WSJ The Future of Everything 52x

Evan Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Altana, one of a few companies that have a global view and insight into the world’s supply chains. Think LinkedIn, but with the ability to track every step of a product’s movement from raw materials to store shelves. That lets him see firsthand how President Trump’s tariffs have thrown global trade networks into chaos as companies rush to rework every step of the manufacturing process. And Smith says this is just the beginning. Is the era of global free trade over? And if so, what comes next? Smith speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast. Check Out Past Episodes: Venture Capitalist Sarah Guo’s Surprising Bet on Unsexy AI What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE ‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0 Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if you could control computers with just a thought? Precision Neuroscience is one of several companies working to make that a reality. Michael Mager is the co-founder and CEO of the brain-computer interface company whose technology aims to give patients with severe mobility issues new ways to interact with the digital world. How does Precision plan to offer brain implants to millions of people who could benefit from them? And how is the company competing with rivals like Synchron and Elon Musk’s Neuralink? Mager speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast. Check Out Past Episodes: Why Elon Musk’s Battery Guy Is Betting Big on Recycling   Venture Capitalist Sarah Guo’s Surprising Bet on Unsexy AI  Could Amazon’s Zoox Beat Tesla and Waymo in the Robotaxi Race?  Humanoid Robot Startups Are Hot. This AI Expert Cuts Through the Hype.  Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's next for artificial intelligence beyond autonomous agents and next-gen language models? Sarah Guo, the founder of venture capital firm Conviction, is a rising star among Silicon Valley investors. She says the next big wave of AI innovation could transform the business world. What is she looking for in investment opportunities? And why does Guo say enterprise software is prime for transformation in the AI era? She speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast. Check Out Past Episodes: ‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0 Humanoid Robot Startups Are Hot. This AI Expert Cuts Through the Hype. Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the AI ‘Fantasy Land’ Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column.  Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After flying 50 million miles and making over 1.4 million deliveries using autonomous drones, Zipline CEO and co-founder Keller Rinaudo Cliffton is looking to transform how same-day delivery works in the U.S. His company has spent years shipping medical supplies across countries like Rwanda, Ghana and Kenya. But will Zipline become a household name by flying burritos and salads to backyards in the U.S.? And how is the startup competing with tech giants like Amazon and Alphabet? Cliffton speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast. Check Out Past Episodes: Could Amazon’s Zoox Beat Tesla and Waymo in the Robotaxi Race? Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication Humanoid Robot Startups Are Hot. This AI Expert Cuts Through the Hype. Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. The Drone-Delivery Service Beating Amazon to Your Front Door Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Peter Jackson, the CEO of Flutter Entertainment, leads a global sports betting empire. With the U.S.-based FanDuel as its crown jewel, he has a prime view of one of the fastest-growing and most profitable entertainment industries in the world. How is Flutter using technology to supercharge sports betting, while grappling with its potential harms? Jackson speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast. Check Out Past Episodes: What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE  Why Bilt’s CEO Wants You To Pay Your Mortgage With a Credit Card  The CEO Who Says Cheaper AI Could Actually Mean More Jobs  Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rajiv Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation and former head of USAID, has spent his career on the frontlines of the fight against global poverty. That gives him unique insight into the rapidly changing world of foreign aid and philanthropy. How are NGOs attempting to fill the funding gaps left as the Trump istration turns inward? Shah speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast. Check Out Past Episodes: ‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0  Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every day, Wall Street Journal reporters talk with the most powerful, influential and interesting people. On the next season of WSJ’s Bold Names podcast, columnists Tim Higgins and Christopher Mims are bringing some of those conversations directly to you. them, starting Friday, April 18. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few people sit at the nexus of business and politics like Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. As head of a company that makes much of the infrastructure underlying the internet and artificial intelligence systems, and as chairman of the lobbying group Business Roundtable, Robbins has a unique perspective on the rapid changes facing both Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. How is he navigating this moment? And what lessons did he learn from playing basketball with an all-time legend? Robbins speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the Bold Names podcast.  