The Times Tech Podcast

Katie is joined by Niccolo de Masi, the CEO of US quantum computing firm IonQ, to chat about the future of quantum and their acquisition of the British firm Oxford Ionics. And as Katie and Danny are reunited they discuss Katie's new smart glasses, NVIDIA's US deal to sell chips to China, and an AI startup's exceptionally bold $34.5bn bid to buy Google Chrome. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 14 August 2025

AI is coming to the legal world. Danny Fortson talks to Eleanor Lightbody, the chief executive of Luminance, a UK startup using artificial intelligence to automate and augment legal work. So is there to be a looming “white collar recession” or will we be able to have more time for thinking afresh about the law and other professions? Hear how AI is transforming contract review, and the future of the legal profession. Plus, why AI adoption is surging. what happens when AI makes mistakes, and how to avoid over-reliance on a single AI model: A fascinating insight into the practicalities of AI adoption. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 6 August 2025

AI chatbots are being used by millions. But are they safe? Danny Fortson speaks to Ross Harper, the co-founder and CEO of Limbic AI, a company which has developed artificial intelligence software which can be used clinically as part of mental health treatment. Limbic is now used in 50% of NHS trusts, and has its eye on being used in all 50 States by the end of 2025. They talk about the future - and the reckoning he thinks is coming for wellness apps. Plus the Times' US business editor Louisa Clarence-Smith joins Danny to talk about the Figma IPO and the backlash to the UK's Online Safety Act. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 31 July 2025

Danny is joined by the Times' Technology correspondent Mark Sellman whio has been spending time with the UK's newest supercomputer, Isambard AI, which has become the world's 11th most powerful supercomputer and could be used to develop British LLMs (Large Language Models). Plus, flirtatious or insulting AI companions, and a government plan to ban businesses from paying hackers ransoms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 24 July 2025

Danny goes solo this week, in old-school Danny in the Valley style. He speaks to Sam Rodriques, the founder and CEO of FutureHouse – a non-profit organisation developing AI scientists that could revolutionise human discovery. Plus, he rounds up the week in tech – from NVIDIA’s chips making a return to China, to Mark Zuckerberg’s ambitious plan to build data centres the size of Manhattan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 17 July 2025

Katie speaks to Dylan Field - the CEO of Figma. The design software firm has filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange with Dylan calling it the most ‘interesting, intense, and fun time’. Danny and Katie also talk about Linda Yaccarino resigning as CEO of X and discuss a so-called ‘Panda watch’ creeping over Silicon Valley!   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 10 July 2025

Katie joins the CEO of Wayve, Alex Kendall, for a journey round the busy 'higgledy-piggledy' roads of London in a driverless car, to see the tech in real action. Plus a special AI news roundup on how Sam Altman & Satya Nadella's relationship may be souring; how Meta might be finding AI's best talent, and defining fair use when it comes to the training of LLMs. Have any questions, or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 3 July 2025

Danny meets up with Alex Blania, the CEO and one of the co-founders, alongside Sam Altman, of Tools for Humanity. Their project Worldcoin, aims to help us weed out AI imitators by verifying humans online. All you have to do is scan your iris on one of their orbs to get a unique biometric ID and some cryptocurrency.  Danny and Katie also take on Tesla’s robotaxi rollout, and question whether it's right and proper for humans to fall in love with AI bots? Spoiler alert! The answer is probably not, for both your sakes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 26 June 2025

Katie speaks to Arthur Mensch, the 32 year old co-founder and CEO of Mistral AI who believes European sovereignty will be under threat if it does not gain traction in the race for AI supremacy. Plus, does Meta's $15bn investment in Scale AI suggest Mark Zuckerberg is anxious they are falling behind in that same race? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 19 June 2025

Katie is at 'Founders Forum' in the Oxfordshire countryside surrounded by titans from the world of tech as well as robots, flying cars, and a host of expensive gear proclaiming everlasting health. She talks to four of the 'Rising Stars' who may one day return as titans themselves - from a French startup working on robots that burrow inside your brain to AI tools creating new materials from scratch. Danny listens and is amazed - almost! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 13 June 2025

Sebastian Siemiatkowski joins the pod from the SXSW festival in London to tell the story of Klarna, the "buy now, pay later" fintech company he co-founded and currently leads. Press coverage suggests that he has gone all in on AI at the company; he claims his position is more nuanced. But what is clear, in his mind, is that an AI-induced recession may be unavoidable. Any thoughts or questions, get in touch - [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 5 June 2025

