Podcast
Venture with Grace
Hosted by Grace Gong · EN
I host a top VC podcast called Smart Venture Podcast (SVPpro.com). Past guests include C-level/VPs of Google, Meta, Amazon, Sephora, Dunkin' Donuts, Chipotle, Pepsi, Instagram, Deloitte, Reddit, Lyft, etc. Managing Partners of top funds (many were featured on the Forbes Midas List) and unicorn founders (founders of Craigslist, Square, Loom, Cruise, etc.) Venture with Grace is my new spin-off series that features top LPs, GPs, solo GPs, Angel Investors, top AI founders, and other experts in tech and business to cover specific domain expertise.
Watch this Live on LinkedIn/ YouTube: Grace Gong
109episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Rong Yan, HeyGen CTO on AI Video and Visual Storytelling
1w ago01:01:14Tap to summarizeRong Yan is the Chief Technology Officer at HeyGen, the AI video platform making visual storytelling accessible to everyone. He leads the company's engineering and AI strategy as HeyGen builds generative AI tools that enable businesses and creators to produce studio-quality videos, AI avatars, and multilingual content at scale. Before joining HeyGen, Rong served as Vice President of Engineering at HubSpot, where he led the Data Intelligence and Automation organization, building AI-powered CRM products and intelligent business automation tools. Earlier, he was CTO of Verishop and spent more than five years at Snapchat, leading product engineering for core experiences including Camera, Messaging, Stories, Discover, Memories, and Identity across an organization of more than 250 engineers. He also held engineering leadership roles at Square and Facebook, giving him deep experience scaling consumer platforms, AI systems, and enterprise software. Rong earned his Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University and is a prolific AI researcher with more than 60 publications and 35 patents spanning machine learning, computer vision, multimedia analysis, and large-scale data mining.TopicsThe future of AI video: how generative AI is transforming visual storytelling, content creation, and digital communicationBuilding AI products at global scale: lessons from HeyGen, HubSpot, Snapchat, Facebook, and SquareFrom computer vision to generative AI: applying decades of AI research to build the next generation of creative tools#ArtificialIntelligence #GenerativeAI #AIVideo #ComputerVision #Engineering
Transcribe →Chris Farmer, SignalFire Founder & CEO on AI-Native Venture Capital
1w ago01:03:14Tap to summarizeChris Farmer is the Founder and CEO of SignalFire, one of Silicon Valley's leading venture capital firms built around proprietary data and AI.~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Since founding the firm in 2013, he has pioneered a data-driven approach to venture investing, backing category-defining companies across enterprise software, AI, infrastructure, and consumer technology. SignalFire combines machine learning, proprietary talent data, and operational support to help founders build and scale high-growth companies. Before launching SignalFire, Chris was a Venture Partner at General Catalyst, where he established the firm's California office and led early investments in companies including Stripe, Coinbase, Discord, Fivetran, Zapier, Venmo, ClassDojo, and Alation. Earlier, he was a Vice President at Bessemer Venture Partners, a consultant at Bain & Company, and a successful entrepreneur who led the turnaround of SkyBitz into a profitable SaaS business that was later acquired. Chris has also published research on venture capital in Harvard Business Review and other leading journals, bringing decades of experience at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and investing.TopicsHow AI is transforming venture capital: building a data-driven investment firm for the next generation of startupsLessons from backing Stripe, Coinbase, Discord, and other category-defining companies at the earliest stagesWhat founders need to build AI-native companies that scale from seed stage to market leadership#ArtificialIntelligence #VentureCapital #Startups #AI #Entrepreneurship
Transcribe →William Sun, Auctor CEO on AI for Software Implementations
2w ago00:58:07Tap to summarizeWilliam Sun is the Co-Founder and CEO of Auctor AI, the AI-native system of action for the entire software implementation lifecycle. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Auctor helps systems integrators and ISV professional services teams automate discovery, design, delivery, and deployment, enabling faster implementations, greater efficiency, and more predictable outcomes. Teams can manage the full implementation lifecycle on a single platform, from pre-sales and discovery through go-live. The company recently raised $20 million led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from M12, HubSpot Ventures, Workday Ventures, Y Combinator, and others, and works with partners across major enterprise ecosystems including ServiceNow, SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, AWS, HubSpot, Atlassian, and OneStream. He is building an AI orchestration layer to modernize one of enterprise software's largest and most complex markets: software implementation and delivery.TopicsWhat a "frictionless" future in enterprise software implementation look like?How Auctor stand apart from companies: The "Niche & Deep" strategy.The "secret sauce" in an AI-driven implementation process.#EnterpriseSoftware #SoftwareImplementation #AIAgents #DigitalTransformation #Consulting
Transcribe →Jerry Shu, Daylit Co-Founder & CTO on AI for Enterprise Finance