Check Out Past Episodes: Could Amazon’s Zoox Beat Tesla and Waymo in the Robotaxi Race? Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication  Humanoid Robot Startups Are Hot. This AI Expert Cuts Through the Hype.  Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win  Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Aicha Evans took over robotaxi startup Zoox from its founders in 2019, she made two big moves: selling the company to Amazon for over $1.2 billion, and keeping Zoox’s radical design for a driverless car that looks like a lounge on wheels, with no steering wheel or brake pedal. Now, as the robotaxi industry drives toward a pivotal moment in public acceptance, Zoox is preparing to launch its commercial service later this year. How does the company fit in alongside rivals like Google’s Waymo and Elon Musk ’s Tesla? And why does Evans take inspiration from the early days of aviation? She speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins in the latest episode of our interview series Bold Names. Check Out Past Episodes: Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication  Humanoid Robot Startups Are Hot. This AI Expert Cuts Through the Hype.  Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win  Why Bilt’s CEO Wants You To Pay Your Mortgage With a Credit Card  Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Palmer Luckey, the founder of weapons manufacturer Anduril, was part of a minority in the tech sector that ed President Trump during his first run at the White House. Now, Luckey wields influence in both Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C.–and he’s using it to secure U.S. military contracts while trying to remake the government’s approach to national security. Luckey speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins in the latest episode of our interview series Bold Names. Check Out Past Episodes: Humanoid Robot Startups Are Hot. This AI Expert Cuts Through the Hype.  Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win  Why Bilt’s CEO Wants You To Pay Your Mortgage With a Credit Card  The CEO Who Says Cheaper AI Could Actually Mean More Jobs  Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ayanna Howard is dean of The Ohio State University’s College of Engineering and a top expert on two of the most hyped fields in tech: humanoid robots and artificial intelligence. Combining these technologies could allow advanced bots to take on all sorts of tasks, from helping pack boxes at warehouses, to taking care of the elderly, or even doing the dishes. But what will it take to get there, and how close are we to getting everyday robot helpers? Howard speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the Bold Names podcast. Check Out Past Episodes: Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ But America Needs to Win  Why Bilt’s CEO Wants You To Pay Your Mortgage With a Credit Card  Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks'  Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the AI ‘Fantasy Land’  Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinkedIn co-founder and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Reid Hoffman is cautiously optimistic about the future of artificial intelligence. In his new book, “Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right With Our AI Future,” he argues that the current state of AI is similar to the automobile at the start of the 20th century. What does that mean for what Hoffman calls the “cognitive Industrial Revolution” and its potential to create positive change, and who is best suited to regulate it? And what does he think of his old friend Elon Musk’s influence in the Trump istration? Hoffman speaks to WSJ’s Tim Higgins on the Bold Names podcast. Check Out Past Episodes: Why Bilt’s CEO Wants You To Pay Your Mortgage With a Credit Card  Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks'  Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the AI ‘Fantasy Land’  Why Elon Musk’s Battery Guy Is Betting Big on Recycling  Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bilt Rewards founder and CEO Ankur Jain took inspiration from American Express’s rewards programs when his company began offering people loyalty points for paying monthly rent. Now, he wants to add homeowners to his customer base by allowing them to get rewards points for their mortgage payments. What does that mean for Bilt’s business, and for its relationship with Wells Fargo over their co-branded credit card? And how could it affect the customers who’ve flocked to the card to earn points? Jain spea ks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the Bold Names podcast. Check Out Past Episodes: Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks'  Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the AI ‘Fantasy Land’  Why Elon Musk’s Battery Guy Is Betting Big on Recycling  The CEO Who Says Cheaper AI Could Actually Mean More Jobs  Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every day, Wall Street Journal reporters talk with the most powerful, influential and interesting people. Now, we’re bringing some of those conversations directly to you. Introducing Bold Names, a new interview series where we hear directly from the leaders behind bold name companies. Hosted by WSJ columnists Tim Higgins and Christopher Mims. The new season starts Friday, February 14. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tesla, and its CEO Elon Musk, are the big names in electric vehicles, but a lot of competitors are nipping at their heels, including one led by a former top Tesla engineer. Peter Rawlinson is the CEO of Lucid, a billion-dollar auto startup he says has better technology than its rivals. The company recently completed a $1.75 billion stock offering, and has backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Now, as major automakers such as Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford pull back on their EV ambitions, find out why Rawlinson says Lucid’s all-in on luxury vehicles with a high price tag and, eventually, smaller batteries. Plus, why he says he won’t be building a $20,000 EV any time soon. He speaks to WSJ’s Tim Higgins and Christopher Mims in episode one of our interview series Bold Names. Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.  Further Reading The Withering Dream of a Cheap American Electric Car Elon Musk Plays a Familiar Song: Robot Cars Are Coming  Ultralong-Range Electric Cars Are Arriving. Say Goodbye to Charging Stops.  Used EVs Sell for Bargain Prices Now, Putting Owners and Dealers in a Bind  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marc Benioff is one of the most outspoken names in tech. The billionaire co-founder of customer relationship software company Salesforce has been pivoting the company’s focus to artificial intelligence agents to help its clients manage customer service and other needs. But he has some strong opinions about how others are promoting AI, from how Microsoft is selling its Copilot feature to companies like Amazon buying up nuclear power contracts for their data centers. And yet he says he’s as excited about AI as he was the day that Apple’s Steve Jobs sent him one of the first iPhones. So what can AI actually do, and what’s a ‘fantasy’? Benioff speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins in episode two of our interview series Bold Names. Further Reading The Secret Weapon Helping Businesses Get Results From AI: Humans Salesforce Darkens the Skies for Cloud Software as AI Threat Looms  Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Makes $150 Million Donation to Hawaii Hospitals  At Marc Benioff’s Salesforce, It’s One Big Family—Until Trouble Hits  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

JB Straubel was Elon Musk’s battery guy. Now he’s trying to turn what some see as trash into power for the electric vehicle revolution. Straubel was there at the earliest days of Tesla, and in his 15 years with the electric vehicle company, he played an integral role: he developed the battery pack used in the first Tesla vehicle, was the company’s Chief Technology Officer, and now sits on the board of directors. But his day job is running the battery-recycling startup Redwood Materials, and he envisions a future where recycled batteries power our cars, cell phones and power tools. So could companies like his one day replace the oil giants who fueled the last century? Why does he think humans have room to work harder? And can the Tesla board manage Musk as he takes on a growing role in U.S. politics, including advising the Trump istration? Straubel speaks to WSJ’s Tim Higgins and Christopher Mims in episode three of our interview series Bold Names. Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Further Reading In the Desert With an EV Entrepreneur Who Insists Trump Will Be Good for Business  The Boom in Battery Metals for EVs Is Turning to Bust  Cost-Cutting Lessons From Musk World for DOGE  What Americans Get Wrong About Electric Cars  One of the Brains Behind Tesla May Have a New Way to Make Electric Cars Cheaper   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cloud storage used to be a sleepy part of the computing world but, with artificial intelligence becoming cheaper than ever, the companies collecting and protecting that data are now a hot investment. That includes cloud storage company Box, which has seen its stock climb nearly 40% this year. Its customers include most of the Fortune 500, including movie studios, automakers, consumer electronics giants, marketing firms and the Pentagon. Box CEO Aaron Levie says AI is getting better at piecing through 90% of companies’ data that previously was an intractable mess, and is doing some tasks better than humans – from processing invoices and parsing contracts to building marketing campaigns. So why does he think that could actually lead to more jobs for humans? Plus, why his company plans to stay “model agnostic” and continue to work with all the major artificial intelligence models, including OpenAI ’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude. He speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins in episode four of our interview series Bold Names. Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected] Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Further Reading Amazon Invests an Additional $4 Billion in Anthropic, an OpenAI Rival  How to Make AI Less of a Power Guzzler   What Is AI Best at Now? Improving Products You Already Own   Elon Musk vs. Everyone: The New Fight in AI  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A brief message about some changes coming to The Future of Everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few months ago, AI supercomputer Gefion was plugged in for the first time in a ceremony featuring the Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, the King of Denmark and Nadia Carlsten, the CEO of the Danish Centre for AI Innovation. Carlsten and Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, WSJ’s Ben Cohen to discuss what they hope to achieve with 1,500 of the most powerful graphics processing units on the planet, including innovations in drug discovery, protein design and digital biology.  What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or email us: [email protected]  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices