Venture capitalist Jana Messerschmidt, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about how she became a partner at Lightspeed and the co-founder of an all-female group of angel investors called #ANGELS. Messerschmidt previously worked at DivX, Netflix, and Twitter, and also discusses the early days of video streaming online and how Netflix timed the market perfectly. ... Show More
Yesterday
Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone on reviving the web's homepage
Jim Lanzone is the CEO of Yahoo. It's basically impossible to sum up Yahoo's story over the last 25 years, but the short version is that once upon a time, Yahoo paid Google to run the search box on its website, and everything immediately went sideways. Jim calls it Yahoo's origin ... Show More
1h 17m
Mar 12
Anthropic doesn't trust the Pentagon, and neither should you
My guest today is Mike Masnick, the founder and CEO of Techdirt, the excellent and long-running tech policy blog. Mike has been writing about government overreach, privacy in the digital age, and other related topics for decades now, and he’s an expert on how the internet and the ... Show More
48m 57s
Mar 9
Hasbro's CEO lets AI Peppa Pig help design toys
Hasbro might be a toy company, but CEO Chris Cocks has spent the last several years pushing it more and more into the digital media, gaming, and collectibles space. That makes sense, since adults have money and kids don't. All those IP and licensing deals are working out for Hasb ... Show More
1h 12m
Aug 2024
AI Friends, deepfake foes, and which Tiger Global partner is leaving now
On today's Friday news roundup, we just had to talk about AI hardware taking on a new shape with Friend’s $99 necklace. The pendant gives you an AI friend to talk to and…that’s about it. Friend’s pitch is that its wearable can help combat loneliness, but other AI hardware product ... Show More
31m 12s
Aug 2024
Maybe it's a good thing that we're not seeing too many AI unicorns
In this Friday’s episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Mary Ann Azevedo and Becca Szkutak kick off the show dissecting a bill which aims to regulate AI at the model level. Naturally, some VCs and founders as well as students and professors are in an uproar abou ... Show More
31m 44s
Sep 2024
AI's tween years, who's taking over climate tech, and the latest for Fearless Fund
What could be more frightening than Friday the 13th? How about a realization that AI is in its awkward tween stage? At least, it was for the TC Equity pod crew, which this week included hosts Devin Coldewey and Kirsten Korosec along with TC reporters Tim de Chant and Dominic Mado ... Show More
34m 10s
Jun 2015
a16z Podcast: Layering Tech and Culture in Iran
<p>In this special international edition of the a16z Podcast, Nazanin Daneshvar, co-founder and CEO of Takhfifan, the "Groupon of Iran", shares her experiences and broader observations about the startup ecosystem and tech infrastructure in Iran with guest interviewer Ch ... Show More
19m 56s
Feb 2020
E35: “Angel” Podcast: Sarah Tavel, Partner at Benchmark shares insights on getting recruited by Peter Fenton, disrupting VC gender norms from the inside, transitioning from operator to investor & more
0:50 Jason intros Benchmark's Sarah Tavel<br />
1:20 Aside from Slack, what other companies grew like consumer-facing but charge like enterprise?<br />
3:19 How was Sarah recruited to Benchmark? How is Benchmark different from other major VC firms?<br />
12:04 Limited upside o ... Show More
1h 33m
Sep 2025
Throwback: Role Modelling Vulnerability with Kensho’s Bhavesh Dayalji
What does allyship look like when you’re leading a company? For Bhavesh Dayalji, it often means being honest about the challenges of balancing work and family, and choosing to show up as a husband and father first. This is a throwback episode, but Bhavesh’s reflections on leaders ... Show More
25m 46s
Oct 2024
Investor FOMO is back, and what's happening with WordPress and WP Engine?
Today on Equity, Devin, Margaux and Anthony Ha are rounding up the week's startup and venture news, kicking things off with a look at the $400 million raised by Lightmatter, and the importance of fast networking within the fast growing datacenter industry today — not just in year ... Show More
36m 39s
Oct 2025
The Hardest Pivot I Ever Made, with Spencer Stuart’s Lisa Caswell
What happens when the support you need comes from someone you least expect?For Lisa Caswell, that moment came with an invitation to a surprise meeting halfway across the world. Today, Lisa is a Partner at Spencer Stuart, where she helps companies attract top Silicon Valley talent ... Show More
29m 47s