2w ago00:55:48Tap to summarizeJerry Shu is the Co-Founder and CTO of Daylit (formerly Lendica), an AI platform building autonomous finance agents that help enterprises automate accounts receivable, improve cash flow visibility, and streamline working capital management. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Daylit's AI agents enable finance teams to reduce manual collections, monitor aging receivables, and generate real-time financial intelligence to improve business performance. Before founding Daylit, Jerry co-founded Manticor and worked as a Quantitative Research Associate at J.P. Morgan, where he developed algorithmic indices and pricing models for equity derivatives. His background combines deep expertise in quantitative finance, machine learning, and enterprise software, giving him a unique perspective on applying AI to one of the largest untapped opportunities in business operations. Jerry holds a Master's in Finance from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a Bachelor's degree in Quantitative Finance and Risk Management from the City University of Hong Kong.TopicsHow autonomous AI agents are transforming accounts receivable, cash flow management, and enterprise finance operationsApplying quantitative finance and AI to modernize the office of the CFO and unlock working capitalBuilding AI-native financial infrastructure: lessons from quantitative trading, enterprise software, and startup leadership#ArtificialIntelligence #FinTech #EnterpriseAI #Finance #Startups
Transcribe →Frank Petterson, Uniphore CTPO on Enterprise AI and Product Leadership
3w ago01:03:28Tap to summarizeFrank Petterson is the Chief Technology and Product Officer (CTPO) at Uniphore, where he leads the company’s global product, engineering and AI groups. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~He brings over 20 years of experience building high-performing organizations across diverse software disciplines. Prior to joining Uniphore, Frank served as head of Engineering at Meta Platforms, where he led the Business Growth and Platform organization. He also served as CTO at AliveCor, directing the development of clinically validated mobile ECG solutions. Frank has held technical leadership roles at Google & YouTube, building Hangouts, YouTube Live and YouTube Gaming, and at Industrial Light & Magic as Production Technology Supervisor for feature films, including winning an Academy Award. Frank holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University and a B.S. in Computer Science from Rice University.Building enterprise ai products at scale: lessons from meta, google, and uniphoreWhat it takes to lead world-class product and engineering organizations through multiple technology waves-From consumer platforms to enterprise ai: designing ai products that deliver real business value#ArtificialIntelligence #EnterpriseAI #ProductLeadership #EngineeringLeadership #Technology
Transcribe →Jason Goodison, General Compute CTO on the Future of AI Inference
3w ago00:50:34Tap to summarizeJason Goodison is the Co-Founder and CTO of General Compute, an AI infrastructure company building one of the fastest inference clouds by leveraging alternatives to traditional GPUs to dramatically reduce latency and cost for AI workloads. The company is developing next-generation infrastructure that enables developers and enterprises to run large language models more efficiently at scale. Before founding General Compute, Jason launched SuperCall, where he built ultra-low-latency Voice AI agents for enterprises and scaled the company to $50,000 in monthly recurring revenue as a solo founder. He previously founded Pair AI, a Y Combinator-backed startup (W23), and spent more than three years as a Senior Software Engineer at Microsoft, where he helped build the distributed system responsible for compiling thousands of Windows builds every day. A Computer Science graduate of the University of Waterloo, Jason is also a prominent engineering educator who has helped thousands of software engineers through his technical content and developer community.TopicsWhy AI Inference Is the Next Major Battleground: Building Faster, More Cost-Efficient Infrastructure Beyond Traditional GPUsLessons from Building Multiple AI Startups: Scaling Products from Zero to Revenue as a Technical FounderThe Future of AI Infrastructure: How Developers Can Optimize Performance, Latency, and Cost for Large Language Models#ArtificialIntelligence #AIInfrastructure #LLM #Startups #Engineering
Transcribe →Sue Xu, Amino Capital Managing Partner on Data Moat Investing
3w ago01:02:27Tap to summarizeSue Xu, Ph.D. is Managing Partner at Amino Capital, an early-stage venture firm in Palo Alto investing across AI, SaaS, consumer, Web3, and frontier technologies with a core focus on data moats and network effects. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Since joining in 2012, she has led investments in 300+ startups from seed to Series A, helping build ~20 unicorns and 45+ companies valued over $100M, including Chime, Rippling, Webflow, Replit, and Grail (acquired by Illumina). A former Stanford medical researcher and founding scientist on multiple biotech spin-offs, she holds three patents and 20+ publications, and began her career building lab-based biotech ventures. Beyond investing, she has spoken at the UN General Assembly on AI and human impact, and regularly teaches and lectures on entrepreneurship, data systems, and global innovation.TopicsWhat actually creates “data moat” companies in AI and SaaSFrom Stanford lab spin-offs to unicorn outcomes: patterns that repeatAI unicorn readiness with network effects at 300+ investment scale#VentureCapital #Startups #DeepTech #SaaS #Entrepreneurship
