In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano sits down with Tanay Kothari, the co-founder and CEO of Wispr Flow, an AI-powered voice dictation platform. Tanay traces his path from building dozens of apps as a teen in Delhi to now, and how those experiences inspired him to make one of the first “zero-edit” voice products. Tanay gets into training in-house models, beating sub-second latency, and explains his approach to onboarding customers with the goal of changing behavior. He also discusses what’s next for the future of voice products and why he predicts a post-keyboard future.
For more information on Wispr Flow, please visit https://wisprflow.ai and
00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
01:26 Tenay's Background and Early Inspirations
02:29 Building and Selling Feather X
03:52 The Birth of Whisper Flow
04:25 Early App Development and Challenges
06:39 Innovative Projects and User Impact
11:45 Whisper Flow's Differentiated Approach
18:57 Technical Challenges and Solutions
22:23 Design and User Experience23:19 Personal Onboarding Experience
23:40 Building User Habits
24:43 Inspiration from Video Games
26:11 Onboarding Mechanics in Whisper
29:00 Challenges of Deep Integration
32:10 Transition from Hardware to Software
38:30 Future of Voice Technology
47:42 Upcoming Features and Opportunities
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The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
Recorded live at Lightspeed’s offices in San Francisco, this special episode of Generative Now dives into the urgency and promise of AI interpretability. Lightspeed partner Nnamdi Iregbulem spoke with Anthropic researcher Jack Lindsey and Goodfire co-founder and Chief Scientist Tom McGrath, who previously co-founded Google DeepMind’s interpretability team. They discuss opening the black box of modern AI models in order to understand their reliability and spot real-world safety concerns, in order to build AI systems of the future that we can trust.
Episode Chapters:
00:42 Welcome and Introduction
00:36 Overview of Lightspeed and AI Investments
03:19 Event Agenda and Guest Introductions
05:35 Discussion on Interpretability in AI
18:44 Technical Challenges in AI Interpretability
29:42 Advancements in Model Interpretability
30:05 Smarter Models and Interpretability
31:26 Models Doing the Work for Us
32:43 Real-World Applications of Interpretability
34:32 Philanthropics' Approach to Interpretability
39:15 Breakthrough Moments in AI Interpretability
44:41 Challenges and Future Directions
48:18 Neuroscience and Model Training Insights
54:42 Emergent Misalignment and Model Behavior
01:01:30 Concluding Thoughts and Networking
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano sits down with Kayvon Beykpour, co-founder and CEO of Macroscope, which launches today, and the former co-founder of Periscope. They dive into how Macroscope will serve as an “understanding engine” for software companies, giving leaders real-time visibility and saving engineers time with AI-powered workflows. Kayvon reflects on his journey from building Periscope and leading product at Twitter to reimagining how teams manage both human and agentic workforces. They get into philosophies on starting companies, management styles, and how AI could be the thing that helps managers solve their biggest challenges.
Episode Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:52 Introducing Macroscope: The New Product
01:24 The Problem Macroscope Solves
02:30 How Macroscope Works
03:52 The Future of AI in Software Development
08:58 Empowering Leaders with Macroscope
10:56 Kayvon's Journey: From College Startup to Macroscope
16:22 The Periscope Story: From Idea to Acquisition
28:22 The Rise and Challenges of Periscope
32:43 Twitter's Live Feature Evolution
33:59 Integrating Audio Conversations
35:07 Challenges in Twitter's Product Strategy
35:32 The Clubhouse Acquisition Attempt
36:27 Twitter's Cultural Shift with Spaces
38:48 Managing Large Teams at Twitter
44:05 Macroscope: The Genesis
47:03 The Role of LLMs in Macroscope
48:36 The Elon Musk Encounter
54:23 The Pivot to Macroscope
59:21 Future of Macroscope and Product Development
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
In this special episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano talks with Semil Shah, founder and partner of Haystack VC and partner at Lightspeed. Together, they have a wide-ranging, unfiltered conversation on the state of AI, venture capital, and the future of media. They get into everything from Meta’s high-stakes AI talent spree and Apple’s uncertain strategy, to the Figma IPO, to the evolution of the seed stage, and the brewing battle between AI agents and the open web. Semil also shares hard-earned insights on founder strategy, brand building, and why design still wins.
