Leading AI labs like OpenAI and Google DeepMind cut ties with Scale AI after Meta invested $14 billion in the data vendor and hired its CEO. But AI labs still need data — leaving an opening for other startups that can supply it. The key players and factors in the AI data market are changing. Lately, it seems like Mercor — an AI hiring platform that sells data services to AI labs — may be one of the biggest benefactors of this shift. Today on Equity, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, Max Zeff dive deeper into how the AI data market is changing, check in on startups that recently went public and share their takes on the divisive orange iPhone. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Bending Spoons’ ⁠acquisition of Vimeo for $1.38 billion⁠, and what it means for the video industry. Why SpaceX is making a $17 billion bet on the direct-to-cell market, and what it all has to do with Apple. The long awaited IPO of Klarna, why it popped, and how other newly public companies like Figma and Coreweave are doing. Mercor’s new fundraising talks, and what’s going on the AI data space more broadly. Equity will be back next week. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As AI evolves at breakneck speed, attackers are evolving right alongside it. Vibe coding, AI agents, and prompt-based attacks are opening enterprises up to new vulnerabilities daily. The pressure is on for cybersecurity tools to keep pace, and startups are seizing the moment. Few have grown as rapidly as Wiz, which Google is acquiring for $32 billion in its largest-ever purchase. On today's episode of Equity, Wiz co-founder and chief technologist Ami Luttwak joined Rebecca Bellan to discuss how AI is fundamentally reshaping cybersecurity threats, from supply chain attacks that leverage vibe coding to hackers targeting the AI agents that developers rely on daily. His message is clear: while AI tools help developers build faster, they're also creating more vulnerable code by default, and attackers are already exploiting these weaknesses at scale. Listen to the full episode to hear: Why recent attacks affecting thousands of companies show AI security threats are here now How vibe coding creates less secure applications and what developers can do about it Why even a five-person AI startup needs a CISO from day one to win enterprise customers How AI startups can access customer data without compromising security Where Luttwak sees the biggest opportunities for innovation across the cybersecurity landscape Equity will be back Friday, with our weekly news roundup. Talk then! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google just dodged a Chrome breakup bullet, but the biggest twist? The federal judge bought the idea that AI rivals could keep the tech giant in check, even as new competitors gain ground. From Atlassian’s $610 million bet on The Browser Company to OpenAI’s latest maneuvers, the competition for how we navigate the web is just getting started. Today on Equity, Max Zeff and Anthony Ha break down the week’s biggest moves and how AI is fracturing the search monopoly while reshaping how we browse the web and invest in its future. Listen to the full episode to hear about: What Atlassian's $610M Browser Company deal signals about the shift from consumer to enterprise AI browsers OpenAI's $1.1B StatSig acquisition and ex-Facebook executive hiring spree The return of Klarna's $1.2B IPO plans, and whether the fintech market is finally heating back up The new online safety laws raising privacy concerns and hurting companies that comply The mystery customers making up nearly 40% of Nvidia’s revenue Equity will be back next week. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Karen Hao, the bestselling author of "Empire of AI," has watched OpenAI go from a nonprofit “laughingstock” into a $90 billion powerhouse chasing artificial general intelligence at breakneck speeds. Hao, who first profiled the company back in 2020, says early visions of building AI “for humanity’s benefit” were quickly overtaken by a familiar Silicon Valley mindset: Move fast, break things, and let scale be the measure of success. This week, Hao joined TechCrunch’s Equity podcast to unpack the direction the AI boom is going and who’s paying the price. Hao argues that, like historical empires, today’s AI giants rely on resource-hoarding and exploitative labor to amass political and economic power, and they’re doing so at the expense of the environment. For investors and founders, it’s a clear signal that AI’s current path carries real risks, and that there’s room to build a better model. Listen to the full episode to hear: How OpenAI's three internal "clans" warred to shape the company's trajectory The hidden human costs of data labeling in developing countries How the "China competition" narrative serves Silicon Valley's interests Where founders might find different opportunities beyond the pursuit of AGI Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news roundup, so stay tuned. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nvidia reported another massive quarter this week with $46.7 billion in revenue, a 56% year-over-year increase driven almost entirely by AI demand. But despite CEO Jensen Huang's bold prediction of $3 to 4 trillion in global AI infrastructure spending in the next five years, the stock slid as investors questioned how long this kind of growth can last. Today on Equity, Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff, and Anthony Ha dive into Nvidia's earnings and what the market's response reveals about investor confidence in the AI boom's longevity. Listen to the full episode to hear: Who made the cut for the 2025 Startup Battlefield 200, and how Equity’s hitting the stage at this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt OpenAI and Anthropic's rare AI safety testing collaboration, despite recent moves to cut each other off from their