Transcribe →Andrew Dai, Elorian AI CEO on the Future of Multimodal Intelligence
3w ago00:55:38Tap to summarizeAndrew Dai is the Co-Founder and CEO of Elorian AI, a startup building next-generation multimodal foundation models designed to reason across text, images, video, and audio. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~The company emerged from stealth with one of the largest AI pre-seed rounds on record, raising $55 million from investors including Menlo Ventures, Altimeter, Jeff Dean, and Striker Venture Partners to develop AI systems capable of advancing visual reasoning for robotics, automotive, architecture, and other real-world applications. Before founding Elorian AI, Andrew spent nearly 14 years at Google Brain and Google DeepMind, where he helped build many of Google's most important AI systems. He served as co-lead for the Gemini data organization and synthetic data initiatives, co-led modeling for Google's Search Generative Experience, led PaLM 2 pretraining, co-led the GLaM Mixture-of-Experts language model, and previously led Google Health's electronic health record research. His earlier work on language model pretraining, Smart Reply, and Smart Compose helped lay the foundation for today's large language models. Andrew holds a Ph.D. in Machine Learning from the University of Edinburgh.TopicsWhy multimodal intelligence is the next major frontier beyond large language modelsLessons from building gemini, palm 2, and google's ai stack before launching elorian aiHow synthetic data, visual reasoning, and foundation models will shape the next generation of ai applications#ArtificialIntelligence #MultimodalAI #LLM #MachineLearning #Startups
Transcribe →Alisa Cohn, Executive Coach on Scaling Leaders from Startup to CEO
3w ago00:50:42Tap to summarizeAlisa Cohn is an executive coach, bestselling author, and one of the world's leading leadership coaches. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~She has coached C-suite executives at high-growth startups including Venmo, Etsy, DraftKings, The Wirecutter, and Mack Weldon, as well as Fortune 500 leaders at Microsoft, Google, IBM, Dell, Pfizer, Calvin Klein, and The New York Times. Recognized as one of the Top 50 Coaches in the World by Thinkers50 and the #1 Startup Coach by Global Gurus for four consecutive years, Alisa helps founders and executives navigate the transition from startup operator to world-class leader. Before becoming an executive coach, Alisa built her business expertise through leadership roles as a CFO and General Manager at early-stage companies. She is the author of the award-winning book From Start-up to Grown-up, host of the podcast of the same name, executive coach for Cornell Tech's startup incubator, and a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Fast Company.TopicsHow founders successfully transition from startup builder to scalable ceo without becoming the bottleneckThe leadership habits that separate great executives from great operators as companies scaleCoaching high-performance leaders through difficult conversations, executive presence, and organizational growth#Leadership #ExecutiveCoaching #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Management
Transcribe →Swaroop Jagadish & Shirshanka Das, DataHub Co-Founders on Data Infra
3w ago01:09:15Tap to summarizeSwaroop Jagadish is the Co-Founder and CEO, and Shirshanka Das is the Co-Founder and CTO of DataHub, an enterprise metadata and AI context platform helping organizations build trusted data foundations for humans and AI agents. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~Founded in 2021, DataHub commercializes the open-source DataHub project originally created at LinkedIn and has raised more than $30 million while serving customers including PayPal, Notion, and Zendesk. Before DataHub, Swaroop spent over six years at Airbnb, where he led the Data Platform and Search Infrastructure teams, building the foundation for data-informed decision making and leading the development of widely adopted open-source projects including Apache Airflow and Apache Superset, as well as Airbnb's Dataportal, Knowledge Graph, and search infrastructure. Earlier, he built distributed database systems at LinkedIn and ad-serving infrastructure at Yahoo. Shirshanka previously spent a decade at LinkedIn as the architect for Big Data, where he led the company's metadata and data management strategy, created the open-source DataHub project, architected LinkedIn's GDPR data platform, and served as a PMC member and committer for Apache Gobblin. Before LinkedIn, he built high-performance serving systems at Yahoo and PayPal. Together, the two founders are applying decades of experience building data infrastructure at global technology companies to create the context layer that enables trustworthy, governed AI across the enterprise.TopicsWhy Enterprise AI Needs a Trusted Context Layer: Building the Metadata Foundation That Makes AI Agents Reliable and GovernedLessons from Building Data Infrastructure at Airbnb and LinkedIn: Scaling Data Platforms, Search, Governance, and Open SourceFrom Internal Infrastructure to Industry Standard: Turning DataHub into the Enterprise Platform for AI-Ready Data Management#ArtificialIntelligence #EnterpriseAI #DataInfrastructure #DataEngineering #OpenSource
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