Tech Disruptors

Paddy Srinivasan, CEO of DigitalOcean and former CEO of a billion-dollar SaaS company, joins Anurag Rana to discuss emerging trends in cloud technology. They dive into DigitalOcean's unique positioning against hyperscalers, showcasing its appeal to digital-native enterprises. Srinivasan highlights the importance of inferencing for AI applications and how the company focuses on cost-effective solutions. They also touch upon the shift towards open-source frameworks in AI and DigitalOcean's strategic initiatives for growth in underserved markets.

Mahesh Saptharishi, EVP & CTO at Motorola Solutions, discusses the transformative impact of AI on public safety. He explains how generative AI reshapes human-AI interaction, driving efficiency for first responders. Saptharishi highlights the Assist platform, which equips emergency personnel with real-time insights and automation to improve response times. He also emphasizes the importance of responsible AI usage while navigating strategic acquisitions to enhance communication technology. The conversation explores future advancements aimed at creating safer communities.

Lori Beer, the Chief Information Officer of JPMorgan Chase, leads an $18 billion tech budget and oversees 63,000 technologists. In this discussion, she reveals how JPMorgan is navigating the complex landscape of generative AI and automation. Topics include the transformative power of AI in banking workflows, the critical role of data management for success, and strategic cloud adoption. Beer stresses the balance between compliance and innovation, showcasing the bank's ambition to become an AI-native institution while maintaining robust cybersecurity measures.

Sumedh Thakar, CEO of Qualys, who has been with the company since 2003, dives into the evolution of cybersecurity strategies. He discusses shifting from traditional attack surface management to a more integrated risk surface approach. AI's role in enhancing cybersecurity measures takes center stage, as he highlights its potential to transform workforce dynamics and decision-making. Thakar also reflects on the complexities of incidents like the SolarWinds attack and anticipates future trends in cybersecurity mergers and acquisitions.

Andrew Feldman, Co-founder and CEO of Cerebras Systems, dives into the fascinating evolution from giant chips to cutting-edge inference clouds. He discusses how owning the entire tech stack can dramatically outperform GPU clusters. Feldman shares insights on recent collaborations with Meta and IBM, the impact of the WSE-3 upgrade, and new data centers aimed at delivering faster, cost-effective AI solutions. He also addresses the challenges and future potential of AI technologies in a competitive landscape.

Zig Serafin, the CEO of Qualtrics, shared insights on enhancing customer experience through AI and data analysis. He emphasized the importance of understanding customer behavior to navigate market uncertainties. The discussion delved into the role of autonomous AI agents in providing seamless service while driving operational effectiveness. Serafin highlighted the evolution of experience management and its transformative potential, stressing how interconnected AI can foster better relationships and strategic decision-making across industries.

Ryan J. Salva, who leads product management for developer tools at Google Cloud, shares insights from his extensive career at Microsoft and GitHub. He discusses the revolutionary impact of AI on coding workflows, emphasizing tools like Google's coding assistant, Gemini. The conversation delves into the evolution of coding assistants, the importance of user feedback, and how AI can automate routine tasks. Salva also addresses the challenges developers face with AI, highlighting the need for adaptation and critical thinking in an ever-evolving software landscape.

Will Grannis, Chief Technology Officer of Google Cloud, shares insights on the explosive demand for large language models like Gemini, boasting a 40x growth in usage. He highlights Google's Ironwood TPU, designed to enhance efficiency and performance significantly. The conversation dives into versatile use cases for AI across industries, emphasizing seamless integration and customer customization. Grannis also touches on the importance of authoritative data in AI applications and tackles future trends and market metrics in the ever-evolving tech landscape.

“The average knowledge worker is interrupted every two minutes during work hours,” according to Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer Jared Spataro. “You’re getting an email, a meeting kind of request, a chat coming in, and if you do the math, that’s 275 times a day.” On this episode of Tech Disruptors, Spataro joins Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Technology Analyst Anurag Rana to discuss emerging trends in the way employees work and how AI is already changing the game. The two define the “Frontier Firm” and discuss why this is a big year for such organizations. They also talk about the introduction of new research and analyst AI agents and the future of head count and staffing needs.

Helping small businesses manage all things human resources — payroll, benefits, tax compliance and employee onboarding — is Gusto’s central focus, which presents unique challenges given the fragmented customer base. Chief Technology Officer Mike Tria outlines the company’s product-portfolio suite and the evolution of the human-capital management industry over the past 10 years from a technology angle. In this Tech Disruptors podcast episode, BI analyst Niraj Patel sits down with Tria to discuss Gusto’s appeal across small and medium-sized business (SMBs), the leverage of its technology infrastructure (Ruby on Rails) to scale up for asynchronous workloads, the software ecosystem, its “Gus” AI solution and more.