Tech Talks Daily

When most people think of Wikipedia, they picture an endless scroll of human-readable pages. But there's another side to this ecosystem, one designed not just for people but also for machines. It's called Wikidata, and if you haven't heard of it, that's exactly why this conversation matters. In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I'm joined by Lydia Pintscher, Wikidata Portfolio Manager at Wikimedia...

What does it take to make AI actually work at enterprise scale? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I'm joined by Ryan Steelberg, CEO of Veritone, to unpack the very real challenges and opportunities that come with bringing artificial intelligence into complex industries like media, law enforcement, and government. Ryan has been building AI solutions long before it became headline news. He co-fou...

Is the future of finance programmable? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I'm joined by Ryan Galvankar, founder of Plaza Finance, to explore how programmable derivatives and on-chain bonds are reshaping the way we think about risk, leverage, and asset management in crypto. Plaza Finance isn't just another DeFi protocol. Since launching its core system on Base in April 2025, the team has introduc...

What if proving your right to work, rent, or even open a bank account didn't require digging out your passport or waiting weeks for manual verification? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I'm joined by Hamraj Gulamali, Head of Legal and Compliance at Zinc, to talk about how digital identities are changing the way we think about employment, data ownership, and trust. Hamraj brings a unique perspe...

What does it take to build intelligent systems that are not only AI-powered but also secure, scalable, and grounded in real-world needs? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I speak with Srinivas Chippagiri, a senior technology leader and author of Building Intelligent Systems with AI and Cloud Technologies . With over a decade of experience spanning Wipro, GE Healthcare, Siemens, and now Tableau...

AI is finding its way into almost every corner of customer service, but is it really what customers want? According to Kinsta's recent survey, the answer is overwhelmingly no. An incredible 93 percent of respondents said they would rather speak to a human than an AI chatbot when they need support. Nearly half even said they would cancel a service if it relied solely on AI-driven support. In this e...

In a business climate shaped by rapid technological disruption, shifting geopolitical landscapes, and evolving customer expectations, strategy cannot remain static. JD Carter, Chief Strategy Officer at Vasion, believes the key to success lies in constantly aligning vision with execution while adapting to market realities in real time. In this conversation, JD shares how his role involves continuou...

MariaDB is a name with deep roots in the open-source database world, but in 2025 it is showing the energy and ambition of a company on the rise. Taken private in 2022 and backed by K1 Investment Management, MariaDB is doubling down on innovation while positioning itself as a strong alternative to MySQL and Oracle. At a time when many organisations are frustrated with Oracle's pricing and MySQL's c...

In this episode, I am joined by Charles Southwood, Regional Vice President, Denodo Technologies, a company recognised globally for its leadership in data management. With revenues of $288M and a customer base that includes Hitachi, Informa, Engie, and Walmart, Denodo sits at the heart of how enterprises access, trust, and act on their data. Charles brings over 35 years of experience in the tech in...

In the movies, Tony Stark's JARVIS is the ultimate AI assistant, managing schedules, running simulations, controlling environments, and anticipating needs before they are voiced. In reality, today's AI agents are still far from that vision. Despite 2025 being heralded as the year of agentic AI, the first offerings from major players have been underwhelming. They can perform tasks, but they remain...

Multi-agent AI systems are moving from theory to enterprise reality, and in this episode, Babak Hodjat, CTO of AI at Cognizant, explains why he believes they represent the future of business. Speaking from his AI R&D lab in San Francisco, Babak outlines how his team is both deploying these systems inside Cognizant and helping clients build their own, breaking down organisational silos, coordinatin...

AI adoption in the tech sector has reached a tipping point, and the latest EY Technology Pulse poll offers a fascinating look at just how quickly things are moving. In this episode, I'm joined by Ken Englund, Partner at EY, to unpack the survey's findings and what they reveal about the next two years of AI in enterprise. Conducted with 500 senior tech executives from companies with more than 5,000...

