Those people living in those crates will be living in mansions ten years later
As someone in an adjacent industry , not necessarily.
Its best to ignore the term “founder” entirely with CS based startups until actual employees are under them and a bank has cosigned them. Much like the art industry, our industry basically has no startup costs so just like a mediocre painter can pick up a paint brush and be an artist through sheer self-definition; so can a developer become a “founder” with a little bit of of C or a python + rasa pair.
I interpretted what they are doing as similar to struggling actors moving to LA to “network” or underground rappers moving to atlanta to get a record deal. No garuntee or hope of either entity being millionaires given how saturated their industries are. Much like a rapper trying to pitch their mixtape, those two dudes are trying to pitch shoddy algortithms and skip steps.
Even moreso cause i suspect those two guys are missing the actual credentials to get hired on at a legitimate #ML or AI firm in the area. Which is why they are living in shipping containers. Those ML/AI gigs are notorious for demanding PHDs of applicants and peer-reviewed research history, while your avg CS worker only has a bachelors or perhaps a masters if they are overachieving, with no research portfolio whatsoever. Ive seen a few engineers get in without the credentials, but they generally had to work a full decade at an established firm beforehand .
This has been popular in places like Japan. I always wondered if the idea would ever catch on here.
Because of homeless people, criminals, and drug addicts. Such a structure in the US would atract the same problems you’d expect at a motel6.
Problems which japan doesnt have because of a better health system , better education system, and a functional social safety net.