Episode Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:30 Reflecting on Long Island
01:47 M&A Frenzy and Talent Wars
02:10 Meta's Strategic Moves
06:30 Apple's AI Strategy
11:12 Figma's IPO Success
21:33 The State of Seed Investing
25:30 The Model's Mathematical Basis
26:00 Case Study: Firebase Acquisition
27:19 Seed Fund Strategies and Challenges
30:30 Founders' Incentives and Signal Risk
36:40 AI Agents vs. CDNs: A Legal Playground
42:57 The Evolution of Podcasts and Media
51:31 The Future of AI Branding
56:03 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano sits down with Rahul Vohra, founder of the email client Superhuman, to unpack the future of AI-powered productivity. Rahul shares the origin story of Superhuman, how game design principles shaped its blazing speed and keyboard-first UX, and why time—not email—is the real problem it solves. He dives into the thinking behind their recent acquisition by Grammarly, his vision for an AI-native productivity suite, and what it means to build both apps and agents for the future.
Episode Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Guest Overview
01:00 The Superhuman Email Experience
02:28 Building Superhuman: Challenges and Innovations
04:50 The Importance of Speed and Efficiency
05:36 Superhuman's Unique Features and Early Decisions
11:44 The Acquisition by Grammarly
15:35 The Vision for an AI Native Productivity Suite
22:32 Exploring Verticalized Workflows
22:52 The Excitement of the Superhuman-Grammarly Deal
24:23 The Strategy of Bundling
28:10 AI's Role in Future Productivity
32:26 Superhuman's Use of AI
41:53 Lessons from Previous Acquisitions
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The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. The views expressed by our guests do not necessarily represent the views of Lightspeed. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano sits down with two co-investors: Steve Jang, Co-Founder and Partner at Kindred Ventures, and Scott Belsky, Partner at A24 and founder of A24 Labs. Together they explore the current state and future of consumer AI, from why most products still look like chatbots, to what’s next in AI-powered hardware, browsers, and personal agents. They dive into the concept of “personal AI,” discussing memory, context, and the emerging opportunities (and risks) around consumer data and model control. They also touch on use cases like AI-powered dating wingmen, simulated versions of ourselves, and the next generation of AI-first operating systems.
Episode Chapters:
(00:00) Welcome and Introductions
(00:43) The Current State of AI Products
(02:48) Surprises and Challenges with LLMs
(05:24) Future of Consumer AI and Personal AI
(15:49) Memory and Personalization in AI
(21:52) Potential Risks and Business Models
(24:22) The Battle for User Data in AI
(25:11) Optimism in AI Model Inference
(27:00) The Role of Open Source Models
(28:13) The Future of AI Hardware
(28:54) Challenges and Opportunities in AI Hardware Startups
(30:29) The Evolution of Consumer Hardware
(38:36) The Reinvention of Browsers
(46:23) The Potential of AI-Enhanced Browsers
(47:54) Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
In this episode, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano sits down with the Foundation for American Innovation’s Chief Economist Sam Hammond to talk AI policy. Sam breaks down the key infrastructure needed for AI developments and how policymakers are adapting to rapid technological change. He also shares insights on AI training data and fair use, workforce disruption, and how, when it comes to AI, everything can change in just a few months.
