Best Max Zeff Podcasts (2025)

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Nothing wants your money, AWS wants your trust, and Spotify wants your data 29:51

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4d ago29:51

29:51

AWS announced a wave of new AI agent tools at re:Invent 2025, but can Amazon actually catch up to the AI leaders? While the cloud giant is betting big on enterprise AI with its third-gen chip and database discounts that got developers cheering, it's still fighting to prove it can compete beyond infrastructure. This week on Equity, Kirsten Korosec, …

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This VC charges $0 for PR, and has 12 unicorns to show for it 32:00

6d ago32:00

32:00

Tech is racing ahead while society struggles to keep up. Masha Bucher, founder and GP of Day One Ventures, built her firm around closing that gap by combining venture capital with hands-on PR to help portfolio companies not just raise money, but actually break through the noise. Day One's been an early backer of companies like World, Superhuman, an…

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Supabase CEO on the "painful" decisions that built a $5B company 30:07

11d ago30:07

30:07

Vibe coding has taken the tech industry by storm, and it's not just the Lovables and Replits of the world that are winning. The startups building the infrastructure behind them are cashing in too. Supabase, the open-source database platform that's become the backend of choice for the vibe-coding world, raised $100 million at a $5 billion valuation …

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The Nordic startup scene has quietly become one of tech’s fastest-growing hubs 27:37

13d ago27:37

27:37

Ten years ago, raising €1 million in Copenhagen was enough to make waves in the region’s tech scene. Today, the Nordics are turning out billion-dollar companies like Lovable — which hit $200M in revenue just 12 months after launching. Dennis Green-Lieber, founder of AI-powered customer intelligence platform Propane, has had a front-row seat to that…

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AI mania is making Nvidia a lot of money 33:28

18d ago33:28

33:28

AI companies are spending so much on infrastructure that Nvidia's data center business now brings in nearly $50 billion. But is this sustainable growth or just the latest tech mania? And should we even be calling it a "bubble" when the belief in AI's future is what's holding the whole ecosystem together? This week on Equity, Kirsten Korosec, Anthon…

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January Ventures bets AI's biggest winners won't come from Silicon Valley 28:38

20d ago28:38

28:38

While everyone's chasing the next AI infrastructure play in San Francisco, some of the most defensible AI companies are being built by founders with deep expertise in legacy industries — and they're not getting funded. January Ventures aims to fill that gap, writing pre-seed checks for underrepresented founders transforming healthcare, manufacturin…

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Introducing TechCrunch's new podcast: Build Mode 46:54

24d ago46:54

46:54

TechCrunch has new podcast! Build Mode brings you candid startup wisdom from the people who build, break, and build again. Build Mode is hosted by our very own Startup Battlefield Editor, Isabelle Johannessen who is joined by founders, investors, and operators to dig into the uncomfortable truths about startup life. Think cap table drama, co-founde…

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Are data centers the new oil fields? 32:53

25d ago32:53

32:53

A new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that $580 billion will be spent globally on AI data centers in 2025 alone. This is $40 billion more than will be spent on new oil supplies — leading us to conclude that data centers are the new oil fields. But is this a net positive for the environment or just a different kind of resourc…

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What startups are building next, according to OpenAI’s Head of Startups 31:30

27d ago31:30

31:30

Many see OpenAI as the ChatGPT company while rivals like Anthropic and Cohere eye the enterprise space. Marc Manara, OpenAI's head of startups, says the reality looks different: AI-native companies are hitting $200 million in ARR, and product cycles have shrunk from two-week sprints to single days. Today on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Russell Bran…

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SoftBank is back, and the AI hype cycle is eating itself 27:28

1M ago27:28

27:28

SoftBank and OpenAI announced a new 50-50 joint venture this week to sell enterprise AI tools in Japan under the brand "Crystal Intelligence." On paper, it's a straightforward international expansion deal. But SoftBank’s role as a major investor in OpenAI is raising questions about whether AI's biggest deals are creating real economic value or just…

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From Air Force officer to space defense CEO: Why Even Rogers left to build weapons for orbit 28:27

1M ago28:27

28:27

Even Rogers spent a decade as an Air Force weapons officer watching China and Russia build space weapons while the U.S. had "nothing in our arsenal." So he left the military to solve the problem himself. Now, as co-founder and CEO of True Anomaly, he's building the first exclusively defense-focused space superiority company, developing autonomous s…

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Equity Live: From $300M seed rounds to data center builds, AI is feeling bubbly 30:20

1M ago30:20

30:20

The Equity crew was live at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025! Hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff, and Anthony Ha took over the Builders Stage on Monday morning to kick off the event with the question everyone's asking: are we in an AI bubble? Between valuations that have tripled in months, $300M seed rounds, and $100B commitments flying around, the money is mo…

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Startups should rethink how they pursue sales and traction, according to VC Tim Chen 31:09

1M ago31:09

31:09

After a small startup exit and being turned down by every VC firm he applied to, Tim Chen began angel investing and eventually stumbled into raising his own fund. Now, as the solo investor behind Essence VC, he just closed his fourth fund at $41 million "without even trying." Chen's secret weapon? Being technical enough to debate PhD founders on im…

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OpenAI wants to power your browser, and that could be a security nightmare 30:53

2M ago30:53

30:53

The browser wars are heating up again, this time with AI in the driver’s seat. OpenAI just launched Atlas, a ChatGPT-powered browser that lets users surf the web using natural language and even includes an “agent mode” that can complete tasks autonomously. It’s one of the biggest browser launches in recent memory, but it's debuting with an unsolved…

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Sam Altman’s eye-scanning startup wants to prove humanity in the age of AI bots 27:28

2M ago27:28

27:28

Ever wonder if you’re talking to a real person online or just another bot? As bots increasingly outnumber humans online, leading to an explosion of deepfakes and AI-driven fraud, one company has a solution straight out of sci-fi: scanning your iris to verify your identity. Today on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan spoke with Adrian Ludwi…

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From SB 243 to ChatGPT: Why it's ‘not cool' to be cautious about AI 30:00

2M ago30:00

30:00

Silicon Valley’s rule? It’s not cool to be cautious. As OpenAI removes guardrails and VCs criticize companies like Anthropic for supporting AI safety regulations, it’s becoming clearer who the industry thinks should shape AI development. On this episode of Equity, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Max Zeff discuss how the line between innovation and…

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Disruption via doping: Enhanced Games founder on the controversial 'future of sports' 32:38

2M ago32:38

32:38

Can performance-enhancing drugs push the limits of human potential? The creators of the Enhanced Games say yes — and they’re building a new sporting event to prove it. Backed by Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr.’s 1789 Capital, the Enhanced Games aims to disrupt the Olympics with a competition that allows athletes to dope. Launching in Las Vegas in …