Tech Disruptors

Adam Woodworth, CEO of Wing, Alphabet's drone-delivery subsidiary, shares his insights on the future of drone delivery, emphasizing its potential for consumer packages and groceries. He discusses the evolution of drone technology and regulations, including FAA's proposed rules. Woodworth details the hybrid design of their drones and how they are engineered for suburban deliveries. He also touches on community outreach efforts to address noise concerns and the integration of AI for improved flight safety and efficiency in this transformative delivery service.

Sanjana Parulekar, Senior VP of Product Marketing for AI at Salesforce, dives deep into scaling Agent Force within enterprises. She discusses the importance of preparing unstructured data for AI, emphasizing the role of Data360 and rapid pilot deployments like William-Sonoma's. The conversation explores clever integration through MuleSoft, balancing deterministic workflows with LLM creativity, and overcoming change management hurdles. Sanjana also shares insights on voice agents and how businesses can optimize operations, leading to significant productivity gains.

Join Peter Bailis, Workday's CTO and former Google Cloud leader, as he dives into the exciting evolution of Workday's AI-ready open platform. He highlights how zero-copy data access and API-first design enhance governance and security. Discover the transformative roles of tools like Illuminate and Paradox in streamlining HR and recruiting. Peter emphasizes the importance of connectivity and relevance for enterprise AI, while discussing the competitive landscape for becoming the primary workplace entry point.

Richard Socher, CEO of You.com and a former chief scientist at Salesforce, shares insights on the evolving world of AI-driven search. He explains how You.com differentiates itself through real-time accuracy and privacy-first design while powering search for companies like DuckDuckGo. Socher discusses the challenges of context engineering and the importance of a robust search infrastructure in delivering accurate AI results. He also outlines the competitive landscape and how custom agents are changing productivity dynamics in businesses.

Greg Matson, Senior Vice President at Solidigm, brings 25 years of expertise in memory and storage to the conversation. He discusses how Solidigm is addressing the skyrocketing data demands of AI, with insights on the pivotal shift towards high-capacity SSDs. Greg explains the significant difference between SSD needs for inference and training, while predicting a future with one-petabyte drives. He emphasizes the importance of liquid-cooled SSDs and customer collaboration in staying competitive as demand for flash storage surges.

Rodrigo Liang, Co-founder and CEO of SambaNova Systems, shares insights from his extensive background in semiconductor engineering. He discusses how SambaNova is pioneering air-cooled, energy-efficient AI infrastructure, enabling businesses to scale AI rapidly and sustainably. Liang explains the shift from AI training to inference, emphasizing energy efficiency as a key factor for future AI solutions. He also touches on the increasing demand for sovereign AI deployments and the barriers created by habit and legacy software in the industry.

Saswat Panigrahi, Chief Product Officer at Waymo and autonomous driving expert, joins Mandeep Singh for an engaging dive into the future of self-driving cars. They discuss how Waymo is over 10x safer than human drivers and plans for a significant expansion in 2025 across five cities. Saswat shares insights on leveraging AI for fleet management, the importance of city-specific infrastructure, and the challenges of scaling operations. He invites listeners to reconsider misconceptions about AVs and experience the benefits firsthand.

Swami Sivasubramanian, VP of Agentec AI at AWS with over 20 years of experience, joins Anurag Rana to delve into the future of enterprise AI agents. They discuss the shift from simple chatbots to agents capable of autonomous planning and task completion. Swami highlights the importance of security, data access, and governance in deploying these agents. He also explores challenges in moving from prototype to production, the significance of context and memory for personalization, and how agents can modernize legacy systems, paving the way for greater efficiency.

Phil Pokorny, CTO of Penguin Solutions and expert in high-performance computing, shares insights on evolving AI infrastructure. He discusses how bespoke engineering is key to tackling AI complexity for enterprises and governments. The conversation highlights Penguin's partnerships with Dell, the critical role of memory technologies like CXL, and the importance of customized solutions versus cookie-cutter approaches. Phil also predicts a future with optical interconnects and energy-efficient systems, showcasing Penguin's commitment to innovative AI solutions.

Haseeb Budhani, Co-founder and CEO of Rafay Systems, specializes in orchestrating AI infrastructure to enhance developer experiences. He discusses the importance of simplifying AI deployment for enterprises, emphasizing Rafay's innovative consumption-based model. Haseeb highlights the integration of serverless pods and agent frameworks to streamline app delivery. He also shares insights on how Rafay collaborates with major players like NVIDIA and Accenture, and addresses common misconceptions about Kubernetes, making it easier for developers to thrive in a complex landscape.