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
110episodes
Episodes
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Swaroop Jagadish & Shirshanka Das, DataHub Co-Founders on Data Infra
4w 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
Transcribe →Kobie Fuller, Upfront Ventures Partner on LA Tech & AI-First SaaS
4w ago00:54:21Tap to summarizeKobie Fuller is a Partner at Upfront Ventures, where he invests in AI-first enterprise software, marketing technology, retail enablement, and frontier technologies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~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 the firm in 2016, he has backed companies across SaaS, AI, AR/VR, and enterprise infrastructure while helping strengthen Southern California's startup ecosystem. Prior to Upfront, Kobie was an investor at Accel, where he worked on investments including Campaign Monitor, UserTesting, AdRoll, and Invoca. Earlier, he served as Chief Marketing Officer at REVOLVE, one of the world's leading fashion e-commerce companies, and helped found OpenView Venture Partners after beginning his investing career at Insight Venture Partners, where he sourced early investments including ExactTarget (acquired by Salesforce for $2.5 billion) and Instructure (NYSE: INST). Beyond investing, Kobie co-founded Valence, a professional community for Black leaders in technology, and is known for applying elite athletic performance principles, product-building experience, and AI-first thinking to founder coaching and venture investing. He holds an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University.TopicsWhy the Next Generation of AI Companies Will Win Through Product-Led Growth, Network Effects, and Community Rather Than Traditional Enterprise SalesApplying Elite Athlete Performance Psychology and Mental Frameworks to Building Resilient Founders and Venture-Scale CompaniesInvesting in AI-First Enterprise Software: What Separates Enduring Platforms from Short-Lived AI Hype#ArtificialIntelligence #VentureCapital #ProductLedGrowth #Startups #EnterpriseAI
Transcribe →Junchen Jiang, Tensormesh CEO on Faster, Cheaper LLM Inference
4w ago00:57:55Tap to summarizeJunchen Jiang is the Co-Founder and CEO of Tensormesh, an AI infrastructure company building the first commercial platform for KV cache-accelerated LLM inference. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~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~~~~~~~~~~~~~Built on years of research at the University of Chicago, UC Berkeley, and Carnegie Mellon, Tensormesh helps organizations reduce AI inference latency and GPU costs by up to 10x while keeping models and data on their own infrastructure. The company emerged from stealth with $4.5 million in seed funding led by Laude Ventures. Junchen is also an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chicago, where he leads research on large-scale AI systems and co-created LMCache and CacheBlend—breakthrough technologies that have become foundational components of modern LLM infrastructure. His work earned the ACM EuroSys 2025 Best Paper Award and has been adopted by organizations including Bloomberg, Red Hat, Redis, WEKA, and Tencent. He is also a recipient of the Google Faculty Award and the Carnegie Mellon Best Computer Science Ph.D. Dissertation Award.TopicsWhy LLM Inference, Not Training, Is Becoming the Biggest Bottleneck in Enterprise AIHow KV Cache Optimization Can Reduce AI Latency and GPU Costs by Up to 10xBuilding the Next Generation of Open-Source AI Infrastructure: From LMCache Research to Tensormesh#ArtificialIntelligence #LLM #AIInfrastructure #MachineLearning #Startups
Transcribe →Chi Zhang, Kite AI Co-Founder & CEO on Building Agentic Internet
4w ago01:02:41Tap to summarizeChi Zhang is the Co-Founder and CEO of Kite AI, a purpose-built decentralized infrastructure platform creating programmable trust, identity, and payment rails for 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~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kite AI is building the foundational Layer-1 infrastructure for the Agentic Internet, enabling autonomous AI agents to securely transact, collaborate, and exchange value through innovations like Proof of AI, cryptographic agent identity, and machine-native payment systems. The company has raised over $33 million from investors including PayPal Ventures, General Catalyst, Coinbase Ventures, and SBI Group. Prior to Kite AI, Chi co-founded ZettaBlock, led data engineering product development at Databricks, and was a founding AI leader at dotData. She holds a Ph.D. in Statistics specializing in Machine Learning and AI and an M.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, she also mentors founders through StartX.TopicsWhy AI Agents Need Their Own Identity, Payment, and Trust Infrastructure to Power the Agentic InternetBuilding the Foundational Layer for Machine-to-Machine Commerce and Autonomous AI EconomiesLessons From Scaling AI Products at Databricks to Building a Layer-1 Blockchain for the Next Generation of AI Applications#ArtificialIntelligence #AgenticAI #Blockchain #Web3 #Startups
