Massive VC

Massive Signals

Business EN ↓ 6 episodes

Massive Signals From lab to market, deep tech is a long game, and the inflection points are everything. Massive Signals is a biweekly video podcast that dives into the pivotal moments shaping breakthrough ventures in AI, quantum, energy, defense, biotech, and beyond. Hosted by David Mandell and Ari Newman, each episode spotlights founders, investors, and researchers navigating the complex path from idea to impact. We explore the highs, the hard problems, and the unfiltered lessons. Expect real stories, practical insights, and behind-the-scenes perspectives on commercialization, funding strate...

Author

Massive VC

Episodes

Vrajesh Bhavsar: Securing the Agentic Stack 18.06.2026 48:04

In this episode, we sit down with Vrajesh Bhavsar, founder and CEO of Operant AI, a platform built to protect AI agents, cloud workloads, and MCP ecosystems at runtime. Vrajesh traces his path from Apple’s Secure Enclave to Arm’s ML business unit to the founding bet that security couldn’t scale on dashboards and human intervention alone. We cover how early design partners forced Operant’s focus, w...

Kelly Coyne: Betting Big on Quantum 11.06.2026 57:01

In this episode, we sit down with Kelly Coyne, investor at D4 Investments, a firm going all-in on quantum after years backing industrial robotics. Kelly shares how she went from dismissing quantum on stage at the School of Mines to making it her entire investment focus three months later. We cover why being wrong is a competitive advantage in venture, how geography determines your entire quantum t...

The Ignored Frontier: How Urban Sky Is Unlocking the Stratosphere with Andrew Antonio 27.05.2026 43:29

In this episode, we sit down with Andrew Antonio, founder and CEO of Urban Sky, the company treating the stratosphere like the final frontier it actually is. Andrew shares how a world-record skydive from 136,000 feet planted the seed, why the stratosphere has been ignored for 60 years while space and aviation absorbed all the capital, and how getting their butts kicked in the imagery market led to...

Deep Tech's Second Act with Aziz Gilani of Mercury Fund 12.05.2026 56:47

In this episode, we sit down with Aziz Gilani, general partner of Houston-based Mercury Fund, which manages over $750 million focused on disruptive technology startups outside Silicon Valley. Aziz shares his journey from intern to partner, Mercury's renewed focus on deep tech, and why incumbents across industries have never been more vulnerable to disruption. We dive deep into what separates touri...

The Hybrid Electric Bet with Kevin Noertker of Ampaire 21.04.2026 58:20

In this episode, we sit down with Kevin Noertker, co-founder and CEO of Ampaire, a company building hybrid electric propulsion and onboard power systems for existing aircraft. Kevin shares his path from NASA JPL to a $200M aerospace program to the lunch pitch that changed everything. We cover why Ampaire bet on retrofits over clean-sheet designs, how a Hawaiian airport killed their plug-in strateg...

The Energy Inflection Point with Cody Simms of MCJ 09.04.2026 54:12

In this episode, we sit down with Cody Simms, Managing Partner of MCJ Collective, an early-stage venture fund with over $115 million under management focused on climate and energy technology. Cody shares his journey from dot-com product manager to climate investor, how a podcast became the unlikely foundation for a venture fund, and why the energy transition is accelerating regardless of what’s ha...