Podcast
AI in NYC Show
Hosted by AI in NYC Team · EN
AI In NYC interviews technical leaders, investors, and business executives about the impact AI is having on the greatest city in the world. If you are a New Yorker, or just love AI and are looking to understand how AI will impact your world, please subscribe.
17episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
EP29: Reclaiming the Internet: Ben Guo on Personal AI, Techno-Feudalism, and Building Zo Computer
2w ago00:34:00Tap to summarizeBen Guo is a former early Stripe engineer, Brooklyn musician, and now the co-founder and CEO of Zo Computer.In this episode of AI in NYC, Rob May sits down with Ben to explore a refreshing vision for personal AI: how managed cloud computers and autonomous AI agents can give regular, everyday people the power to reclaim the internet from corporate tech giants.We dive deep into the cultural "scaremongering" around AI replacing human potential, why the current attention economy functions like a techno-feudal system making us slaves to algorithms, and the reality of building a company for the pure love of the game rather than just an exit.This episode is proudly brought to you by Lorimer Ventures an early-stage New York City venture fund with a network of 100 operators who know exactly what it looks like to scale!Check them out here:Lorimer Ventures: Check out their hands-on advice at lorimerventures.comZo Computer: Explore their consumer-grade server experience at https://zo.computer#AI #Startups #ZoComputer #Stripe #Entrepreneurship #SaaS #TechPodcast #NewYorkTech
Transcribe →EP28: Thick Skin Required: Fundraising, Failure & Comedy with Noah Obstfeld @PitchRoastLive
2w ago00:52:42Tap to summarizeNoah Obstfeld from Pitch Roast runs a venture capital and entrepreneur pitch session where professional comedians roast you while you pitch your startup.In this episode of AI in NYC, Rob May and guest co-host Stephen Messer dive into the brutal, vulnerable, and hilarious world of fundraising. We discuss why founders willingly subject their confidence to stand-up comics, what happens when a live pitch completely falls apart, and the thick skin required to survive the startup ecosystem.This episode is proudly brought to you by Boon.ai! Looking to automate your sales and marketing workflows without the manual headache? AI agents to handle your core sales and marketing tasks for you.Check them out here: https://boon.aiCheck out @PitchRoastLive for more Noah!#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Startups #Entrepreneurship #VentureCapital #PitchRoast #Comedy #NewYorkTech #TechPodcast
Transcribe →EP 27: The Next AI Battle Isn't Technology—It's Trust | Guy Mounier (Boon AI)
3w ago00:46:31Tap to summarizeGuy Mounier is a four-time founder, investor, and the CEO of Boon AI.In this episode of AI in NYC, we explore one of the biggest questions facing technology today: how do we build trust in an AI-powered world?Our conversation spans entrepreneurship, AI, business, society, and the ideas behind Guy's newest initiative, The Trust Era Project. We discuss how AI is changing the way organizations make decisions, the opportunities and challenges ahead, and why trust may become one of the most important currencies of the next decade.Learn more:boon.aitrusteraproject.orgSubscribe for more conversations with the founders, researchers, investors, and builders shaping the future of artificial intelligence.#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Startups #Entrepreneurship #FutureOfWork #Trust #TechnologyConnect with Guy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guymounier/
Transcribe →EP 26: Building the Next Generation of AI Leaders with Dr. Taniya Mishra
May 2900:42:29Tap to summarizeDr. Taniya Mishra shares her remarkable journey from early machine learning research and accessibility-focused AI projects to building SureStart, a company dedicated to bringing AI fluency to students around the world. Together, they explore what it means to prepare the next generation for an AI-driven future—and why responsible AI, mentorship, creativity, and critical thinking matter more than ever.The discussion covers the evolving workforce, the impact of AI on entry-level jobs, the importance of ethics in technology education, and whether today's race toward advanced AI is overlooking the human element. They also examine how AI can be used to empower people, foster innovation, and create opportunities rather than simply automate work.Check out SureStart: thttps://mysurestart.com/Subscribe to AI IN NYC newsletter: https://magic.beehiiv.com/v1/c2777e42... Join the community: https://aiinnycshow.com/
Transcribe →EP25: The Future of AI Storytelling, AGI & Creative Worlds with Hilary Mason
