Podcast
Sand Hill Road
Hosted by NBC Bay Area · EN
What makes Silicon Valley the innovation capital of the world? It all starts on Sand Hill Road, considered the mecca of venture capital. Join us for insightful interviews from the heart of Silicon Valley with the VCs, start-ups and innovators behind the trending technologies of tomorrow. Hosted by NBC Bay Area business and technology reporter and host of Press:Here, Scott McGrew.
28episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Brewing Medicine: Christina Smolke and the Race to Reinvent Drug Manufacturing
Dec 1800:21:49Tap to summarizeDr. Christina Smolke runs a brewery, except the yeast isn’t making alcohol. It’s making medicine. At Antheia, Smolke has turned a long-shot Stanford research project into a new way to manufacture critical pharmaceutical ingredients, using biology instead of traditional chemistry.The approach is already being used to produce opioid precursors for Narcan, with more drugs in the pipeline aimed at chronic shortages and supply-chain failures. Smolke talks about regulation, security, and why some of the hardest problems in science are worth chasing—especially when everyone says they won’t work. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Dr. Ed Engleman: Vivo Capital’s Cancer Hacker
Dec 400:18:02Tap to summarizeLegendary Stanford immunologist Dr. Ed Engleman helped create the foundations of modern cancer treatment. From early breakthroughs in immune-cell training to a brand-new discovery, Engleman explains how the immune system can now be switched on and off like circuitry, with implications for cancer, autoimmune disease, infections and more. He also breaks down his role at Vivo Capital, the global life-sciences venture firm where he evaluates and guides new biotech startups. Engleman describes how Vivo’s more conservative, data-driven investment style matches his own approach: digging deep into the science, waiting for real clinical signals, and backing teams that can translate discoveries into actual drugs. A rare conversation with a scientist-founder-investor whose discoveries and companies have reshaped medicine — and who’s still chasing the next breakthrough. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →The Fastest Startup in Tech: Maria Palma on Lovable
Nov 1800:29:53Tap to summarizeScott's conversation with Freestyle Capital's Maria Palma ranges from venture capital hype cycles to ethics, engineering creativity, venture regret, and even the art of naming startups (“Cluster Fudge” stays). Palma also offers a personal take on her own journey—from GE supply chain to Harvard Business School to eventually discovering she was built for venture—all while keeping an engineer’s mindset and a founder’s empathy. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Design First, Lean Always: The Gamma Playbook
Nov 1300:26:06Tap to summarizeGamma co-founder and CEO Grant Lee and lead series A investor Vas Natarajan of Accel are building one of the fastest-growing creative-tools startups in tech. With 70 million users, 100M ARR and just 50 employees, Gamma has become the “anti-PowerPoint”—a visual communication platform for the AI generation. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Physics & AI: N47’s TJ Rylander Is Reimagining Engineering
Nov 400:23:09Tap to summarizeTJ Rylander, general partner at N47 is exploring the next frontier of artificial intelligence: the physical world. Rylander explains how companies like Luminary Cloud are revolutionizing engineering by merging AI with physics, enabling designers to test and refine aircraft or cars virtually in days instead of months. He also shares how Skydio’s autonomous drones, once aimed at consumers, are now helping first responders and the military. Along the way, Rylander reflects on his early career at Enron, his time investing for the CIA’s In-Q-Tel, and his passion project on the board of one of America’s oldest summer camps—where he says lessons in leadership and “doing your fair share of the work” still guide him today. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Rewiring the Special Relationship with the UK's AI Minister
Oct 2800:18:09Tap to summarizeKanishka Narayan isn’t your typical politician. A Stanford GSB grad, he’s now the United Kingdom’s Minister for Artificial Intelligence — a job that didn’t even exist a few years ago. In this episode, Narayan talks about how Britain is using AI to drive both prosperity and dignity, why the UK just signed a “Technology Prosperity Deal” with the U.S., and how his Indian-Welsh roots and time in Silicon Valley shape the way he thinks about innovation, energy, and risk-taking. Plus, what it’s really like to grumble in Parliament. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Diagnosing diseases and saving lives with AI
Mar 24, 202500:19:10Tap to summarizeDr. Joshua Reicher, co-founder and CEO of Imvaria, initially missed the opportunity to develop a company similar to DraftKings and instead decided to focus on saving lives. As a serial entrepreneur, he has been committed to using artificial intelligence to improve patient diagnostics since some may not be accurate. Reicher aims to change that, particularly in the context of certain lung diseases, by leveraging AI technology. Sand Hill Road Host Scott McGrew spoke with Reicher to learn more Imvaria's approach to "advancing noninvasive AI biomarkers for better patient lives." Sand Hill Road is hosted by Scott McGrew and produced and edited by Andrew Mendez. Sara Bueno manages NBC Bay Area's digital platforms. Stephanie Adrouny is the station's news director. If you'd like to get in touch, email us at sandhillroad@nbcuni.com or on any social media platform at @nbcbayarea.
Transcribe →AI 's role in developing category killer therapeutics
Mar 6, 202500:30:16Tap to summarizeDr. Jim Tananbaum, founder and CEO of Foresite Capital, has always had two areas of interest: mathematics and computer algorithms, biology and healthcare. With his passions in mind, he has developed and managed a venture firm with close to $3.5 billion in assets under management. Sand Hill Road Host Scott McGrew spoke with Tananbaum to learn more about how artificial intelligence is fueling developments in healthcare and therapeutics. Sand Hill Road is hosted by Scott McGrew and produced and edited by Andrew Mendez. Sara Bueno manages NBC Bay Area's digital platforms. Stephanie Adrouny is the station's news director. If you'd like to get in touch, email us at sandhillroad@nbcuni.com or on any social media platform at @nbcbayarea.
Transcribe →Fungus among us? 'Canadian values' in the Bay Area VC market
Feb 14, 202500:27:06Tap to summarizeTerry Doyle, managing partner and vice president of Telus Global Ventures, is vocal about spreading the firm's mission, from changing names to understanding how 'Canadian values' play a role in the venture capital market. Sand Hill Road Host Scott McGrew spoke with Doyle, the former senior director of corporate development at Nokia, to learn more about Telus' investment strategy and the closest thing the U.S. has to a Tim Hortons coffee. Sand Hill Road is hosted by Scott McGrew and produced and edited by Andrew Mendez. Sara Bueno manages NBC Bay Area's digital platforms. Stephanie Adrouny is the station's news director. If you'd like to get in touch, email us at sandhillroad@nbcuni.com or on any social media platform at @nbcbayarea.
Transcribe →Why does Steve Vassallo of Foundation Capital choose to invest early?
Jan 23, 202500:29:00Tap to summarizeSteve Vassallo, a general partner at Foundation Capital, has been known to invest at the intersection of design, technology, and business, but at a very early stage. He said much of it has to do with hearing the lessons of his "helicopter mom," the late Helen Guillette Vassallo, a well-known business professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Sand Hill Road Host Scott McGrew spoke with Vassallo, a former project lead engineer at IDEO, to learn more about why he invests early on in startups, his cryptocurrency philosophy, and how his upbringing helped shape his investment ideology. Sand Hill Road is hosted by Scott McGrew and produced and edited by Andrew Mendez. Sara Bueno manages NBC Bay Area's digital platforms. Stephanie Adrouny is the station's news director. If you'd like to get in touch, email us at sandhillroad@nbcuni.com or on any social media platform at @nbcbayarea.
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