Deployed: The AI Product Podcast

On this episode of Deployed, we sit down with Ajit Varma, VP of Product at Mozilla Firefox, and former product leader at Google, Meta, Square, and WhatsApp. Ajit brings a unique perspective: while venture-backed AI browsers race to build what increasingly look like walled gardens, Mozilla has spent months quietly shipping privacy-first AI features that put user choice above everything else.It's a thoughtful conversation with candid insights into why Firefox offers multiple AI chat providers in their sidebar instead of forcing users into a single model (and how this philosophical stance shapes every technical decision they make), the reality that privacy-preserving AI requires completely rethinking architecture, and why their AI features prioritize on-device processing whenever possible. We also get into the technical challenges that come with balancing local and cloud AI (users want SOTA quality but also want their data to stay private), the business model constraints of being a nonprofit foundation competing against VC-funded competitors who can burn cash on flashy features, and why Mozilla believes keeping the web open matters more than winning the AI browser wars. Whether you're interested in privacy and the open web or just trying to understand what it takes to integrate cutting-edge AI into existing products, Ajit's perspective offers practical lessons from someone navigating a challenging balancing act.

Surojit Chatterjee, CEO and founder of Ema, shares his journey building enterprise AI employees since early 2023. He emphasizes the critical difference between treating AI as employees rather than agents, impacting feedback and evaluation. Surojit discusses the failure of many AI projects due to automation of broken processes and promotes multi-agent systems as essential for managing enterprise complexity. He also highlights the importance of redesigning workflows, sustainable scalability, and effective training for business users to manage AI effectively.

In this episode of Deployed, we sit down with Ryan Carson, Builder in Residence at Amp (Sourcegraph's coding agent) and founder of Treehouse, which taught over a million people to code. Ryan brings a rare dual perspective: he's both building his own company with AI tools and helping create enterprise-grade AI coding infrastructure.Ryan gives us refreshingly honest insights into the hyper-competitive coding agent landscape, why traditional evals don't work for open-ended coding tasks, and the "dirty secret" that most quality decisions still come down to "dev vibes." We dive into the technical reality of competing with well-funded teams, his systematic framework for building with AI agents (which has 5,000+ GitHub stars), and why success isn't just about model capabilities — it's about solving real developer problems through obsessive attention to user experience.Whether you're building AI products or trying to understand what it really takes to compete in this space, Ryan's grounded perspective cuts through the hype with practical lessons from the trenches.Retry

Kelly Schaefer, recognized as one of the Top 100 Women in AI and Product Director at Google Labs, shares insights on turning innovative ideas into real-world AI products. She discusses the importance of evaluation scorecards and the balance between speed and perfection in product launches. The conversation highlights promising tools like NotebookLM and coding assistant Jules, which enhance productivity and user engagement. Kelly emphasizes the evolving roles of PM and UX in AI development, advocating for 'dot connectors' who bridge diverse domains.

Kwindla Hultman-Kramer, co-founder of Daily and creator of Pipecat, shares his extensive expertise in voice AI, built since its early days. He discusses the current inflection point for voice agents transitioning to real-world applications with tangible ROI. Kwindla highlights best practices for infrastructure, unveiling why WebRTC outperforms WebSockets. He also delves into the limitations of speech-to-speech models and the importance of solid text evaluations, providing valuable tactical advice for developers navigating the journey from prototypes to production.

On this episode we talk with Nathan Sobo, co-founder and CEO of Zed, the high-performance code editor that's reimagining how AI agents can improve developer workflows. Nathan shares lessons from building one of the most natural agentic coding experiences available, including why investing up front to automate the feedback loop to improve the quality of AI systems is worth it. He also shares some great product design insights that go beyond the code editor -- including how they were able to weave an AI agent into the UX of their already-collaborative product (just like a human collaborator), and how their "subtle mode" for code completion has helped win over AI-skeptical developers. Whether you're building coding tools or another AI product, this conversation is a fun listen for anyone who cares about crafting great products and incorporating AI in smart ways.

On this episode we talk with Sarah Guo, founder of Conviction — a VC firm focused on early-stage AI investments. Sarah shares insights from her unique position at the intersection of AI research, startups, and enterprise adoption that are relevant to people building with AI. Topics like: How successful teams keep up with rapid changes in the AI landscape, how AI labs vs. enterprises approach problems differently, thoughts on why many AI initiatives struggle to move from prototype to production. She also shares some good advice for leaders on setting an ambitious roadmap and staying competitive in the current market. This conversation provides practical perspective on what's working with leading AI teams, and hopefully some advice others can learn from.

Tyler Phillips, AI Product Lead at Apollo.io, dives into the art of crafting successful AI products for sales. He shares valuable insights on the often-overlooked tasks of AI product management, like evaluating AI outputs and creating quality frameworks. Highlighting the significance of prompt writing from domain experts, Tyler discusses how personalized outreach enhances customer experiences. He also reveals strategies for ensuring data quality and constructing effective evaluation criteria, making for a treasure trove of tips for aspiring AI PMs.

On this episode of Deployed: The AI Product Podcast, we sit down with Ben Kus, CTO of Box, to unpack how they built a secure, scalable AI platform within their enterprise content management system. Ben shares candid insights from Box's journey integrating AI capabilities while maintaining enterprise-grade security for sensitive customer data. Learn practical strategies for evaluating AI quality without accessing customer data, building internal platforms that engineering teams want to use, and designing architecture that can evolve with rapid AI advances. Whether you're integrating LLMs into an established product or building new AI features, this conversation offers valuable lessons on balancing innovation with enterprise requirements. Join Ian, Co-Founder and CEO of Freeplay, for this in-depth discussion on scaling AI responsibly in the enterprise.

In this discussion with Arya Asemanfar, a Product and Engineering leader at Sierra, listeners discover how AI-powered agents are revolutionizing customer interactions. Arya explains the critical differences between traditional chatbots and advanced agents that take meaningful actions. The conversation dives into Sierra's innovative 'Agent OS' that ensures robust, scalable development and addresses challenges like tool hallucination. Arya highlights the importance of collaboration with customers, showing how tailored solutions enhance customer service while reflecting brand values.