Transcribe →Anvisha Pai, Moda CEO on AI Design Assets Eliminating "AI Slop"
4w ago01:01:35Tap to summarizeAnvisha Pai is the Founder and CEO of Moda (operated by Nullframe), an AI-powered design platform that helps go-to-market teams create fully editable, brand-aligned assets including presentations, social media content, ads, and marketing materials. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~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~~~~~~~~~~~~~Backed by General Catalyst and Pear, Moda acts as an AI design partner that learns a company's visual identity to generate high-quality creative work on an editable canvas. Prior to Moda, Anvisha co-founded Dover, an AI recruiting platform where she served as CTO and Chief Product Officer, helping the company raise $23 million from Founders Fund, Tiger Global, and Y Combinator. Earlier in her career, she was a co-founder at Slab, a founding engineer at Rep, and a Product Manager at Dropbox, where she worked on core sharing and collaboration products. An MIT graduate, Anvisha has spent her career building AI-powered products that combine exceptional user experience with practical enterprise applications.TopicsWhy the Next Generation of AI Creative Tools Needs Taste, Memory, and Brand Context Instead of Generic Content GenerationLessons From Building and Scaling Multiple AI Startups, From Recruiting Automation at Dover to AI Design at ModaDesigning AI Products That Creative and Go-to-Market Teams Actually Want to Use Every Day#ArtificialIntelligence #DesignAI #GenerativeAI #Startups #ProductDesign
Transcribe →Kris Billmaier, Salesforce EVP & GM Sales Cloud on Agentic AI
Jul 1100:59:42Tap to summarizeKris Billmaier is Executive Vice President and General Manager of Sales Cloud and Growth Products at Salesforce, where he leads the product strategy and vision for Sales Cloud, Starter Suite, Pro Suite, Salesforce Foundations, and Agentforce.~~~~~~~~~~~~~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 is responsible for driving product-led growth and helping organizations adopt AI-powered sales workflows that transform how businesses acquire, engage, and serve customers. With more than 15 years of experience in product management, business development, and corporate strategy, Kris has built and launched products across enterprise software, office productivity, search, and emerging technologies. Before leading Sales Cloud, he held several executive leadership roles at Salesforce spanning growth products, strategic technology partnerships, and business development. Prior to Salesforce, Kris spent nearly eight years at Microsoft leading business development, strategic partnerships, and product initiatives for Microsoft 365 and Office 365. Throughout his career, he has negotiated strategic partnerships with industry leaders including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, while also founding and scaling his own startup, giving him a unique perspective on building products from startup to enterprise scale.TopicsHow Agentic AI Is Transforming Sales Organizations and the Future of Enterprise CRMBuilding AI Products That Drive Product-Led Growth from Startups to Global EnterprisesThe Next Generation of Sales Technology: Unifying Data, Automation, and AI to Accelerate Revenue Growth#ArtificialIntelligence #Salesforce #EnterpriseSoftware #SalesTech #ProductManagement
Transcribe →Evaline Tsai, Gigascale Partner on Deep Tech and Climate Breakthroughs
Jul 1101:00:33Tap to summarizeEvaline Tsai, Ph.D. is a Partner at Gigascale, where she invests in breakthrough climate and deep technology companies, combining scientific rigor with founder empathy to help technical founders commercialize transformative innovations. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~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 serves as a Board Observer for Gigascale portfolio companies including Cocoon, Dioxycle, Pasture Biosciences, Skouria, Terradot, and Vor Systems, and is known for her thesis-driven approach to evaluating how frontier science can scale into enduring businesses. Previously, Evaline was an investor at Fine Structure Ventures, where she backed companies including Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Phytoform, and completed a fellowship at Costanoa Ventures. Before venture capital, she founded Cambridge Cancer Genomics, a Y Combinator-backed healthcare startup, and later became the first Product Manager for AI and Machine Learning at Samsara, earning four patents during her tenure. Evaline is a Kauffman Fellow, was named a Business Insider Rising Star of Venture Capital in 2023, and holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology from the University of Cambridge and a B.S.E. from Princeton University.TopicsHow Venture Capitalists Identify Breakthrough Science Before It Becomes a Billion-Dollar CompanyTurning Frontier Research into Venture-Scale Startups: What First-Time Technical Founders Need to KnowThe Future of Climate Tech, AI, and Industrial Innovation Through the Lens of a Deep Tech Investor#DeepTech #ClimateTech #VentureCapital #ArtificialIntelligence #Startups
