Shift AI Podcast

Yifan Zhang's journey from a Harvard graduate to a serial entrepreneur and now the Managing Director at AI2 Incubator exemplifies her evolution within the tech startup ecosystem. Immigrating from China, she first ventured into the startup world by founding GymPact, a fitness app, followed by Loftium, an innovative home ownership model. Zhang's transition to investor at AI2 Incubator marks...

In this episode of the Shift AI podcast, host Boaz Ashkenazy interviews Varun Puri, the founder and CEO of Yoodli, who shares his journey from working at Google to starting his own AI startup Yoodli. Yoodli is an AI-powered speech coaching tool that helps individuals improve their communication skills. Puri discusses the importance of effective communication and how Yoodli can be used as a persona...

In this episode of the Shift AI podcast, host Boaz Ashkenazy interviews Sarah Nagy, CEO of Seek.ai , discussing her journey from astrophysics and finance to leading one of the fastest-growing AI companies. Sarah shares insights into her transition from quantitative analysis and data science in finance to creating Seek.ai , which aims to make data more accessible to non-technical users through natu...

In this episode of the Shift AI podcast, Joe shares his unique journey from a tech-savvy business professional to a state senator in Washington, emphasizing his work on technology legislation, particularly around AI and facial recognition. The discussion covers the challenges and opportunities of regulating AI technology, balancing innovation with privacy and ethical considerations. They also expl...

In this episode of the Shift AI podcast, David Nilssen, CEO of DOXA Talent, shares his insights on the evolving landscape of the global workforce and the significance of remote work. He highlights the necessity of developing an international talent strategy in response to the enduring scarcity of talent. Nilssen delves into his personal journey, from early career influences to leading DOXA Talent,...

In this episode of Shift AI, Zach Friend Santa Cruz County Supervisor shares his journey from working in the Obama Whitehouse to helping the Biden Administration craft meaningful AI legislation with the local community in mind. He also covers the way that governments are dealing with AI regulation and the social contract that needs to be established with county constituents. Show Description This...

In this episode of Shift AI, Kirby Winfield General Partner at Ascend.vc shares his journey from founding multiple successful startups to becoming a leading AI investor and outlines lessons learned, insights on the Seattle startup ecosystem, and his optimistic yet pragmatic views on generative AI and the future of work. Summary of topics covered: Background and early career: Kirby gained experienc...

In this episode of Shift AI, Zohar Dayan SVP Product at Vimeo shares his experience as a startup founder, how he was early to ML with video and how the Vimeo acquisition is pushing to integrate AI into the video creation process. 01:57 - Dayan talks about his early start with technology, founding Wibbitz in college, and its connection to text-to-video concepts. 02:31 - Zohar explains his role at V...

In this episode of Shift AI, Dr. Vasi Philomin, VP of Generative AI at Amazon Web Services (AWS) shares his experience as a visionary in machine learning and AI, his insights on applying generative AI at Amazon/AWS, and his thoughts on the ethical dimensions and future potential of AI technologies. Highlights from Vasi’s comments, edited for context and clarity: Early work experiences: Pioneered c...

In this episode of Shift AI, Karthik Ramakrishnan Chief Product Officer from Armilla AI shares his experience with a startup that empowers enterprises to test and fix their AI models to ensure they release trustworthy products to the market. In this episode of the Shift AI podcast, we cover the following topics: 02:22 How Karthik's eductation let to working in startups, an IPO; and his pursuit...

In this episode of Shift AI, Rand Fishkin, Co-founder and CEO at SparkToro, shares his experience as a successful entrepreneur and offers insightful perspectives on the current state of generative AI, the challenges faced by VC-backed businesses and the importance of prioritizing the lives of founders and team members. sparktoro.com shitaipodcast.com simplyaugmented.com Connect with Rand Fishkin ⁠...

In this episode of Shift AI, Neil Mandt, 5-time Emmy Award Winning Producer, shares his experience as a Hollywood producer and director, his take on the implications of AI on our society in the future and how the Studio industry is changing to accomodate this shift. In this episode of the Shift AI podcast, we cover the following topics: Introduction to experience and background including with Run...

In this episode of Shift AI, David Shim CEO at read.ai shares his experience as a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and running one of the most exciting Madrona backed AI startups based in Seattle. Below is a summary of the topics covered: Transitioning from a political science major to identifying untapped opportunities in the stock trading market. Acquiring foundational customer service skills...

In this episode of Shift AI, Shane Mac CEO at XMTP Labs shares his experience as a startup founder, how to run a remote-first venture backed startup and his philosophy on how digital messaging and communication will evolve in the future. In this episode of the Shift AI podcast, we cover the following topics: Early Experience: Shane discusses how his early experience as a young CEO of a startup in...

In this episode of Shift AI, TA McCann Managing Director at the Pioneer Square Labs shares his experience as a startup founder, how sailing a ship has parralells to running a fast growing business and his take on the implications of AI on our society in the future.

In this episode of Shift AI, Oren Etzioni Founding CEO at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intellegence shares his expertise on AI policy and how this breakthrough technology will transform the way we work in the future. Oren breaks down the ethical and technical issues related to AI adoption and talks about how this AI wave is different from tech hypes in the past. In this episode of the Shift...

In this installment of Shift AI, Matt McIlwain, Managing Director at Madrona Venture Group, discusses the influence of AI on different industries, Seattle's place in the technology landscape, ethical concerns surrounding AI, and the evolving nature of work in the digital era. Matt also delves into the opportunities and groundbreaking advancements created by AI, cloud computing, and associated...

In this episode of the Shift AI Podcast, Mindy Honcoop, CPO at Agile in HR shares her background and experience that landed her at Expedia and the work she has been doing to advise leaders to focus on their purpose and values to drive organizational change. Mindy breaks down how she thinks about motivating people in the workplace and the role that humans play amidst new technology advances. She al...

On Shift AI Live, Ashwin Kadaru and Boaz Ashkenazy, discuss the influence of AI on different industries, current events related to the fast changing AI landscape and new use cases that directly impact business ROI. Connect with Ashwin Kadaru ⁠X⁠ ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Connect with Boaz Ashkenazy ⁠X⁠ ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Email: ⁠shift@simplyaugmented.com⁠ Join the Simply Augmented newsletter. Every Tuesday morning, you’...

In this episode of Shift AI, Dan Nieves, Global Executive Engagement at Meta Reality Labs shares his expertise on the convergence of AI and XR at Meta and how this technology will transform the way we work in the future. Dan breaks down the roadmap and how Meta thinks about the emerging competitive VR landscape with the introduction of Apple Vision Pro. He also talks about the hype surrounding the...

In this episode of Shift AI, Ashwin Kadaru, the CEO of Simply Augmented, shares his expertise on Generative AI and how this technology will transform the way we work in the future. Ashwin breaks down the definitions and history of ChatGPT and then goes deep on how the technology actually works. He also talks about the hype surrounding AI and explains why there is so much excitement and energy arou...

In this episode of Shift AI, Alan Smithson, the co-founder of Metavrse, shares his expertise on how technology advancements and AI will significantly impact the way we work in the future. Alan discusses the need to prepare for an age where AI plays a significant role and the challenge of keeping up with its rapid advancements. He also talks about the hype surrounding AI and how the lack of regulat...

In this episode of Shift AI, Jyarland Daniels shares her perspective on company culture and how companies can touch on our emotions and move us in important ways. We touch on topics around being surrounded by mentors and passionate people face to face early in your career and how this can shape your perspective on career development. Jyarland expands on her mentors as she navigated work in the civ...

In this episode of Shift AI, Venture Partner, Martina Welkhoff shares her perspective on investing in AI and XR and how her investment thesis has evolved over time.  Martina was early in VR and AR investing and focussed on funding and empowering female founders.  Her approach to supporting startup founders and vision for the future of work aligns with her new venture fund Goldenrod Ventures and sh...

In this episode of Shift AI we feature Elizabeth Scallon, a prominent figure in the Seattle startup scene who discusses her experiences and insights on co-working, mentorship, and the future of work. Elizabeth highlights the potential of AI and co-creation in scaling and accelerating work processes. and shares her expertise on funding structures for underrepresented small businesses. In this episo...