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PODCAST

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast

Alumni Ventures

The Tech Optimist podcast focuses on the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation. True to our name, we are passionate about technology and its potential to drive positive change. We explore our lane through interviews with startup founders, VCs, and futurists; discussions of new innovations; and reviews of trends in tech and venture.The show is produced by Alumni Ventures, which has been recognized as a "Top 20 Venture Firm" by CB Insights ("24) and as the "#1 Most Active

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

27:14

#102 - Meet the Startup Transforming CO₂ Into...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/04/17

In this Meet the Startup episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, host Ryan Musto sits down with Gregory Constantine, co-founder and CEO of AIRCO, a pioneering carbon technology company transforming captured CO₂ into valuable products like sustainable jet fuel, vodka, and fragrances. From early days in Brooklyn to groundbreaking collaborations with NASA and the U.S. Air Force, AIRCO is redefining what's possible in climate innovation. Gregory shares how AIRCO uses a proprietary

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25:43

#101 - Meet the Startup Helping Brands Build Stronger...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/04/11

In this Meet the Startup episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, Meera Oak talks with Gokce Guven, CEO and Co-Founder of Kalder, about how her company is transforming loyalty programs into powerful, revenue-generating financial ecosystems. Drawing on her FinTech experience at Robinhood and OpenSea, Gokce explains how Kalder enables brands—from gas stations to sports teams—to build white-label rewards systems that work seamlessly across partners, creating deeper customer

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59:31

#100 - 100 Episodes of Optimism: A Look Back at Our...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/03/14

In this special milestone episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, we celebrate 100 episodes of breakthroughs, bold predictions, and game-changing conversations. Join us as we take a look back at the defining moments that shaped the show—from the birth of Tech Notes to our deep dives into AI, space tech, energy solutions, and the shifting landscape of innovation. We revisit the most impactful discussions with visionary founders, industry leaders, and cutting-edge researchers,

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39:05

#99 - Three Breakthroughs: Big AI vs Little AI

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/02/28

In this Three Breakthroughs episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, Mike Collins and Lucas Pasch explore three major shifts shaping the future of technology. First, they discuss the rise of "OpenAI Mafia" startups, as top AI talent breaks away to launch competing ventures, driving innovation beyond the tech giants. Next, they examine the evolution of e-commerce, where interactive, social-driven shopping platforms like Whatnot are thriving while major players struggle to adapt

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18:28

#98 - Meet the Startup Elevating Sales With...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/02/25

In this Meet the Startup episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, Meera Oak speaks with Lizzie Matusov, co-founder and CEO of Quotient, about transforming developer productivity. Lizzie shares how Quotient leverages the SPACE framework to identify and resolve inefficiencies in engineering workflows, helping teams eliminate friction and collaborate more effectively. With her extensive experience at Red Hat and Invitae, Lizzie offers unique insights into creating smarter, more

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34:40

#97 - Three Breakthroughs: The AI Arms Race

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/02/21

In this Three Breakthroughs episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, host Mike Collins and Lucas Pasch explore three transformative advancements shaping the future. First, they break down the AI arms race, where tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are pouring tens of billions into AI infrastructure, fueling competition and raising questions about market concentration and innovation. Next, they examine the unbundling of social media, with platforms like BlueSky

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27:48

#96 - Meet the Startup Optimizing Telemetry Data for...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/02/21

In this Meet the Startup episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, we explore the rapidly growing challenge of telemetry data overload and the innovative solution from Sawmills, a startup redefining how companies manage observability. Host Wesley Yiu sits down with Ronit Belson, co-founder and CEO of Sawmills, to discuss why skyrocketing data costs are becoming unsustainable for engineering teams and how Sawmills' AI-powered smart telemetry platform is helping organizations cut

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33:31

#95 - Three Breakthroughs: The Return of Supersonic...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/02/18

In this Three Breakthroughs episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, we explore three game-changing advancements shaping the future. First, we examine how DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, has built a ChatGPT rival for just $6 million, igniting conversations about the cost of innovation and global AI competition. Next, we take to the skies with Boom Supersonic, which has successfully tested its Mach 1.1 jet, marking a major step toward the return of commercial supersonic travel

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37:13

#94 - 3 Big Stories in AI

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/02/12

In this Three Breakthroughs episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, Mike Collins and Naren Ramaswamy explore three groundbreaking innovations redefining AI and science. First, they discuss new AI models pushing boundaries in simulation, weather forecasting, and world-building—transforming industries from gaming to meteorology. Then, they analyze Amazon’s massive $8 billion investment in Anthropic, positioning AWS as a major force in the AI race. Finally, they dive into a

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27:49

#93 - Meet the Startup Revolutionizing B2B With...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/02/07

In this Meet the Startup episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, Wesley Yiu sits down with Ali Hussain, co-founder and CEO of Tabs, to explore how AI is transforming B2B accounts receivable. With trillions of dollars in overdue invoices clogging financial pipelines, Tabs is tackling this challenge head-on with AI-powered automation that helps companies collect payments faster, streamline cash flow, and optimize revenue operations. Ali shares insights from his journey scaling

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37:12

#92 - Three Breakthroughs: A Survey of the AI Landscape

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/02/07

In this Three Breakthroughs episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, Mike Collins and Lucas Pasch tackle three major developments shaping the AI landscape. First, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek stuns the industry by building a model rivaling OpenAI’s best on a fraction of the budget—raising questions of innovation versus imitation. Then, the U.S. government makes its biggest AI bet yet with Project Stargate, a $500 billion initiative designed to supercharge AI infrastructure and

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35:24

#91 - Blue Flame Thinkers: Ernest Scheyder

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/02/06

In this Blue Flame Thinkers episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, Drew Wandzilak sits down with award-winning journalist and author Ernest Scheyder to explore the high-stakes global battle for critical minerals. As the world races to secure resources like lithium and copper to power the clean energy transition, Ernest unpacks the geopolitical, environmental, and economic challenges shaping the future of energy and technology. They discuss his book, The War Below, and dive

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16:11

#90 - Meet the Startup Revolutionizing Digital...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/01/31

In this Meet the Startup episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, Ray Wu sits down with Todd Ruoff, CEO of Autonomys Labs, to explore how the company is revolutionizing AI and blockchain. Autonomys is building a decentralized AI ecosystem designed to democratize access to AI 3.0, with a cutting-edge, storage-first architecture that enhances scalability, security, and accessibility. With nearly 600 petabytes of pledged storage and over 2,000 nodes, Autonomys is redefining how

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38:31

#89 - Three Breakthroughs: The Future of Fighting...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/01/31

In this Three Breakthroughs episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, Mike Collins and Lucas Pasch explore three groundbreaking innovations shaping the future. First, OpenAI’s new Tasks feature signals a major leap toward AI agents, streamlining workflows and redefining automation. Next, they examine wildfire prevention, where AI-powered cameras, firefighting robots, and public-private partnerships are transforming how we predict and combat devastating blazes. Finally, they

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30:45

#88 - Three Breakthroughs: The latest in AI, Net...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/01/24

In this Three Breakthroughs episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, host Mike Collins and guest Lucas Pasch kick off 2025 with a dynamic exploration of transformative tech trends. They discuss AI's explosive growth, from OpenAI's groundbreaking updates to NVIDIA's vision for physical AI, heralding a new era where robots think, adapt, and act. The conversation shifts to the implications of the recent net neutrality repeal, examining how it might reshape internet access and

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23:35

#87 - Meet the Startup Changing How We Authenticate...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2025/01/16

In this Meet the Startup episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, Lucas Pasch sits down with Chad Gerstensang, co-founder and CEO of UNIXi, to explore how the company is redefining cybersecurity. Chad explains how UNIXi’s integration-free technology delivers universal single sign-on (SSO) to protect enterprises against social engineering attacks like phishing and credential theft. By addressing critical gaps in identity and access management solutions, UNIXi empowers businesses

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24:07

#86 - Meet the Startup Redefining Blockchain Speed...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2024/12/20

In this Meet the Startup episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, we spotlight Quai Network, a trailblazer in blockchain scalability and decentralization. Co-founder Alan Orwick joins host Ray Wu to share how Quai's innovative approach, including their groundbreaking proof-of-entropy consensus mechanism and three-by-three hierarchical chain structure, achieves an astounding 50,000 transactions per second. Backed by $15 million in funding, Quai Network is addressing blockchain's

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34:18

#85 - Meet the Startup Turning Employee Departures...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2024/12/17

In this Meet the Startup episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, Mike Collins, CEO and Founder of Alumni Ventures, sits down with Andy Hamilton, CEO and Co-Founder of When, a Chicago-based startup transforming the often-overlooked process of employee offboarding. When helps employers turn transitions into strategic advantages by providing seamless solutions for health insurance alternatives, 401k rollovers, career resources, and more. Andy shares how personal experiences

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28:29

#84 - Three Breakthroughs: AlphaFold 3

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2024/12/12

In this Three Breakthroughs episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, host Mike Collins, Founder and CEO of Alumni Ventures, is joined by Senior Principal Naren Ramaswamy to explore three transformative advancements in artificial intelligence. The conversation covers the debate over AI scaling approaches, the revolutionary impact of AlphaFold 3 in molecular biology and drug discovery, and the rapid development of AI agents that promise to redefine productivity and trust. This

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27:05

#83 - Introducing Two: The Fintech Making B2B...

Tech Optimist: An Alumni Ventures Podcast ·

2024/12/10

In this Meet the Startup episode of the Alumni Ventures Tech Optimist Podcast, Laura Rippy, Managing Partner at Alumni Ventures, interviews Andreas Mjelde, CEO and Co-Founder of Two, a groundbreaking FinTech platform transforming B2B commerce. Two offers instant trade credit with fraud detection and streamlined payment processing, enabling businesses to operate more efficiently and scale globally. Andreas shares insights on Two’s innovative solutions, including its success in industries

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103 results

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