Trump’s tariffs have upended global trade and created an environment of uncertainty. But this situation wasn’t created in a vacuum. The rules of business have been shifting for years as technology moves quicker than regulation, geopolitics descend into turmoil, and the law erodes and becomes weaponized.

Businesses might be asking themselves, how are they meant to keep their heads above water? And what can they do to fight back?

Hence AI co-founder Sean West has some answers. With a team spread across the U.K., Rwanda, the U.S., and the Netherlands, the London-based startup has raised $5.2 million to date with a mission to democratize access to high-level business intelligence—something traditionally reserved for the biggest companies with the biggest budgets.

Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan sat down with West, who recently published the book Unruly: Fighting Back When Politics, AI, and Law Upend the Rules of Business, to dig into how companies should respond to rising geopolitical risk, the macro cost of keeping your head down, and why AI-powered tools like Hence Global, built on Palantir’s Foundry platform, are quietly redefining what it means to be “advised.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more about:

What businesses are getting wrong about tariffs and political risk.
How companies can go on the offensive to thrive in the chaos.
Why patriotism can shield companies, but comes with a cost.
Why law firms and consultants are some of Hence’s earliest adopters.
The broader implications of “democratizing access” to geopolitical risk intel.

Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.

Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here.

Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time.

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