The Tonic Research Thesis

When I was approached to found Tonic Research SIDEKICK Venture Studio and Martyn Gill asked me a question I couldn't answer.

"What's your why?"

I had a head full of numbers. Technical work has always been my safe space, and this wasn't a technical question, so I sat there with nothing.

I answered it a few months ago.

To not build aircraft carriers.

There's not much on earth more impressive than an aircraft carrier. Massive, complex, and eye-wateringly expensive. It can do anything, because it was built to do everything.

That's what you're renting when you use a model from Big AI.

Tonic builds Rolls-Royces.

Small models that do one thing and do it properly. Classifiers. Translation. Predictors. Anomaly detection. They get you from A to B, reliably, in comfort, and they don't let you down. You're not paying for the flight deck, the hangar, and the 5,000 crew you'll never use.

So, what's actually more use to you? Renting an aircraft carrier, or owning a Rolls-Royce?

If it's the second one, we'll build you one.