Regression Games Aaron Vontell on building AI bots to compete in games, raising a $4M seed in a week from NEA and A16Z, and the future of AI in gaming

We sat down with Aaron to talk about building bots to compete in games, Raising a $4M seed in a week from NEA and A16z, building an AI-powered company, and the future of AI in gaming.  

Aaron is the Founder and CEO of Regression Games, a company making artificial intelligence in games and esports accessible and enjoyable for everyone. He was previously an early engineer at Instabase, working on low-code machine-learning products. He received his Bachelors and Masters from MIT, where he helped develop Battlecode, MIT's annual AI gaming competition.  

Start competing in Minecraft - Ultimate Collector challenge at https://play.regression.gg  

Timestamps:  

0:00 - Why let people build AIs that will compete in games 

2:10 - Which games to use as arenas for AI bots' competition 

8:10 - First tournament - Minecraft Ultimate Collector 

10:46 - RG approach vs. other companies applying AI in games 

16:40 - The toolset to program bots 

18:33 - Leveling the field for players with various programming skills 

21:00 - Origins: First robotics, MIT Battlecode, Instabase 

31:00 - Applying Natural Language and LLMs to programming bots 

35:10 - How to monetize AI bots 

38:15 - Starting RG as a solo founder, first steps, NEA, A16z, Roosh 

41:00 - Navigating the venture ecosystem as a first-time founder 

45:05 - Building initial team 

48:37 - Future of AI gaming 

52:25 - Advice to founders starting an AI company 

57:05 - Future of AI in general, AI as a companion   

Links:  

Regression Games: https://www.regression.gg  

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/925SYVse2H  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RegressionGG   

At Dawn, we invest in visionary leaders who move the world forward. Learn more at https://dawn-gv.com    

With questions about Forward contact us at [e-mail]