’s mission to build a safer financial system
9:20 The question that started TRM
14:47 Breaking down their iteration process
20:21 The journey to pushing the state of the art
24:52 Proportionality as update strategy
In this episode of "High Bit," AJ Asver, CEO of Parcha, discusses the challenges of building AI agents for complex tasks. Parcha's AI agents automate operations and compliance, addressing the gap between proof of concept and production.
00:00 Introduction
01:51 Introducing Parcha and what they do
4:02 Breaking down how an AI agent relates to LLM
12:53 The challenges in scaling AI agents
17:15 Making the system as accurate as possible
28:51 Predicting the rise of verticalized agents
In this episode of High Bit, Aaron discusses the challenges of hiring a team to build an infrastructure-as-a-service platform for blockchain networks. When Aaron and his cofounder Joe Lallouz first created Bison Trails, they initially faced challenges running nodes and infrastructure for different networks. They found that by investing in tests early on and improving automation capabilities, they could streamline operations. Coinbase eventually acquired Bison Trails in January 2021.
For more info on High Bit, and to listen to all of the other episodes, visit: www.Initialized.com/HighBit
Topics:
2:28 Aaron's Background and How He Became an Engineer
5:21 Building Grand St. and Selling the Company to Etsy
10:55 The Early Days of Building Bison Trails
16:21 Building the Early Team of Infrastructure Engineers with Blockchain Experience
19:53 Slashing: The Penalties Imposed on Validators in Blockchain Networks for Misbehavior
27:07 What Bison Trails Taught Aaron About Building Large Organizations
33:28 Aaron on Lessons He Learned While Hiring the Bison Trails Team
38:00 Life After Bison Trails and Coinbase. What's Next for Aaron Henshaw?
High Bit is a new podcast hosted by Initialized Capital managing partner Brett Gibson about the art of technical problem-solving.
A high bit is the most significant part of the binary representation of a number. In programming language, it is commonly referred to as the most important thing you need to understand about a problem.
We spoke with our first four guests about just that. In each episode, we’ll break down a gnarly engineering problem and hear how the builder’s ingenuity and inventiveness led to a successful outcome.
High Bit is produced by Initialized Capital and hosted by Brett Gibson. Our showrunner is Candy Cheng. Episodes were shot and edited by Jordan Berns. Production support by Kevin Heinz and BTB Video Production.
In this episode of High Bit, Jose walks us through the challenges of troubleshooting a complex problem encountered during the pre-launch testing of a space-bound asteroid mining refinery. Using a real-life example, he illustrates the application of a fishbone diagram and the necessity of methodical problem-solving, even under extreme time pressure.
Topics:
1:41 What is AstroForge?
7:13 How Jose Met His Cofounder Matt Gialich
13:18 Using a Fishbone Diagram to Find the Root Cause of a Problem
15:01 The "Holy Shit" Moment When a Launch Does Not Go According to Plan
20:37 Validating All the Points of Failure to Get to a Solution
26:25 Lessons Learned from Working Under Time Pressure
High Bit is a new podcast hosted by Initialized Capital managing partner Brett Gibson about the art of technical problem-solving.
A high bit is the most significant part of the binary representation of a number. In programming language, it is commonly referred to as the most important thing you need to understand about a problem.
We spoke with our first four guests about just that. In each episode, we’ll break down a gnarly engineering problem and hear how the builder’s ingenuity and inventiveness led to a successful outcome.
High Bit is produced by Initialized Capital and hosted by Brett Gibson. Our showrunner is Candy Cheng. Episodes were shot and edited by Jordan Berns. Production support by Kevin Heinz and BTB Video Production.
In this episode of High Bit, Ethan reveals the unique challenges of building a reliable and global crypto trading platform. “There’s no downtime because crypto trades 24/7,” he said. “So in that way, it’s a lot more like Google than the New York Stock Exchanges.”
Ethan also shared the art of balancing safety and speed in product development. “You need to adapt, and you need to change up your workflow as the market changes. We want to wrap that whole messy ecosystem in a layer that allows institutions to interact with crypto just like they would any other asset class.”
Topics:
02:26 From Broadway Technology to Talos
06:23 Crypto Trading is "More Like Google Than NYSE"
11:46 Examining the Various Failure Scenarios of Trading Crypto
15:56 The Importance of Getting Details Correct in Making a Successful Trading System Work
21:35 Client Communication as Part of the Engineering Effort
25:05 Building Safety Features into the Product
29:30 Adaptability Around Messiness
High Bit is a new podcast hosted by Initialized Capital managing partner Brett Gibson about the art of technical problem-solving.
A high bit is the most significant part of the binary representation of a number. In programming language, it is commonly referred to as the most important thing you need to understand about a problem.
We spoke with our first four guests about just that. In each episode, we’ll break down a gnarly engineering problem and hear how the builder’s ingenuity and inventiveness led to a successful outcome.
High Bit is produced by Initialized Capital and hosted by Brett Gibson. Our showrunner is Candy Cheng. Episodes were shot and edited by Jordan Berns. Production support by Kevin Heinz and BTB Video Production.
In this episode of High Bit, Renuka shares the evolution of Clockwork’s AI-powered nail-painting robot. She shares her insights into safe AI utilization and how she adopted software engineering principles into the hardware process.
Topics:
1:56: Renuka’s Background as a Systems Engineer at Nvidia
5:27: Using an Off-The-Shelf AI Model to Create the First Version of Clockwork
10:06: Discovering Pointillism in Nail Painting
14:46: Using AI in Safe Ways
18:29: A Very Humbling Lesson for a Software Engineer
22:55: Making Nail Painting as Easy as Grabbing a Cup of Coffee
High Bit is a new podcast hosted by Initialized Capital managing partner Brett Gibson about the art of technical problem-solving.
A high bit is the most significant part of the binary representation of a number. In programming language, it is commonly referred to as the most important thing you need to understand about a problem.
We spoke with our first four guests about just that. In each episode, we’ll break down a gnarly engineering problem and hear how the builder’s ingenuity and inventiveness led to a successful outcome.
High Bit is produced by Initialized Capital and hosted by Brett Gibson. Our showrunner is Candy Cheng. Episodes were shot and edited by Jordan Berns. Production support by Kevin Heinz and BTB Video Production.
