AI Experimentation Is Over. Now It's About Value.

AI can write code faster than ever. But what if code is no longer the hard part? In the premiere episode of AI Radicals, host Satyen Sangani is joined by Mark Nelson, Venture Partner at Madrona and former CEO of Tableau, to explore what AI is actually changing—and what remains fundamentally the same about building great software and great businesses. Having led companies through the rise of databases, cloud computing, SaaS, and self-service analytics, Mark offers a rare perspective on today's AI boom. He explains why judgment and customer understanding are becoming the new competitive advantage, why enterprise buyers are shifting from AI experimentation to demanding measurable ROI, and why today's token-based pricing models may be rewarding the wrong behavior. "Code is easy to generate. Great software isn't. The bottleneck has shifted to understanding what to build." Listen to this episode to learn: Why generating code is no longer the bottleneck – but building great software still is Why enterprise AI is entering an ROI-driven phase where customers expect measurable business value Why the next generation of AI companies will win by understanding customers, not just building better models