EDGE AI Partner: David Aronchick of Expanso

EDGE AI POD

The digital landscape is rapidly evolving beyond centralized cloud computing. In this illuminating conversation with David Aronchik, co-founder of Expanso, we explore the growing necessity of processing data right where it's generated—at the edge.
Drawing from his impressive background as the first non-founding PM for Kubernetes at Google and his leadership in open AI strategy at Microsoft, David reveals how these experiences led him to tackle a persistent challenge: how do you leverage container technologies and ML models outside traditional data centers? While cloud platforms excel at centralized workloads, businesses increasingly need computing power in retail locations, manufacturing facilities, and smart city infrastructure.
Expanso's elegantly named Bacalhau project (Portuguese for cod, a clever nod to "Compute Over Data") offers a solution by providing reliable orchestration of workloads across distributed locations. Their lightweight Go binary runs on virtually anything from Raspberry Pis to sophisticated edge servers, managing the delivery and execution of jobs while gracefully handling connectivity disruptions that would cause traditional systems to fail.
David makes a compelling case for edge computing with a simple physical reality: even 100,000 years from now, the speed of light will still impose a 45-millisecond latency between LA and Boston. This unchangeable constraint, combined with data transfer costs and regulatory requirements, makes local processing increasingly essential. For organizations struggling with high telemetry bills, Expanso confidently promises at least 25% cost reduction—or they work for free.
Whether you're managing satellite networks, underwater cameras for aquaculture, or thousands of retail locations, this conversation illuminates how the future of computing involves bringing intelligence to where data lives rather than constantly shipping bytes across networks. Join us to discover how this paradigm shift is making AI more effective in the physical world.

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Chapters

1. Introducing David Aronchik from Expanso (00:00:00)

2. From Kubernetes to Edge Computing (00:01:30)

3. The Bacalhau Project and Company Origin (00:03:40)

4. Tackling Heterogeneous Edge Environments (00:06:20)

5. Speed of Light and Connectivity Challenges (00:11:10)

6. Cost Savings and Distributed Deployments (00:16:20)

7. Working with Distributed Teams and EAI Foundation (00:20:30)