APIs RoboMart's new autonomous delivery robot, which could challenge Uber Eats with $3 flat fees Why the US government's potential 10% stake in Intel might not be the salvation the chipmaker needs How venture capital firms like a16z are flooding Washington, D.C. with lobbying dollars, outspending entire industry groups As always, Equity will be back for you next week, so don't miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Jobs once said, “Everything’s a remix.” And that’s a philosophy that Mark Cuban has taken to heart, building an entire entrepreneurial and investment career on that simple belief. The real opportunity, Cuban says, lies in spotting patterns others miss and turning them into billion-dollar disruptions. On today's episode of Equity, Cuban joined Rebecca Bellan to discuss his decades-long strategy of betting on technologies before they go mainstream, from his early investments in local area networks and streaming services to his current healthcare and AI ventures. But Cuban's real insight isn't just about picking winners. It's about understanding why most people building in AI today are missing the point entirely. Cuban delivered a stark warning about the current AI gold rush: while everyone's using ChatGPT, almost no one (including Fortune 500 CEOs) knows how to integrate AI into their actual businesses. His take? Forget the hype. The real money is in helping small- and medium-sized businesses figure out how to use the AI tools that already exist. Listen to the full episode to hear: How Cuban identified disruptive opportunities in LANs, streaming, and HD television before they became obvious. Why he thinks current AI "isn't smart," and why that limitation could be its strength as a business tool. The upcoming regulatory battles that will determine AI's future around IP protection, training data access, and the U.S.-China competition. Inside Cuban's latest venture, Cost Plus Drugs, expanding from transparent pricing to manufacturing. Cuban's prediction that AI-savvy graduates will become the most in-demand employees across every industry. As always, Equity will be back Friday. Don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s episode of the Equity podcast, your hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff, and Anthony Ha try to understand why Labubu has become so popular and what it says about the collapsing divide between the internet and the real world. Are Labubus more than just the latest iteration of ‘90s Beanie Babies? And listen to the full episode to hear more about: Google’s cringey, celebrity-filled Pixel event Self-driving startup Nuro’s $203 million Series A, with Nvidia joining as an investor OpenAI’s attempt to woo the media after a rocky launch for GPT-5 A fresh $1 billion funding for AI startup Databricks Why VCs are excited about robotic startups like FieldAI As always, Equity will be back for you next week, so don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the SaaS crash of 2022, SecurityPal founder Pukar Hamal was just 14 months from running out of money. Rather than raise another round, he chose to restructure and focus on profitability — and he hasn't raised since his $21M Series A in 2021. On today's episode of Equity, Hamal chatted with Julie Bort about what he calls "nuanced capital," a strategy focused on achieving cash flow positivity and sustainable growth rather than chasing the next big round. His approach challenges the conventional wisdom that AI companies need constant capital injections to compete, proving that even in competitive markets, there's an alternative path.  Listen to the full episode to hear: Why Hamal chose restructuring over raising more capital during the 2022 downturn How SecurityPal achieved cash flow positivity while competitors burned through funding The "Silicon Peaks" vision: building a startup ecosystem in Kathmandu, Nepal Whether AI founders get trapped thinking they need constant VC funding Why "nuanced capital" might be a better long-term strategy than traditional fundraising Equity will be back Friday, so don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Perplexity, the AI search startup that hasn't even cracked 100 million monthly users, just made a $34.5 billion cash offer to buy Chrome from Google. The unsolicited bid comes as the DOJ prepares its remedy decision after ruling Google illegally maintained a search monopoly. The timing makes sense, but questions remain. Perplexity won't name its backers for the massive deal, and the offer is worth far more than the company has raised. On ⁠Equity⁠, we're revisiting a conversation with ⁠Neil Chilson⁠, a lawyer, computer scientist and head of AI Policy at the Abundance Institute, to unpack what’s at stake for Google in its search and ad tech battles, and how generative AI could reshape competition in the space. As always, Equity will be back for you next week, so don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Women are making real progress in venture capital, according to a new report from the nonprofit All Raise. The percentage of women and nonbinary partners at top firms has doubled in recent years, even as the market cooled. On this week’s Equity, All Raise CEO Paige Hendrix Buckner joins TechCrunch’s Dominic-Madori Davis to unpack what’s driving that momentum, and where the industry is still falling short. Pay gaps persist, and the largest firms still have few women in senior partner roles, but there are signs of meaningful change ahead. Listen to the full episode to hear: How investors are responding to the current DEI backlash The impact that women starting their own firms are having on the industry What progress All Raise hopes to see in the next five years Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news roundup, so stay tuned.  Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OpenAI is making a serious play for the federal government. The company just announced a deal that gives U.S. agencies access to ChatGPT Enterprise for just $1 per year. Yes, really. It’s part of a new “blanket purchase agreement” aimed at getting OpenAI’s tools into federal departments fast and a clear sign the company wants to lock down the public sector before anyone else can. The move is aggressive, strategic, and could shape how generative AI gets deployed across everything from admin work to national security. It also puts serious pressure on rivals like Anthropic, Google, and Amazon to figure out their own government strategy, and fast. Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec is joined by guest hosts Rebecca Bellan and Sean O’Kane to break down what OpenAI’s bold government push means for the broader AI landscape, data privacy and model access in federal settings, and how this all connects to OpenAI’s longer-term roadmap — including what we know so far about GPT-5. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Tesla’s board re-ups Elon Musk’s $29 billion stock package, and what happens if that $56B pay plan comes back from the dead How Joby Aviation’s acquisition of Blade is an infrastructure play Why Vogue’s AI-generated Guess ad is sparking a backlash in the fashion world Post-acquisition whiplash as Cognition lays off staff just three weeks after buying rival AI startup Windsurf As always, Equity will be back for you next week, so don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Figma managed something rare in today's market: it stayed independent, survived a failed Adobe acquisition, and went public on its own terms. But its post-IPO performance tells a more complex story about startup exits in 2025. Jai Das, President and Partner at Sapphire Ventures, joined Rebecca Bellan on Equity to discuss what Figma's IPO really signals about the current climate for startup exits. With more than a dozen IPOs under his belt including MuleSoft, Square, and Box, Das broke down Figma's debut, which was 40x oversubscribed and briefly surged to $125 per share before settling closer to $90. Listen to the full episode to hear: What Figma's post-IPO stock movement signals to the rest of the market Why AI exits today focus more on talent than tech and whether that's sustainable Where Jai sees early promise beyond AI, from defense tech to SpaceTech and crypto infrastructure Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news roundup, so stay tuned. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meta is still going all-in on the AI talent war, with Mark Zuckerberg reportedly reaching out to top recruits himself, throwing around jaw-dropping compensation packages that top $1 billion over multiple years. And Meta’s latest target? Mira Murati's new startup, Thinking Machines Lab. It's a bold play in an already overheated market. While Zuck eyes new talent, Anthropic is preparing to raise a massive round of its own at a staggering $170 billion valuation, nearly tripling its worth in just months. On paper, it looks like the AI cash floodgates are wide open. But all this endless money raises some serious questions about sustainability. On today's episode of Equity, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Max Zeff unpack the reality behind these eye-popping figures. With compensation packages skyrocketing and funding rounds swelling, how long can this race actually last? Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Figma’s IPO, which is massively oversubscribed ahead of its NYSE debut Ramp’s rapid rise to a $22.5 billion valuation in just 45 days Why the Pentagon’s Golden Dome defense program may not be the big break startups are hoping for The escalating AI chip race, from Groq’s $600 million raise to Tesla’s $16.5 billion deal with Samsung, all while geopolitical tensions flare over chip exports to China Equity will be back for you next week, so don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've been hearing about Trump's AI Action Plan and wondering who it actually benefits, you're not alone. On today's episode of Equity, Rebecca Bellan caught up with Amba Kak and Dr. Sarah Myers West from the AI Now Institute, a think tank focused on the social implications of AI and the consolidation of power in tech industry. Their recent report, dubbed Artificial Power, lays out the political economy driving today's AI frenzy and what’s at stake for everyone else. Artificial Power pushes back on what AI Now calls the "too big to fail" myth, arguing that AI companies are pouring billions into massive compute infrastructure and foundational models, often with government support, despite shaky business models and limited public accountability.  Listen to the full episode to hear about: AI’s growing consolidation and how it mirrors Big Tech’s power dynamics. Why Silicon Valley is cheering on Trump's AI agenda, and the challenges of regulating AI. The disconnect between AGI hype and current, real-world harms. What a democratic, just, and accountable AI future could look like. Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news roundup, so stay tuned. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The big AI companies seem to be in a celebratory mood after President Donald Trump unveiled his AI Action Plan — not surprising, perhaps, since the plan was shaped by Trump's Silicon Valley allies. Today, on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff, and Anthony Ha look at how the Trump administration plans to reshape the AI landscape, making it harder for environmental regulators to block data center construction, for state governments to oversee AI development and safety, and for tech companies to develop what conservatives see as "woke" AI. Listen to the full episode to hear more about this week's startup and tech news, including: Tesla's fancy new Hollywood diner, featuring Superchargers, a drive-in movie theater, and (supposedly) weird hot dogs. Amazon's acquisition of AI wearable startup Bee and what it might mean for Alexa's future The rapid rise of AI-powered website and app builder Lovable, which recently reached $100 million ARR Figma's plans to raise nearly $1 billion in an IPO, in what looks like a remarkable comeback following a failed acquisition by Adobe Equity will be back for you next week, so don't miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI is entering a new phase where access to top talent is becoming as important as, if not more important than, compute or data. The market for AI researchers is so overheated, it’s starting to look a lot like pro sports — complete with outsized contracts and unprecedented infrastructure needs. On today’s episode of Equity, Rebecca Bellan chatted with Deedy Das, principal at Menlo Ventures. Das has seen this shift from multiple angles, first as an engineer and product leader at Google, Facebook, and AI startup Glean, and now as an investor helping technical founders figure out how to build enduring companies in this new AI landscape. Listen to the full episode to hear: Why Meta is spending billions on both compute and researchers. How compensation packages and acquisitions are warping startup hiring and retention. What motivates top researchers to leave, even when they’ve already made millions. How VCs are thinking about key-person risk in the AI era. Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news roundup, so stay tuned. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OpenAI’s former chief technology officer, Mira Murati, just raised one of the largest seed rounds in history. Murati secured $2 billion in that seed round for Thinking Machines Lab — a startup so early, it hasn’t even revealed what it’s working on yet. The move is raising eyebrows across Silicon Valley, and it’s only the latest in a wave of top researchers splintering off from OpenAI to chase their own AI moonshots. Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Rebecca Bellan and Anthony Ha break down what’s fueling the OpenAI talent shuffle, investor enthusiasm, and a former employee’s behind-the-scenes peek inside the company. Either way, the team agrees: seed rounds really have changed. Listen to the full episode to hear more news from the week, including: The drama around xAI's safety practices keeps coming, with researchers from OpenAI and Anthropic publicly criticizing Musk's AI startup over Grok's latest scandals and what they reveal about broader AI safety gaps Uber investing hundreds of millions into premium robotaxis with Lucid and Nuro. Kirsten and Rebecca have some thoughts on whether this is a smart move or more AV déjà vu The AI coding assistant sector is heating up with major acquisitions. Devin-maker Cognition acquired Windsurf just days after Google poached the latter’s leadership in what's becoming a pattern of reverse acquihires Jack Dorsey's latest string of vibe-coding projects and nonprofit hacker collective, all pointing back to his long-standing push for decentralized tech. Equity will be back for you next week, so don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hugging Face’s new AI robot, the Reachy Mini, has already racked up $1 million in sales just five days after launch. But the company isn’t trying to build a chore-doing humanoid just yet. Instead, Hugging Face sees the Reachy Mini as a hackable, desk-friendly device that's part entertainment, part entry point for developers and consumers to experiment with AI in physical form. On this episode of Equity, co-founder Thomas Wolf joins to explain why open-source AI needs hardware, how Hugging Face is thinking about robotics long term, and what might happen if people actually start coding apps for their robots. We'll also get into: How Hugging Face plans to leap from software to hardware. Hugging Face's ambitions to one day sell a full-sized humanoid robot. The role of privacy in consumer robotics, and how open-source can address it. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hugging Face just launched Reachy Mini, an open source AI robot with big googly eyes and not much utility, and that’s kind of the charm. On this episode of Equity Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff, and Anthony Ha break down the bot's debut, why it’s giving Seinfeld energy, and what it says about the future of open source hardware. Listen to the full episode to hear more news from the week, including: Grok’s wild week and Linda Yaccarino’s abrupt exit from X How Rivian’s micromobility spinoff, Also, snagged another $200 million to build e-bikes, even though it hasn’t launched a product yet.  LangChain reportedly closing a new round that would push its valuation to $1 billion, thanks in part to a pivot toward monetizing its developer tools Equity will be back next week, so stay tuned! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“SaaS is going away,” says Dave Park, co-founder and CEO of Narada AI. The company is betting on a future where AI agents, not humans, navigate enterprise software on our behalf. Today on Equity, Park joins Rebecca Bellan on Equity to talk about the rise of agentic AI, what it actually is, how it differs from traditional automation, and what real-world changes enterprises need to make to deploy it at scale. The timing for the conversation is ripe: YC’s most recent batch included 70+ agentic startups, and major players like Grammarly are building full AI work stacks through partnerships and acquisitions. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: What most people misunderstand about automation and who’s getting caught in the agentic hype How tools like Narada could eventually help solopreneurs and smaller teams, not just the enterprise giants Why the future of software might not be “using” apps at all Equity will be back on Friday with our weekly news rundown, so don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday.  Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices