TechSurge: Deep Tech Podcast

Host Sriram Viswanathan sits down with Qualcomm Chairman Mark McLaughlin, the former CEO of Palo Alto Networks and Verisign and a trailblazer in technology and cybersecurity. Mark shares his remarkable transition from West Point to the heights of the tech industry, drawing on the many powerful leadership lessons developed throughout his career. Mark shares advice on balancing family priorities and...

Host Sriram Viswanathan speaks with Andy Lee and Anand Chandrasekaran from Crescendo AI about the transformative impact of AI on the customer service and call center industry. The conversation covers Crescendo's unique approach to integrating AI in business process outsourcing, the dynamics of the sector, and the potential future of human-AI collaboration. Discover how AI is poised to disrupt and...

Join host Michael Marks as he discusses the transformative potential of technology in the construction industry with leaders from three innovative companies: Ash Bhardwaj, CEO and co-founder of Onx Homes; Trevor Schick, CEO of Slate.ai; and Camilo Restrepo, CEO of Biomason. The conversation delves into the challenges of disrupting the construction sector, the roles of AI and data in improving prod...

In this episode of TechSurge: The Deep Tech Podcast, host Nicholas Brathwaite of Celesta Capital speaks with Christian Mitchell, Chief Digital and Information Officer at Northwestern Mutual, about the profound digital transformation happening in the financial services and insurance sectors. The discussion covers how legacy systems are being modernized, the role of AI in enhancing underwriting and...

In this episode, we explore the future of mobility and AI with Aicha Evans, CEO of Zoox, a leading developer of autonomous robotaxis and an Amazon company. Joining Celesta Capital’s founding partner Sriram Viswanathan, Aicha shares her journey from Senegal to Silicon Valley, where she led groundbreaking innovations at Intel before taking the helm at Zoox.  Together, they discuss the challenges and...

Will AI will take away all of our jobs? Is technology eroding privacy? Is the pace of technology advancement too fast?  We address these questions and more topics around global science and technology policy with Rob Atkinson, founder and president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. Speaking with Celesta Capital founding partner Nic Brathwaite, Rob dives into the intersection...

Fred Thiel, Chairman and CEO of MARA Holdings, dives us into the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency mining. Fred discusses the technological advancements in Bitcoin mining, including significant improvements in energy efficiency, and provides insights into the future of Bitcoin, predicting substantial growth in its value and its linkages with AI inference data centers. He also explains the rel...

Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra discusses his journey in the semiconductor industry and the growing strategic importance of the memory industry in the age of AI. He highlights innovation in high bandwidth memory (HBM), which enables faster data access and lower power consumption. Sanjay also discusses Micron’s plans to build new U.S. semiconductor factories and the role of the CHIPS Act in bringing sem...

Former CEO of PepsiCo and New York Times bestselling author Indra Nooyi joins host Michael Marks for a wide-ranging conversation to share her insights on the growth of big tech companies, the impact of AI, CEO-board relationships, and much more. Indra currently serves on the boards of Amazon, Phillips, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the National Gallery of Art, and is a Dean’s Advisory Co...

Driven both by surging demand and rapid technology advancements, an emerging area of health innovation called “bioconvergence” is driving improvements in human health and sustained interest from investors. This episode will explore these new applications merging engineered technologies with scientific disciplines, including in diagnostics, therapeutics, and elsewhere. Nobel Laureate Dr. Jim Rothma...

Legendary technology founder and venture capital investor Vinod Khosla joins host Michael Marks for a wide-ranging discussion on the future of Artificial Intelligence, major tech cycles, and much more. Vinod shares his predictions for the next 25 years of technology advancement and how we should be assessing the risks and benefits as the adoption of AI continues to accelerate. He shares his views...

The TechSurge Podcast explores topics at the intersection of emerging tech, market forces, and entrepreneurial discovery. Hear directly from Silicon Valley leaders, the next generation of daring founders, and other brilliant minds shaping the future of deep tech. Episodes releasing every two weeks.