The Times Tech Podcast

Chris Sheldrick, founder of what3words, discusses the need for a new addressing system (4:25), challenges of convincing people to switch (7:15), competing with GPS (11:10), 'killer app' he's looking for (12:45), how suitcases are like addresses (14:05), his journey from musician to entrepreneur (17:10), choosing three words (20:20), securing funding and business model (26:35), taking on 'Big Address' (28:45)

The Sunday Times’ tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Damian Bradfield, co-founder of file-sharing company Wetransfer, to talk about setting up near Muscle Beach (3:30), being the alternative to Dropbox (4:30), how Wetransfer makes money (6:30), how the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal has helped (9:15), why Facebook shouldn’t become a ghost town (12:25), starting the company in Amsterdam (13:50), creating the ‘sex lottery’ ad campaign (14:45), missing the golden age of advertising (15:50), building the Volkswagen Beetle beetle of data sharing (18:10), giving away space to artists (20:10), prospering in a world where data is harder to mine (21:30), turning a profit (22:55), why he did not raise venture capital for years (24:25), before finally bringing in $25m in 2016 (26:40), coming to America (28:30), his worst day at work (31:40), working in Russia (33:05), the future (33:50), and how “mission” helps retain people (35:55). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Sunday Times' tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Stefan Krause, founder of $1bn electric car startup Evelozcity, to talk about why cars look like they do (5:40), why electric vehicles will be dramatically different (6:30), a car for megacities (10:00), raising $1bn (13:05), the importance of batteries (14:30), pricing the car at $35,000 (18:00), ending up in California (22:45), developing their first car in 5 months (24:45), the death of ‘range anxiety’ (28:55), not being the next Studebaker (29:45), going from giant companies to a startup (32:30), how he built a casino (34:00), handling Deutsche Bank during the financial crisis (35:15), whether Detroit think’s electric cars are coming (39:10), and growing up in Pablo Escobar's Colombia (42:50). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Sunday Times’ tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Boris Sofman, founder of Anki, a maker of AI-powered toys, to talk about why he chose toys (2:45), convincing investors to back him (5:25), starting out making a real life Mario Kart (7:20), using a prototype to pitch (9:50), creating a Pixar-style robot (13:05), putting software at the heart of its toy (17:00), engineering emotion (18:05), the importance of eye contact (21:15), if toys can get ‘too good’ (23:50), the difference from old-school companies (25:25), the future of ‘the family robot’ (27:15), why Anki won’t be a toy company for long (31:40), growing up in Russia and Texas (34:30), studying robots at Carnegie Mellon (35:30), and the explosion of the robotics industry (37:30). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Sunday Times’ tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Dan Woods, cyber security expert at Shape Security, to answer five big question about hacking and online crime. 1. How likely is it that your online details are for sale online right now? (3:10) 2. What are the weirdest scams he has found? (6:40) 3. Are state actors or criminal gangs the biggest threat? (11:35), 4. Why is being a cyber criminal so easy (20:35) and 5. What should you do to protect yourself (24:40). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Sunday Times’s tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Ethan Brown, founder of Beyond Meat, on why he got into “clean meat” (4:15), treating the problem like climate change (6:00), the four building blocks of meat (8:15), the problems he is trying to solve (9:15), growing up around a farm (13:00), his first career in green energy (15:00), starting in 2009 with "chicken wood chips" from Taiwan (17:30), why smell matters (18:45), the centrality of meat in life (21:30), recreating the cow through plants (23:45), attracting Kleiner Perkins, Bill Gates and other investors (25:15), going into battle over the word “meat” (29:15), how scientific progress has made “clean meat” possible (33:00), coming to Europe (35:15), why it costs more (36:55), whether we are at “peak cow” (40:10), his worst day of work (42:15), why he invited “Big Meat” into the company (44:00), and the taste test (45:25). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, discusses his investment in Memphis Meats, the formation of a $2bn fund with TPG, and his backing of Hyperloop. He also talks about the future of lunar tourism, the resurgence of vinyl, and how #metoo has influenced his approach to business. Branson shares his thoughts on eternal life and explains why he hasn't retired yet.

The Sunday Times’ tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Jaron Lanier, virtual reality pioneer, computer scientist, and author, to talk about being a “traitor” to Silicon Valley (3:40), the “bummer machine” (7:10), being purposefully alarmist (7:50), why nastiness is the crude oil of social media (9:10), why technology's role in social movements is misleading (12:20), why we should be like cats (16:25), why the incentives need to be remade (18:45), how the industry could be overhauled (21:05), on whether the tech industry is having an identity crisis (23:30), the death of context (28:10), the survival of the human race (32:20), aiding the education of artificial intelligence (34:05), and AI marketing nonsense (41:20). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Sunday Times’ tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Christina Bognet, founder for PlateJoy, to talk about changing how people eat (3:10), combating diabetes virtually (5:35), weighing in online (11:05), going to MIT (13:40), gaining and losing 50 lbs (14:55), getting inspiration from Stripe’s Patrick Collison (18:15), nabbing investment from her first pitch (19:15), getting into Y Combinator (20:15), the importance of education (22:30), why she doesn’t use the “D” word (27:00), the rise of preventative medicine (28:00), food photographers (33:00), why fasting may not be a terrible idea (34:05), and making this available to the poor (39:45) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Sunday Times’ tech correspondent Danny Fortson takes a deep dive into the esports world, starting in Los Angeles, home of the new Overwatch League, (4:00). We examine how gaming could become a spectator sport (6:00), what it takes to be a pro (12:25), why life is tough as a pro (15:00), the importance of streaming (17:50), selling the dream (21:55), esports youth leagues (26:15), why careers are brutally short (27:30), and the need to bring more women into the fold (29.30). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.