#9 - Richard Tame, CFO at Ori
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Slice of Technology Team
09/23/2024
Join us on this week's episode of the Slice of Technology AI podcast, hosted by Jared S. Taylor! Our Guest: Richard Tame, CFO at Ori.
What you’ll get out of this episode:
- Scaling from Startup to IPO: Richard Tame shares his journey of helping companies grow from Series B to IPO and beyond, highlighting the crucial role of finance in rapid scaling.
- AI Infrastructure Leadership: Ori is building a GPU cloud infrastructure to support AI development, providing developers with on-demand and private cloud offerings.
- Lessons in Scaling Tech Companies: Richard emphasizes the importance of laying strong operational foundations early to handle future growth efficiently.
- Strategic Team Building: Tame discusses the challenges of building a high-performing finance team in fast-growing startups and the need for flexibility in talent management.
- Preparing for AI Growth: As the demand for AI services expands, Ori is poised to be a significant player in AI infrastructure with plans to design custom data centers optimized for AI workloads.
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Ori: Building the Future of AI Infrastructure
In today’s rapidly evolving AI landscape, building the right infrastructure is paramount. Ori, a UK-based company, is at the forefront of this revolution by developing an AI-native GPU cloud platform. CFO Richard Tame, with his wealth of experience in scaling tech companies, joined Ori to guide the company through its early-stage growth and prepare it for the surge in AI demand.
The Journey from Startup to IPO
Tame’s background is rooted in taking companies from their early stages to IPO. Previously, he led Aurora Innovation through its Series B to IPO, learning key lessons about operational efficiency. At Ori, his focus is on scaling the business quickly while ensuring it has strong financial and operational foundations. These foundations, he explains, are often overlooked by startups but are critical for avoiding inefficiencies and costly transformations later on.
A Strong CEO-CFO Partnership
The CEO-CFO dynamic is crucial to the success of high-growth companies. Richard discusses how a good working relationship with the CEO is built on trust, clear roles, and complementary skills. At Ori, this means CEO Marty leads on vision and technology, while Richard focuses on the behind-the-scenes management—finance, legal, and operations—helping the company scale smoothly.
Preparing for AI Growth: Ori’s Strategic Expansion
As AI continues to grow, so too will the demand for AI infrastructure. Ori's focus on the infrastructure side of AI allows businesses to develop applications without the burden of managing their own hardware. Richard sees a future where Ori develops its own custom data centers optimized for AI workloads, positioning the company as a key player in the global AI infrastructure space.
Building a Winning Team in a High-Growth Startup
Richard's approach to building a finance team revolves around finding individuals who are not only talented but also adaptable to the fast-paced demands of a growing company. He stresses the importance of being transparent during the hiring process and managing expectations, as the reality of startup life can differ significantly from larger, more established companies.
With an eye on rapid growth and a commitment to building a robust infrastructure, Ori is set to be a major player in the AI space. For Richard Tame, it’s about creating a scalable model that can handle the explosive growth of AI applications in the years to come.
