In my recent story on voice AI (“AI Finds Its Voice), I wrote about how the technology is changing the customer-support playbook. In this follow-up episode of The Venture Variety Show, the voice AI story goes deeper with Tom Chen, Chief Product Officer at Aircall. Chen talks about how AI is moving beyond chat to […]
What’s Inside Highlights from the Women in AI event at LinkedIn HQ How investors from 500 Global, Cake Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, Emerson Collective, Flybridge Capital and XFactor Ventures are approaching AI A discussion about women in venture 100 Women in AI West Coast panel at LinkedIn HQ. Photo: Ashleigh Reddy for XFactor Ventures / 100 […]
Welcome back to Media Shot, my column on media training and storytelling for founders and investors. In each column, I share short, practical lessons on how to communicate better. SF Tech Week took place last week. And reports said more than 700 panels, dinners, fireside chats and other events happened across the city during the […]
What’s Inside Why AI agents “beyond the desk” may have the biggest impact Agentic tech could be the next infrastructure layer for startups What happens when humans and AI share the same workspace Welcome back to In the Viewfinder, where I share a behind-the-scenes look at how my stories in venture and startups take shape. […]
What’s Inside How investors view voice AI, from those betting on rapid adoption to those urging a longer view How startups like Maven AGI, Whippy and Aircall are redefining customer conversations What the coming “Voice Turing Test” could mean for business and society Voice AI is aiming to bring back conversations, one call at a […]
What’s Inside How to build investor trust without a warm intro What underrepresented founders often get right and wrong Why resilience is as important as revenue Carrie Rich isn’t chasing the hottest trends in AI or fintech. She’s betting on people, especially early-stage founders who’ve been overlooked by traditional VCs. As Co-Founder and CEO of […]
At last week’s virtual Startup Grind AI Summit, Mayfield Partner Patrick Salyer explained a complex market shift with one easy-to-understand comparison: “The Series A is kind of like what the Series B used to be, and the seed is what the A used to be.” I interviewed Salyer nearly seven years ago when he joined […]
Welcome back to In the Viewfinder, where I share activities from behind-the-scenes at how my stories and podcasts take shape. Some vegan anniversary cake is in order: I’m coming up on one year since launching The Venture Variety Show. Not everything I sketched out in a Google Doc happened, but I’ve learned a lot. When […]
Welcome back to In the Viewfinder, where I share activities from behind-the-scenes at how my stories and podcasts take shape. Some vegan anniversary cake is in order: I’m coming up on one year since launching The Venture Variety Show. Not everything I sketched out in a Google Doc happened, but I’ve learned a lot. When […]
What’s Inside: How startups are focused on AI to ease labor shortages in healthcare POV from investor Sunny Kumar on the economic reality of job displacement Workforce data and policy shifts accelerating healthcare labor crisis Medical staff in a hospital corridor, as the role of AI grows in healthcare jobs and workflows. At a gastrointestinal […]
