The Times Tech Podcast

The Sunday  Times’ tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Sid Jha of Arbol to talk about the importance of insurance (3:45), using data to change how it works (8:20), how climate has scrambled the industry (10:30), regulation (14:20), creating a new asset class (16:40), weather (24:10), growing up in India (29:20), going to Wall Street (30:40), launching Arbol (33:00), the space revolution (35:40), using blockchain (37:30), and why life is more expensive in an era of climate change (42:45) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Sunday Times correspondent brings on Noor Siddiquui, founder of Orchid, to talk about screening embryos (5:00), starting the company (9:30), hiring people as a first time founder (13:00), targeting ageing at the very beginning (15:00), how it works (18:20), why she thinks this is the future of conception (22:00), the need for regulation (31:00), the potential to exacerbate societal problems (38:00), why longevity enthusiasts invested (40:30), and the potential conservative backlash (49:40). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Sunday Times’ tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Eugenia Kyuda, founder of Replika, to talk about AI friends (4:00), growing up in Russia (6:45), her dad’s experience at Chernobyl (9:00), applying to Y Combinator (12:30), her first idea that didn’t work (16:30), losing her best friend (17:30), launching Replika (20:00), building a bot with pre-written answers (23:40), the key to good conversation (24:30), the bot before the ChatGPT moment (27:15), the changing AI landscape (29:20), how it works (31:50), securing people's secrets (33:50), and disrupting death (39:10). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Sunday Times; tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Dmitry Shevelenko of Perplexity.ai, to talk about finding the company though the Uber mafia (5:00), taking on Google (6:30), the founders' start as AI researchers (8:45), why he joined (11:35), what he did before this (17:00), closing his startup (20:15), hypergrowth lessons (24:40), the business model (28:00), the Gemini disaster (32:35), and doing it differently (36:00). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ana Pavlovic Hans talks about using rocks to cut carbon, improving the 'recipe' for rock weathering, partnership with Stripe, raising $12 million, and shares critter stories from Australia. They discuss making rock weathering 'sexy,' the breakthrough in measurement, and bringing down costs for a sustainable future.

The Sunday Times’ tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Chris Dixon, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, to talk about writing a book on blockchain and crypto (4:00), why it’s still early (9:30), NFT’s (14:30), the computer versus the casino (18:30), boom and bust (23:00), his vision for a blockchain-based web (27:15), the rise of a new social media model (32:30), overcoming inertia (39:20), bitcoin v everything else (42:10), central bank digital currencies (44:00),  and the ethereum economy (48:50). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Diego Saez Gil discusses founding Pachama for carbon reduction, AI tools for climate projects, net zero pledges, raising $90 million, and surviving a house fire linked to climate change.

The Sunday Times’ tech correspondent brings on David Barrett, founder of Expensify, to talk about creating a “remote-first” company (3:15), the lounge (6:45), the return-to-office movement (14:15), going public and then getting its shares smashed (17:15), why venture capital is a scam (23:30), why he likes public market investors (30:25), keeping people happy when shares lose 95% of their value (33:35), and the artificial intelligence boom (35:25). PLUS: The link to our previous episode with Delian Asparouhov, founder of Varda, whose space-factory startup just had its first craft land safely back to earth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Raj Kapoor, co-founder of Climactic, discusses growing up in Pennsylvania, his early days in Silicon Valley, joining Lyft, and using software to cut emissions. They also talk about self-driving cars, raising funds at Climactic, and remaking the electric grid.

The Sunday Times’ tech correspondent Danny Fortson brings on Fergus Hay, founder of The Hacking Games, to talk about why he started the company (5:00), the difference between the real and online worlds (9:30), why everyone gets caught (15:15), his plan for a documentary and television series (21:00), the Hollywood angle (25:45), making hacking sexy (30:30), the cybersecurity industry’s stance on hackers (35:05), how much of cybercrime is invisible (40:45), and reaching young people (44:10). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.