Transcribe →Randall Hom, Hostie Co-Founder & CEO on AI for Restaurant Hospitality
Jul 1000:58:16Tap to summarizeRandall Hom is the Co-Founder and CEO of Hostie.Disclosure: Grace is an investor in Hostie. Hostie is an AI-powered guest communications platform that helps restaurants automate phone calls, texts, emails, and reservations while delivering a more seamless hospitality experience. Hostie integrates directly with reservation and point-of-sale systems, enabling restaurants to automate more than 80% of routine guest inquiries without sacrificing service quality. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~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 has raised over $16 million in funding, including a $4 million Seed round led by Gradient Ventures and a $12 million Series A. Before founding Hostie, Randall spent nearly a decade as a product designer at leading technology companies including Instacart, Flexport, and BetterWorks. He also co-founded and operated Back to Back, a San Francisco restaurant, where firsthand experience running daily operations inspired him to build AI tools purpose-built for the hospitality industry. By combining deep product expertise with real-world restaurant experience, Randall is redefining how AI enhances—not replaces—hospitality.TopicsHow AI Is Transforming Restaurant Operations Without Replacing Human HospitalityBuilding AI Products from Firsthand Industry Experience: Lessons from Running a RestaurantWhy the Future of Hospitality Depends on Better Guest Communication, Automation, and Operational Efficiency#ArtificialIntelligence #Hospitality #Restaurants #Startups #CustomerExperience
Transcribe →Brett Liu, Sixty Degree Capital VC on Cybersecurity and AI Infra
Jul 1001:02:05Tap to summarizeBrett is a VC at Sixty Degree Capital, a leading VC firm that invests in North American early to growth stage companies in the software innovation and digital infrastructure sectors. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~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 has over a decade of investment experience in the technology innovation and investment space, and holds the prestigious Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) credential. With a strong financial background and domain expertise in energy material development and applications, Brett has managed M&A deals worth over $1 billion in total transaction size, and holds multiple patents in renewable energy fields. He also has extensive experience in evaluating market trends, conducting due diligence, and identifying disruptive technologies in areas such as cloud infra, devops, cybersecurity, AI/ML and climatetech. Some of his recent deals include Paperspace (Exited), Lime, Cato Network, Aqua Security, Arctic Wolf, Docker, Navan, Rafay, Datagrail, and Pragma. He also leads the sector research and contributes to the thesis building at Sixty Degree Capital. Brett is passionate about supporting visionary entrepreneurs and building a more sustainable and secure digital future.TopicsHow Venture Investors Identify the Next Generation of AI, Cybersecurity, and Infrastructure StartupsWhy AI Security, Cloud Infrastructure, and Developer Platforms Are Defining the Next Decade of Enterprise TechnologyFrom Operator to Investor: What Founders Need to Know to Build Companies That Win Enterprise Customers#ArtificialIntelligence #Cybersecurity #CloudComputing #VentureCapital #EnterpriseSoftware
Transcribe →Paul Lam, Bot Auto Chief Strategy Officer on Autonomous Trucking
Jul 401:00:55Tap to summarizePaul Lam is the Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Finance at Bot Auto, where he leads strategy, finance, HR, and administration for the company's Level 4 autonomous trucking business. Since joining, he has helped lead strategic initiatives and fundraising, contributing to over $60 million in capital raised. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~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~~~~~~~~~~~~~Prior to Bot Auto, Paul led corporate development and strategy at TuSimple and spent nearly five years at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), where he led digital infrastructure strategy, co-authored the G20 InfraTech Blueprint and Stocktake, and executed more than $650 million in principal equity and debt investments. His career also includes roles at British International Investment, the World Bank Group, and UBS, where he advised over $2 billion in M&A transactions. Paul has also served as a board member of the UK Digital Twin Hub and on the World Economic Forum's Global Digital Twin Cities advisory committee. He holds a degree from the University of Cambridge and completed executive education at MIT Sloan.TopicsFrom Infrastructure Investing to AI Startups: Scaling Capital-Intensive InnovationThe $650m equity/debt investments playbook for autonomous vehicles and infrastructureBuilding the Business Behind Autonomous Trucking at Scale#AutonomousVehicles #ArtificialIntelligence #Logistics #Infrastructure #VentureCapital
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