366: Inside the Age of Inference: Sid Sheth, CEO and Co-Founder of d-Matrix, on Smaller Models, AI Chips, and the Future of Compute

Sid Sheth is the CEO and co-founder of d-Matrix, the AI chip company making inference efficient and scalable for datacenters. Backed by Microsoft and with $160M raised, Sid shares why rethinking infrastructure is critical to AI’s future and how a decade in semiconductors prepared him for this moment.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• Why Sid believes AI inference is the biggest computing opportunity of our lifetime and how it will drive the next productivity boom
• The real reason smaller, more efficient models are unlocking the era of inference and what that means for AI adoption at scale
• Why cost, time, and energy are the core constraints of inference, and how D-Matrix is building for performance without compromise
• How the rise of reasoning models and agentic AI shifts demand from generic tasks to abstract problem-solving
• The workforce challenge no one talks about: why talent shortages, not tech limitations, may slow down the AI revolution
• How Sid’s background in semiconductors prepared him to recognize the platform shift toward AI and take the leap into building D-Matrix

Resources:

• Subscribe to the AI & The Future of Work Newsletter
• Connect with Sid on LinkedIn
• AI fun fact article
• On How Mastering Skills To Stay Relevant In the Age of AI