
Kapil Surlaker, VP of Engineering, Data and AI Infrastructure at LinkedIn, joins guest host Bhaskar Ghosh for a technical and thoughtful discussion on how AI is reshaping enterprise. Kapil shares how LinkedIn built strong data foundations over more than a decade, and how that foundation enabled generative and agentic AI use cases. He reflects on building Espresso, a distributed database created out of necessity, and explains why he would not build it again today. The conversation explores AI infrastructure, model flexibility, privacy guardrails, and operational responsibility. His message to leaders is clear. Reinvent yourself continuously, or risk becoming irrelevant.