EPISODE
Mati Staniszewski & Andrew Reed, Gergely Orosz, Dara Khosrowshahi, Mitchell Green, Simon Eskildsen, KJ Dhaliwal, Nicolas Sharp
00:01:00 Mati Staniszewski, co-founder and CEO of ElevenLabs, a company specializing in AI-driven voice synthesis, discusses the company's recent $500 million Series D funding round, valuing ElevenLabs at $11 billion, and highlights the rapid growth in annual recurring revenue, reaching $330 million by the end of 2025. He emphasizes the expansion of their product offerings, including advancements in voice agents and conversational models, and notes significant enterprise adoption with clients like Deutsche Telekom and Revolut. Additionally, Staniszewski introduces Andrew Reed from Sequoia as a new board member, underscoring the company's commitment to innovation and leadership in the AI voice technology sector.
00:02:00 Gergely Orosz is a seasoned software engineer and author of "The Pragmatic Engineer" newsletter, focusing on in-depth topics for experienced professionals. In the conversation, he discusses the transformative impact of AI on software engineering, emphasizing the shift from traditional coding to AI-assisted development and the importance of adaptability in this evolving landscape. He also highlights the value of hiring interns proficient in AI tools to enhance team productivity and underscores the need for engineers to develop business acumen and product sense to remain competitive.
00:03:00 Dara Khosrowshahi, an Iranian-American business executive born in 1969, is the CEO of Uber and previously led Expedia Group. In the conversation, he discusses Uber's strong earnings, highlighting a 22% trip growth and nearly $10 billion in free cash flow, emphasizing the company's supply-led strategy and the integration of rides and Uber Eats to enhance customer engagement.
00:04:00 Mitchell Green, Founder and Managing Partner at Lead Edge Capital, a $5 billion growth equity firm, discusses the rapid evolution of software development through AI-driven "vibe coding," expressing skepticism about its ability to replace complex, trust-based enterprise software solutions. He highlights the undervaluation of established software companies like PayPal and Workday, emphasizing the importance of trust and reliability in their offerings. Green also touches on the dynamics of the IPO market, noting that strong companies can go public successfully even in uncertain times, and shares his personal interest in motorsports, including plans to participate in races at Le Mans and Monaco.
00:05:00 Simon Hørup Eskildsen is the co-founder and CEO of Turbopuffer, a company specializing in serverless vector databases. He discusses the rapid adoption of agentic coding, emphasizing the need for efficient search engines to handle vast data volumes, and highlights Turbopuffer's role in enabling companies to build their own scalable search infrastructures. Additionally, he addresses challenges in compute resource availability and the importance of honest representation in client partnerships.
00:06:00 KJ Dhaliwal, CEO and co-founder of Lotus Health AI, discusses the company's mission to provide free, AI-powered primary care directly to consumers, addressing the shortage of primary care physicians in the U.S. He highlights the platform's ability to handle 80% of primary care needs virtually, including prescriptions and lab orders, by integrating patient health data with AI and real doctors. Dhaliwal also mentions their recent $41 million funding round led by Kleiner Perkins and CRV, and outlines plans for monetization through premium content and employer partnerships.
00:07:00 Nicolas Sharp, Co-Founder and CEO of Attio, discusses the launch of "Ask Atio," a conversational AI interface designed to help users interpret and act on extensive CRM data, including calls, emails, and customer interactions. He highlights the industry's growing consensus on the potential disruption of incumbent CRM systems by AI-native solutions and emphasizes Attio's commitment to supporting diverse integrations through a robust SDK and open platform. Looking ahead, Sharp outlines plans for rapid product development, aiming to balance scaling the company with continuous innovation to meet ambitious targets.