Episode Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:55 Meet Sam Hammond: Background and Role
03:06 The Big AI Policy Issues
05:09 Energy and Chip Policy
06:47 Fair Use and Copyright in AI
13:37 The Urgency of AI Regulation
17:03 Potential AI Crisis and Legislative Response
20:25 Challenges in AI Regulation
21:39 Acceleration vs. Regulation in AI Development
22:34 AI Safety and National Security
23:51 Fair Use and Copyright in AI Training Data
25:39 AI-Induced Labor Disruptions
33:36 State-Level AI Regulation
36:02 Global Cooperation on AI Safety
37:29 Advice for AI Startups
38:34 Optimism for AI and Policy Advancements
41:07 Conclusion
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed partner Michael Mignano sits down with the former Stitch Fix COO and founder of The Yes, Julie Bornstein. They talk about Julie’s latest venture: Daydream, an AI-powered fashion discovery engine built for the LLM era. Julie shares how her decades at Nordstrom, Sephora, and Pinterest shaped her vision, why now is the moment for natural language search in shopping, and how AI will transform fashion.
Episode Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to the Interview
01:06 Julie Bornstein's New Venture: Daydream
02:44 The Evolution of E-commerce and AI
03:28 From Nordstrom to Daydream
05:35 Technological Innovations in Fashion
12:02 The Yes: Launching During a Pandemic
15:15 Acquisition by Pinterest and Future Plans
17:49 The Vision for Daydream
22:57 Introduction to Style Passport
23:27 Iterative Shopping Experience
24:02 Bringing Brands Together
24:45 Technical Implementation of Models
25:24 Challenges with Large Models
26:12 Building Mini Models for Fashion
27:28 Competition from Large Model Providers
30:25 Video Shopping and Social Media Integration
31:43 The Role of Agents in Shopping
35:20 Future of Shopping Interfaces
37:13 Being a Serial Founder
41:48 Launch and Future Plans
43:09 Conclusion and Farewell
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
This week, Lightspeed Partner Mike Mignano sits down with his colleague Bucky Moore, a fellow partner at Lightspeed to explore the rapidly shifting landscape of AI and infrastructure. They unpack the evolution from hardware to cloud to AI-native architectures, the growing momentum behind open-source models, and the rise of AI agents and reinforcement learning environments. Bucky also shares how his early days at Cisco shaped his bottom-up view of enterprise software, and why embracing the new is the key to spotting trillion-dollar opportunities.
Episode Chapters:
(00:00) Introduction to the Conversation
(00:38) Bucky Moore's Background and Early Career
(01:39) Insights from Cisco: Old World Meets New World
(03:54) Transition to Venture Capital
(08:15) The Evolution of Infrastructure Investment
(15:50) Impact of AI on Infrastructure
(24:37) Training AI Agents: Challenges and Innovations
(25:07) The Future of Reinforcement Learning Environments
(25:51) Infrastructure for AI Agents
(26:49) Emerging Opportunities in AI Infrastructure
(28:58) The Impact of Salesforce's Data Policies
(33:00) The Evolution of AI Compute
(39:47) The Role of New AI Architectures
(42:47) The Future of Venture Capital in AI
(46:44) Predicting the Next Trillion-Dollar AI Companies
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
This week, Lightspeed Partner Mike Mignano sits down with Moritz Baier-Lentz, Partner and Head of Gaming and Interactive Media at Lightspeed. From the world’s #1 ranked Diablo II player to Goldman Sachs banker to VC, Moritz has lived multiple lives—all shaped by a deep passion for games. In this episode, Moritz joins Michael Mignano to talk about the AI revolution in gaming: how generative tech is transforming studios, gameplay, and player experiences. They dive into what makes games work in 2025 and why the next billion-dollar games may not look like games at all.
Episode Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Guest Overview
01:16 Moritz Bayer's Gaming Journey
02:53 The Economics of Gaming
06:28 Competitive Gaming and Personal Growth
09:32 Marathon Adventures and Life Philosophy
13:16 Venture Capital in Gaming
24:38 AI's Impact on Gaming
29:50 Future of Gaming and AI
39:40 Game Theory Podcast and Final Thoughts
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
What is the future of AI in the workplace? What kinds of jobs would you trust an AI to do? In this episode of Generative Now, host and Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano explores how AI is transforming the workforce, with insights from four sharp thinkers: Semil Shah, founding general partner at Haystack and Lightspeed Venture Partners, on the risks of replacing junior talent with agents, Suno Co-founder Mikey Schulman on AI’s power to unlock creativity, Anu Atluru, founder, physician and angel investor, on how AI is reshaping medicine, and Marissa Mayer, former CEO of Yahoo and current CEO of Sunshine, on what companies must do now to adapt—or risk being left behind.
Episode Chapters
00:00 Introduction: AI and the Future of Work
00:20 Exploring AI's Impact on the Workforce
01:14 The Co-Pilot Phase of AI
02:47 AI in Investment Banking and Consulting
06:00 Artificial Super Intelligence: The Next Frontier
09:33 Mikey Shulman on AI's Role in Creativity
11:59 Anu Atluru on AI Transforming Medicine
20:18 Marissa Mayer on AI's Organizational Impact
26:56 Conclusion: Embracing AI's Potential
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
This week, Lightspeed Partner Mike Mignano sits down with Gabriel Stengel, founder and CEO of Rogo, to explore how AI is transforming the world of finance. Gabe shares his journey from sleepless nights as a junior investment banker at Lazard to building Rogo, a cutting-edge AI platform that automates the grueling work of benchmarking, earnings analysis, and pitch deck creation in seconds. They discuss the origins of Rogo from Gabe’s time at Princeton, the challenges of building AI tools for elite financial institutions, and why the next generation of analysts might just be digital. Gabe also unpacks the technical edge that sets Rogo apart and the ways in which financial services may look very different in the near future.
Episode Chapters:
(00:00) Introduction to the Interview
(00:55) Gabe Stengel's Background and Rogo's Inception
(02:44) Early Challenges and Evolution of Rogo
(07:29) The Role of AI in Finance
(12:07) Investor and Customer Reception
(13:49) Pivotal Moments and Product Market Fit
(21:53) Balancing Enterprise Security and Feature Development
(23:45) Navigating the Challenges of AI Startup Speed
(25:45) Rogo's Impact on Investment Banking Workflows
(28:34) AI's Role in Professional Services and Legal Work
(32:33) Future of Rogo and Financial Services
(37:18) Challenges and Strategies in Enterprise Sales
(42:02) Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
This week, we are revisiting a conversation between Lightspeed partner Michael Mignano and Anthropic’s head of product, Mike Krieger. Mike is known for co-founding Instagram, one of the most beloved pieces of consumer technology, and now he has taken his talents to Anthropic. They discuss the challenges AI product builders face and the evolution of product innovation and draw parallels between two transformative eras: the social media revolution that gave birth to Instagram and today's AI renaissance.
Episode Chapters:
(00:00) Introduction
(00:54) Mike Krieger's Journey to Anthropic
(03:17) Building Product Strategy at Anthropic
(07:43) Rapid Iteration and Safety
(10:58) Differentiating AI Models and User Experience
(17:57) Impact of AI on Consumer Products and Business Models
(24:39) Enterprise vs. Consumer Product Strategy
(29:19) AI in Personal Life Management
(30:15) Open Source and Claude Integrations
(33:09) AI-Assisted Product Development
(37:13) Scaling Teams and Processes at Anthropic
(42:17) Reflections on AI and Future Prospects
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
This week, we are revisiting a conversation between Lightspeed partner Michael Mignano and Arvind Jain, the founder and CEO of Glean about the evolution of AI-assisted enterprise search.
Arvind shares what insights helped to start Glean's journey in 2019, how the company leveraged transformer-based models early on, and how Glean developed the market for this product. They also talk about competition, the technical aspects of integrating Glean across SaaS platforms, and the monumental impact of ChatGPT on the industry.
Episode Chapters
(00:00) Introduction
(01:15) Why Arvind Created Glean to Solve Enterprise Search Problems
(03:50) Technical Foundations: Building Glean with Transformers
(09:04) Product Market Fit and Early Challenges
(12:16) The Impact of ChatGPT and Market Evolution
(13:42) Glean's Architecture and Model Integration
(17:58) The Future of AI in Enterprises
(27:52) Leadership, Competition, and Company Culture
(35:48) Reflections and Lessons from Rubrik to Glean
(41:15) Lightning Round and Closing Remarks
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
How can AI make meetings better? That’s the simple question that inspired Granola, a productivity tool that can tell you what was actually discussed in that meeting last week and what the real next steps are.
In this episode of Generative Now, host Michael Mignano, partner at Lightspeed, sits down with Granola co-founders Chris Pedregal and Sam Stephenson at their headquarters in London. They talk about how they first met, their early product bets, and how they decided to focus on solving one painful problem: the chaos that follows every meeting. They share the story behind their early experiments with GPT-3 and how that eventually evolved into a tool designed especially for people who find their days filled with back-to-back meetings.
Chris and Sam explain why they avoided flashy AI features to focus on simplicity and habit-forming design, how they quickly found their product-market fit, and what it means to adapt quickly in the age of LLMs.
Episode Chapters
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
01:15 Finding the Right Co-Founder
01:51 Tools for Thought and AI
03:24 Identifying the Problem
04:38 Building the Solution
05:07 The Evolution of AI and App Layer
07:46 Challenges and Innovations
11:20 Business Model and Future Outlook
14:24 The Launch and Early Success
17:52 Theoretical vs. Practical User Needs
18:17 Stress and Software Design
19:28 Scaling with AI
22:05 Maintaining Quality and Taste
24:10 Building a Silicon Valley Startup in London
28:03 The Future of Granola
30:27 Early Feedback and Iteration
35:09 Privacy and Data Handling
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
Can a pivot to AI actually save a company? In the case of Gamma, it did that and more. In this episode of Generative Now, host Michael Mignano, partner at Lightspeed, talks with Jon Noronha, the co-founder of Gamma, an AI-powered platform that helps users create interactive and engaging presentations, websites, and social media assets.
Nearly four decades since the creation of PowerPoint, they talk about how Gamma is treading new ground in the presentation space. Jon discusses how Gamma almost failed until they made the bold decision to pivot to AI in 2023, and how that move brought them millions of new users around the world. They get into the company's initial struggle for product-market fit, the impact of generative AI models like ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion, and the strategic moves they made to adapt and thrive. Jon also shares where he thinks Gamma might go next.
Episode Chapters:
(00:00) Welcome and Introduction
(00:41) Founding Gamma and Initial Vision
(04:00) Challenges and Pivot to AI
(07:04) AI Integration and Breakthrough
(08:38) Expanding Beyond Presentations
(15:45) User Experience and Prompt Engineering
(20:11) Building Value Beyond AI
(21:14) Competing with Industry Giants
(25:03) The Future of AI Interfaces
(29:43) Voice Interaction and AI
(34:35) Gamma's Growth and Team Dynamics
(36:47) Anticipating AI Model Innovations
(39:05) Conclusion
Stay in touch:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
Exceptional AI products begin with exceptional teams, but in 2025, AI staffing has never been harder.
In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed partner Michael Mignano dives into the realities of AI recruiting and team building, sharing insights from some of today’s top AI leaders. You’ll hear from:
Demi Guo, CEO and Co-Founder of Pika
Mati Staniszewski, CEO and Co-Founder of Eleven Labs
Bill Dally, Chief Scientist of NVIDIA
Dan Shipper, CEO and co-founder of Every
Amy Anton, Vice President of Talent, AI at Lightspeed
Together, they explore what defines a strong AI team, the evolving role of creative talent, how to scale without losing culture, and why generalists may thrive in an AI-powered workforce. The episode also touches on the shift from the knowledge economy to the allocation economy, and what that means for hiring in the AI era.
Whether you're an AI founder, operator, or just thinking about your next hire, this episode unpacks what’s working (and what’s not) in AI HR, staffing, and team design.
Chapters:
(00:00) What’s Challenging about Hiring AI Teams?
(01:25) Demi Guo and Mati Staniszewski: Creative Talent in AI
(03:36) Dan Shipper: Finding Space to Experiment
(08:05) Scaling AI Teams: Insights from NVIDIA
(10:52) Building Strong AI Teams: Advice from Lightspeed
(16:48) Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
There’s no doubt we have more choices for entertainment than at any other point in history. And yet, once a series ends, it can be difficult to find something you like just as much. But what if AI could give you a seemingly endless supply of quality content? In this episode of Generative Now, host Michael Mignano, partner at Lightspeed, sits down with Rohan Nayak, CEO and co-founder of Pocket FM, an audio platform that has pioneered the audio series format.
Rohan talks about how he identified a gap in the audio entertainment space and how Pocket FM leverages AI to optimize everything from audience retention to discovery to identifying hit shows. He also discusses how Pocket FM’s employment of AI has allowed for the making of an all-in-one content creation and consumption platform, where creators can use AI as a writing coach, editor, and productivity partner — all in one. The conversation offers a glimpse into the future of storytelling and how AI is reshaping the way content is created, discovered, and consumed.
Episode Chapters:
(00:00) Introduction
(02:23) Story of Rohan and Pocket FM
(06:02) Solving for a content gap
(08:42) Creating a new audio entertainment format
(11:06) Building Pocket FM
(17:17) Using AI in audio content creation
(21:11) Human and AI partnership in content creation
(24:07) Challenges of improving an AI writing model
(28:45) Using AI to identify blockbusters
(33:00) AB testing with content
(36:11) Training AI to create webtoons
(41:14) Evaluating and propagating content
(43:47) Matching content with users
(44:50) Future of Pocket FM
(48:02) Closing Thoughts
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/
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Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
In this special mailbag episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano tackles your questions from X and LinkedIn. He gets into AI's market expansion, startup defensibility, which verticals investors are watching, and how the most interesting new roles are being shaped by AI. Plus, Michael shares what is exciting about consumer AI products right now.
Episode Chapters
(00:00) Introduction
(00:35) AI Opportunities: New vs. Existing Markets
(02:09) Will SaaS TAMs Expand or Contract with AI?
(02:59) Creating Defensibility for Consumer AI Startups
(05:29) Emerging Roles: Agent Engineers vs. Agent Managers (08:25) Best Verticals for Consumer AI
(11:39) What Acquisition Could Fix Apple's AI Lag?
(13:19) AI's Potential in Dispute Resolution
(14:38) The State of VC Funding in AI
Stay in touch:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co
Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.
History may not repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes. Vibe coded games, like a flight simulator from @levelsio, are reminiscent of early iPhone app store games like Flappy Bird and Paper Toss. How else are consumer tech cycles evolving? Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano welcomes back investor Semil Shah for their quarterly check-in. They talk about the landscape of VC seed investing, the impact of AI on tech hubs like New York, LA, and the Bay Area, and whether accelerators like Y Combinator still have the same edge?
Flight Simulator: fly.pieter.com
Episode Chapters:
(01:22) LA vs NYC Tech Scenes
(02:54) AI's Geographic Pull
(05:37) Gaming as Future Consumer Tech
(08:35) Vibe Coding
(17:40) Seed Investing in the AI Era
(25:13) The Series A Crunch
(36:03) Rising Series A Standards
(41:14) Bootstrapping vs VC for AI
(45:26) Value of University Degrees
(55:32) YC's Expanded Cohorts
(57:52) Overlooked Seed Trends
Stay in touch:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co
Email: generativenow@lsvp.com
The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.