May 2100:43:58Tap to summarizeIn this episode of AI in NYC, Rob and Ryan are joined by Hilary Mason for a wide-ranging conversation on the evolution of AI in New York — from the early data science era to today’s generative AI landscape.The discussion dives into the early days of data science in New York, the rise of AGI hype in Silicon Valley, and why practical AI product design may matter more than chasing artificial general intelligence. The episode also explores the growing importance of small language models, harness engineering, and building AI systems that are actually useful for people instead of relying on chatbot-first experiences.The second half of the episode focuses on the future of AI-powered storytelling and interactive entertainment. The conversation breaks down how immersive narrative engines could allow users to create characters, shape evolving storylines, and participate inside fictional worlds in entirely new ways. Rather than replacing creators, these AI tools are positioned as creative amplifiers designed to help writers, gamers, and storytellers unlock richer and more meaningful experiences.Check out Hidden Door: https://www.hiddendoor.co/Subscribe to AI IN NYC newsletter: https://magic.beehiiv.com/v1/c2777e42-a25b-4683-bc3e-e47a10dbc291Check out our website & send us guests / promote your company on our channel: https://aiinnycshow.com/Thank you to our sponsor: https://www.bepresentapp.com/
Transcribe →EP 24: Cerebras IPO, Dead Internet & the AI Backlash with Rob May, Ryan Eppley
May 1400:39:47Tap to summarizeIn this episode of AI in NYC, hosts Rob May (Co-Founder & CEO, Neurometric) and Ryan Eppley (Co-Founder & CEO, RootAccess) go deep on the biggest AI hardware and infrastructure stories of the week — no guest needed, just two hardware-obsessed founders breaking it all down.First up: the Cerebras IPO. Rob and Ryan give a technical but accessible breakdown of what makes the Cerebras wafer-scale chip so different — from its distributed SRAM architecture that eliminates the classic Von Neumann bottleneck, to the sheer audacity of using an entire silicon wafer as a single chip. They discuss why inference workloads are fragmenting beyond GPUs, what the Groq acquisition by Nvidia signals about the market, and whether Cerebras' $50B+ market cap at 100x revenue is justified or dangerously frothy. If you've been wondering whether to invest or just want to understand the AI chip landscape beyond Nvidia, this is a must-listen.Then the conversation shifts to a Washington Post survey finding that 71% of Americans oppose data centers being built in their communities. Rob and Ryan question the methodology, debate whether this NIMBY backlash is rational, and explore what it means for the future of AI infrastructure. Plus: quick updates on the show's growth, the new job board, sponsor transitions, and more topics they planned to cover including dead internet theory, celebrity AI trademarks, and the viral UCF graduation AI backlash. Subscribe to the newsletter and check out the AI in NYC job board at our website! https://magic.beehiiv.com/v1/c2777e42-a25b-4683-bc3e-e47a10dbc291https://aiinnycshow.com/
Transcribe →EP 23: Your AI Is Broken Because Your Data Is with Gabi Steele, Preql
Apr 2900:48:19Tap to summarizeIn Episode 23 of AI in NYC, hosts Rob May, Anna Kirk, and Ryan Eppley sit down with Gabi Steele, co-founder and CEO of Preql AI, to tackle one of the most overlooked problems in the AI gold rush: your data foundation is probably broken, and that's why your AI agents aren't working. Gabi brings a unique perspective — she went from building data visualizations at the Washington Post during Trump's first term to teaching at Columbia and Parsons, then dove deep into data engineering after watching her co-founder's experience at WeWork, where a 100-person data engineering team still couldn't wrangle the company's spiraling data infrastructure.The episode kicks off with a deep dive into the bombshell WSJ report that OpenAI is missing key revenue and user targets ahead of its IPO. The panel debates whether this signals a real inflection point for the AI industry or just healthy competitive pressure from open-source models, DeepSeek, and a rapidly shifting market where agentic coding has overtaken conversational search as the killer app. Gabi weighs in with a grounded take from the data trenches — she talks to CFOs every day who tell her LLMs are too slow and they still want dashboards, revealing a massive gap between AI hype and enterprise reality.The conversation evolves into a fascinating discussion about what interfaces should look like in an agent-first world. Rob shares his love for the physical Wall Street Journal, the group debates tactile vs. digital experiences, and Ryan introduces the concept of "Harness Experience" — designing not for users, but for agents. Gabi's core message resonates throughout: companies are rushing to deploy AI and automation but skipping the critical data layer that makes any of it actually work. If you're building with AI, buying AI tools, or leading a data team, this episode is essential listening.Preql AI is building the infrastructure layer that reconciles and contextualizes enterprise data from across all your systems so AI agents can actually function. Currently focused on CFO buyers, Preql launched its agent-first product in July 2025. Learn more about Preql and connect with Gabi on LinkedIn.
Transcribe →EP 22: Edge AI, Privacy & Japan's Different Approach ft. David Justus, VP of Applied AI @ Panasonic
Apr 2100:41:19Tap to summarizeSponsor: BePresent - https://www.bepresentapp.com/In this episode of AI in NYC, hosts Rob May, Ryan Eppley, and Anna Kirk sit down with David Justus, VP of Applied AI at Panasonic, to explore one of the most underappreciated frontiers in artificial intelligence: edge AI. David breaks down how Panasonic is deploying AI in internet-constrained environments — from in-flight entertainment systems on transatlantic flights to manufacturing floors and stadium video processing — where sending data to the cloud simply isn't an option.The conversation takes a fascinating geopolitical turn as David contrasts how the US, China, and Japan are each taking radically different approaches to generative AI. While the US doubles down on closed, AGI-focused ecosystems and China pushes open-weight models, Japan is quietly building sovereign, domain-specialized AI — including the recently released Rakuten V3 model that outperforms GPT-4o on Japanese-specific tasks. David argues that the US approach may not be great for edge computing and could be starting to show cracks.David also shares insights from Panasonic's research lab, including new work on using diffusion models for document understanding, and explains why the last six months have been a true inflection point for running meaningful AI on small, resource-constrained devices. Whether you're building products, leading an AI team, or just trying to understand where the industry is heading beyond the data center, this episode is packed with perspective you won't hear anywhere else.David Justus brings a background in applied mathematics and computer science, with experience spanning finance, creative industries, and consulting for companies like Verizon, Nike, and Mayo Clinic before joining Panasonic's global applied AI team two years ago.
Transcribe →EP 21: Cloud Coding Agents & the Mythos Model Panic with Matthew Mirman, Chat.Dev
Apr 1600:33:02Tap to summarizeIn Episode 21 of AI in NYC, Rob and Ryan sit down with Matthew Mirman, founder of Chat.Dev — a cloud hosting platform for coding agents that he describes as 'Heroku for Claude Code.' Matt walks us through how he went from building legal tech AI tools for personal injury lawyers to launching a platform where anyone can spin up a cloud VM, run a coding agent in YOLO mode, and even manage the whole thing via text message.The conversation digs into the pivotal moment last November when Claude Code went from 'okay' to genuinely transformative — enabling people with zero coding experience to build full production applications. Matt shares how showing his early prototype to just 20 friends led to 5 of them using it 5+ hours a day within a week, a product-market fit signal that convinced him to go all in.The episode also covers the latest industry news including Anthropic's Mythos model announcement through Project Glasswing, what it means for the AI safety conversation, and whether competitors like Google or state actors already have comparable capabilities. Plus, the hosts break down Amazon's bombshell $15 billion AI run rate in AWS and Andy Jassy's defense of their massive $200B capex spend — reigniting the debate over whether we're in an AI bubble or just the beginning of an infrastructure supercycle.Whether you're a developer curious about cloud-hosted coding agents, a founder evaluating the AI infrastructure landscape, or just trying to keep up with the breakneck pace of AI news, this episode has something for you. Tune in and don't forget to subscribe.Thank you to our sponsor, BePresent. Check them out: https://www.bepresentapp.com/
Transcribe →EP 20: What VCs Won't Tell You About Getting Funded with Charlie O'Donnell
Apr 300:54:18Tap to summarizeIn Episode 20 of AI in NYC, we welcome back our original guest — Charlie O'Donnell — to talk about his upcoming book 'Founder Unfriendly: What Investors Won't Tell You About Getting Funded.' Charlie has spent years in the NYC venture ecosystem helping founders navigate the opaque, often misleading world of fundraising, and this book is his attempt to arm the 99% of founders who aren't insiders with the real playbook. Charlie breaks down why the feedback you get from VCs almost never reflects the real reason they passed, how junior associates can inadvertently string you along, and why the fundraising process actually starts way before you ever pitch a deck — possibly as far back as high school. He also shares a fascinating look at how he used AI to organize and structure a 250-page book from a messy list of inside-joke chapter titles. We also discuss the emotional arc of founding a company — including why the day you announce your startup might be the most dangerously misleading day of all. If your network congratulated you but didn't offer a single customer intro, that's a signal worth paying attention to. Whether you're a first-time founder or a repeat entrepreneur, this episode is packed with honest, practical insight you won't hear in a typical VC blog post. Sponsored by BePresent (bepresentapp.com) — the #1 app in its category that uses social media engagement techniques to keep you OFF your phone. Also: join us April 15th at 5:30 PM for our first in-person Cloud Code class for non-technical people in NYC!
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