How Web Data Infrastructure Powers the Next Generation of AI — Patricija Žemaitytė, Oxylabs
Aug 14, 2026 · 19:03
Oxylabs' Patricija Žemaitytė argues infrastructure, not better models, will power the next generation of AI, citing three client-driven projects. A video API built on a two-week deadline and a 5-petabytes-per-month floor expanded into transcripts, subtitles, search, and metadata; client had 30 petabytes and still hadn't paid. A search API rebuilt for subsecond latency and zero data retention got blocked live on a demo call, then reached 550 milliseconds average from a 4-second baseline by trimming layouts, parsers, sessions, and proxies. Scaling the web unblocker from 10,000 to 60,000 requests per second stalled at 20,000 in load testing because telemetry became part of the load, and the follow-up is already Project 150. The lesson: this is not a build-once business but an adapt-forever one.