In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I speak with Steve Corbesero, Jr., Senior Director of Products and Solutions at MachineQ, a Comcast Company, about the findings from their new Lab of the Future survey. Conducted with Censuswide, the study gathered insights from more than 400 U.S.-based lab professionals, revealing both the opportunities and persistent pain points shaping modern laboratory oper...

Electric vehicles promise a cleaner future, but battery performance remains one of the biggest bottlenecks. In this episode, Tim Holme, co-founder and CTO of QuantumScape, takes us inside the company's mission to build a new generation of solid-state lithium-metal batteries that could change the game for EVs and beyond. Tim explains why the industry has been stuck with incremental improvements to...

Tax season scams are nothing new, but David Maimon is tracking a worrying evolution. As head of Fraud Insights at SentiLink and a professor of fraud intelligence at Georgia State University, David has been studying how organised crime groups are now blending stolen identities with generative AI and deepfake technology to outpace traditional security measures. In this conversation, he explains how...

In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I speak with Annelise Osborne, Chief Business Officer at Kadena, former Wall Street executive, and author of From Hoodies to Suits: Innovating Digital Assets for Traditional Finance. Annelise brings more than two decades of leadership experience in finance, real estate, and digital assets, and she has spent her career bridging the worlds of institutional financ...

In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I chat with Andy Wilson, Senior Director at Dropbox, to explore how AI is quietly but fundamentally changing how we work. Andy offers a deep dive into  Dropbox Dash , an AI-powered search and knowledge management tool designed to cut through digital noise and reclaim the one thing most professionals are running out of: time. We unpack how Dash is solving the gr...

Customer service used to be seen as a cost center. Something to manage, streamline, and, if possible, outsource or automate. But what happens when AI shifts that narrative entirely? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I sat down with Ryan Peterson, Chief Product Officer at Concentrix, to unpack how customer service is being reimagined as a revenue-driving engine. With 430,000 advisors handling mi...

If you've ever used IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, or Rider, you've probably already felt the impact of JetBrains. But what happens when one of the world's most trusted software development toolmakers starts asking whether developers should completely rethink their identity? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I caught up with Kirill Skrygan, the CEO of JetBrains. Kirill's story is something many develo...

In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I caught up with Raj Samani, Chief Scientist at Rapid7, to unpack the rapidly evolving world of ransomware. Raj has been on the front lines of cybercrime response for years and has seen firsthand how these attacks have professionalized. Gone are the days of casual ransomware notes asking for a few hundred dollars. Today, these groups operate like fully formed b...

n this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I'm joined by Mohib Yousufani, a senior partner at PwC who leads growth, turnaround, and digital transformation initiatives for Fortune 500 companies. Mohib brings a sharp focus on value creation, helping business leaders move beyond technology hype to deliver measurable outcomes through thoughtful digital strategies. Our conversation begins with a hard truth: m...

In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I sat down with Fred Helou, founder and CEO of Vagaro, a platform reshaping how service-based businesses in the beauty, wellness, and fitness sectors operate in a digital world. What began as an idea sparked by a frustrating haircut booking experience during a business trip to Korea has evolved into a platform used by over 250,000 professionals worldwide. Fred...

In today's episode of Tech Talks Daily, I sat down with Andy Bell, Head of Data Product Management at Precisely, to explore a challenge that many organizations continue to underestimate: the role of data integrity in AI strategies. With only 12 percent of businesses expressing confidence in the quality of their AI data, it's clear that the rush to implement AI is often outpacing the readiness of t...

In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I sat down with Joseph Landes, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Nerdio, to explore how one conversation at a Microsoft conference led to a billion-dollar cloud automation company. From his 23-year career at Microsoft to building a fully remote team now supporting over five million users, Joseph's story blends strategic risk-taking with deep industry insi...

The training room is changing, and it's not going back. In this episode, I sat down with Phil Friedman, the founder and CEO of CGS Inc., to explore how AI, avatars, and immersive simulations are rewriting the playbook on workplace training. With over four decades at the helm of CGS—a company he built from scratch after immigrating to the US—Phil brings a perspective shaped by both technological ev...