Bob McGrew helped build some of the most influential technologies of the past two decades. Bob was an early engineer at PayPal, an early executive at Palantir and was recently Chief Research Officer at OpenAI – where he led the development of ChatGPT, GPT-4 and the o1 reasoning model.
During his time at Palantir he was a pioneer of the Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) model, a strategy that is at the heart of the AI boom today. On this episode of The Lightcone, he explains how FDEs became central to today’s startups, why “doing things that don’t scale at scale” works, and where he sees the biggest opportunities for founders working in AI.
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Work at a startup: https://www.ycombinator.com/jobs
Chapters:
00:29 – From PayPal to Palantir to OpenAI
02:19 – The Role of a Forward Deployed Engineer
03:19 – How Palantir Invented It
07:56 – Product Discovery in the Field vs. Sales
09:51 – Echo and Delta Teams Explained
13:34 – Training Ground for Founders
14:35 – Consulting or Real Software?
17:54 – The Birth of Palantir’s Ontology
23:04 – Why AI Companies Adopt It
36:17 – What Success Metrics Look Like
41:14 – Building with Demo-Driven Development
44:56 – Joining the US Army Reserve
47:43 – Opportunities for Founders
In the product discovery process, how do FDEs effectively balance the diversity of customer needs with the standardization of products?
McGrew mentions "doing things that don't scale"; how does this impact resource allocation and strategic decision-making in startups?
How do the Echo and Delta teams within the FDE framework coordinate in practice to ensure effective communication between customer needs and product development?
For emerging AI startups, where does McGrew see the biggest market opportunities, and how should founders seize these opportunities?
💎 Constellation ⚡ Energy Corporation (CEG) 💎
The World is not divided in vertical or horizontal business. Go diagonal!
AI – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (2017)
SI – SUPERINTELLIGENCE (2030)
As brand identity continues to evolve, startups that focus on SuperIntelligence will need to align their names and positioning with this new technological frontier. While artificial intelligence has defined the past decade, SuperIntelligence represents the next level—offering capabilities far beyond current AI. Between 2027 and 2030, adoption is expected to accelerate rapidly, and those who anchor their brand identities to SuperIntelligence early will gain a decisive advantage as it becomes a mainstream force. Just as .ai domains became the natural identity for artificial intelligence companies, .si domains are set to experience strong real demand as the defining brand layer for SuperIntelligence.
What is an FDE?: [02:15]
Origin at Palantir: [05:57]
FDE Team Structure: [10:03]
Distinguishing from Consulting: [14:26]
Application to AI Startups: [28:07]
Bob's New Role: [44:52]
Advice for Founders: [48:31]
Palantir’s technology isn’t extraordinary. Its real value lies in the access and people it provides. By embedding contractors at agency desks, private firms can do things that would be constitutionally questionable if done directly by the CIA and other intelligence organizations. And the moment the s*** hits the fan, they can simply point to Palantir.
As a solo non-tech founder, I’ve spent 6+ months directly observing clients, mapping pain points, and building workflows tailored to their true needs—well beyond what they can articulate. In practice, FDE means wearing every hat: field observer, builder, trainer, and sometimes “customer therapist.”
It’s all about relentless hands-on learning and solving real problems in the field.