Last week Sam Altman announced the acquisition of Sir Jony Ive's hardware startup, io, in order to create a new class of AI-native devices. This week, Katie and Danny ask whether this could be the bet of the century and more than just an expensive video shoot. Meanwhile did Anthropic's early model show a worrying tendency to blackmail it's users? Plus, Danny speaks to the founder of a school where kids may only have to learn for 2 hours a day, maybe! All thanks to AI. Any thoughts or questions, get in touch - [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 29 May 2025

The internet, GPS, autonomous vehicles... they all have one thing in common: they're existence is in large part down to the DARPA (the US Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). And the UK is trying to repeat the success of that agency with its own: ARIA (the Advanced Research and Invention Agency). The organisation's CEO, Ilan Gur, joins Katie to discuss how. Any thoughts or questions, get in touch - [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 22 May 2025

Katie and Danny are joined for a conversation with Jon McNeil. For a pivotal 30 month period, Jon was President of Tesla and worked closely with Elon Musk. And also just where is the EV market currently at? Is the future of driving autonomous? And how best to invest in our AI future? Any thoughts or questions, get in touch - [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 15 May 2025

Sam Altman wrote a letter to staff at OpenAI explaining a new structure for the company. Katie and Danny react to that and the news this week that Deliveroo had agreed to a £2.9billion takeover from DoorDash. Plus, an interview with the subject of Netflix's Tinder Swindler, who in a world of deepfakes and online scammers wants us to trust again. Any thoughts or questions, get in touch - [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 8 May 2025

Danny's second obsession (after humanoid robots) is space, so he's been speaking to someone sending satellites into orbit. No, not Elon Musk - though naturally his plans to colonise Mars do come up. Will Marshall is the co-founder and CEO of Planet Labs, a company which provides often revealing imagery of Earth in high definition. Any thoughts or questions, get in touch - [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 1 May 2025

Finally, the crypto episode is here. And after a lowdown on the vibe shift towards the industry in Washington, Katie is joined by Binance's new CEO, Richard Teng, who is tasked with making the case for the company that was beset by scandal under previous CEO and founder, Changpeng Zhao “CZ”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 24 April 2025

Ryan Petersen is the CEO of Flexport, a company that plans and manages shipping globally. Perfectly positioned, then, to lay out the inside story on how companies have been affected by President Trump's tariffs and what happens next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 17 April 2025

What if there was a device that could record every conversation, every interaction, and then transcribed your entire life? Well there is, the Pendant, and according to its creator, it isn’t like an episode of Black Mirror at all. In fact, its creator, and CEO of Limitless AI, Dan Siroker, believes it can "to free the human mind from its biological limitations". He joins the pod to speak to a sceptical Danny Fortson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 11 April 2025

It's been almost 20 years since Drew Houston founded Dropbox in an effort to solve the problem of forgotten USB sticks. But how is the company innovating in a now much busier market? Plus Softbank makes a $40billion investment in OpenAI, while a new book allegedly tells the inside story of Sam Altman's 2023 (temporary) dismissal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 4 April 2025

Danny has been delving deeper into his humanoid robot obsession as he interviews the CEO of Texas based company, Apptronik. Plus, what went wrong at 23andMe as the once buzzy biotech startup files for bankruptcy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 28 March 2025

Danny reports from the Nvidia GTC event. And he and Katie discuss whether some of the biggest tech companies in the US really are currently losing money. Plus, a Silicon Valley start-up, Loyal, is developing drugs to extend the lives of dogs - so just how close are they to success? It's CEO, Celine Halioua shares the latest breakthroughs and what this could mean for human longevity. (And what does this mean for Katie's tadpoles?) Clips: Nvidia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 21 March 2025

Hinge CEO, Justin McLeod, joins the podcast to discuss how online dating Apps have changed dating (for good or bad) and how AI may change it even more. While Danny argues that being direct might just be better than tech! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 14 March 2025

Tim Steiner, the CEO of Ocado, drops by the studio to discuss in detail his expectations for the future of food deliveries with the use of robotics and humanoid robots. Elsewhere, President Trump wants is making the USA the "Crypto Capital of the World". And Danny gets personal as he and Kate reminisce as Skype is "retired".  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 7 March 2025

Is nuclear power the answer to energy hungry Artificial Intelligence? Matt Loszak CEO & Cofounder of Aalo Atomics thinks so. Plus, British artists send a disapproving open letter about AI to the Government, while Elon Musk sends a strongly worded email to Government employees. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 28 February 2025

Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce & owner of Time Magazine explains his vision of the future of work. Plus he talks President Trump, Elon Musk and has a pop at Microsoft's AI too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 21 February 2025

Katie and Danny explore Elon Musk's $97.4 billion bid to buy OpenAI, and Sam Altman's instant dismissal of the bid, as well as decoding the rest of the exclusive interview earlier in the week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 16 February 2025

Ahead of the Paris AI Action Summit, Katie and Danny are together in London for a special interview with the man who is synonymous with Artificial Intelligence - Sam Altman. He is the studio talking all things OpenAI, President Trump, Elon Musk, DeepSeek and the future of life and work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 10 February 2025

The CEO of Getty Images, Craig Peters, joins the podcast to make his case for the ongoing value of human creation in an AI world. Plus Danny updates on how Tech is embracing President Trump's new administration. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 7 February 2025

The release of DeepSeek's R1 language model by a little known Chinese AI company sent Silicon Valley into turmoil this week - albeit temporarily. Who, how, why and what is DeepSeek? Professor Neil Lawrence joins the pod to help Katie and Danny answer those questions and a few more besides. Clip: AI House Davos Jan 2024 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 31 January 2025

A picture is worth a thousand words - it is said - and at President Trump's inauguration some of the biggest names in tech were very much in the picture. TikTok banned; then unbanned. And Trip Adler, founder of Scribd, joins the show to talk about a new venture and a potential Spotify moment for AI and humans (or at least the authors among us!). Clips: @tiktok via Tiktok@Henry的小木屋 via Xiaohongshu Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 24 January 2025

The Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, joins the pod to discuss the British Government's 'AI Opportunities Action Plan' (and Elon Musk). Plus, a new guide the UK's fastest growing tech companies is revealed by The Times and Sunday Times. Find it here - https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-100-tech/tech-feature/article/best-uk-tech-companies-2025-qzt9lcmnd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 17 January 2025

Is AGI right around the corner? Sam Altman thinks so. Mark Zuckerberg decides to get rid of fact-checkers at Meta, at least for the USA. And what does it take to put data centres in space? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 10 January 2025

Happy New Year! If 2025 is half as fascinating as 2024, we're in for wild ride. So, to predict the future, Katie and Danny are joined by two venture capitalists who spend their days checking out where tech goes next. Interplanetary overdrive anyone? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 3 January 2025

Drones! Guys and St. Thomas' Hospital in London have started a pioneering trial using drones to deliver blood samples between the two sites. Sound simple, but this is one of the most regulated airspaces on the planet so how did they do it? Plus Katie and Danny get nostalgic for Christmas Tech past. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 27 December 2024

Dario Amodei imagines that "powerful AI" will bring a golden future which people "will be literally moved to tears by". He talks about his grand vision and his grave concerns; and why he left OpenAI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 20 December 2024

Will an Oura ring change the health industry as we know it? The company's CEO Tom Hale is this week's guest. Plus, why GM have pulled the plug on their robotaxi and has Google come closer to achieving the dream of quantum computing? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 13 December 2024

How can we trust the news in a world with artificially created content? Thomson Reuters CEO, Steve Hasker, joins the podcast to discuss the use of their information, and the future of journalism. Plus a look at Intel as the battle for chip supremacy goes on. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 6 December 2024

What's the point of quantum computing now we have generative AI? Will quantum computing change the world? And just what is quantum computing anyway? Raj Hazra, CEO of Quantinuum, joins the show to explain. Plus the Bluesky debate continues, and should we use Google to find out what a monopolist is? Clip from BBC Radio 5Live Breakfast used by permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 29 November 2024

Danny and Katie take on two big issues of the week - finding out from social media analyst Dan Whitmarsh just how big new social media platforms need to be. And software security expert Joe Levy talks about where crypto is taking us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 23 November 2024

The future might finally be here! Danny visits the headquarters of Joby Aviation, the company possibly furthest along in commercialising "flying cars" - just don't call them that! Plus, more on how the tech world is reacting to Donald Trump's victory and Elon Musk's new job. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 15 November 2024

Danny and Katie look at the implications for Tech with the return of President-elect Donald Trump to the Whitehouse. And media analyst, Renée DiResta joins Danny and Katie to talk about how the new digital media has changed politics - and what you can do to be heard.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 8 November 2024

If we made robots think more like animals, how clever could they be? This week we hear from David Rajan, CEO of Opteran, a pioneering AI company which is reverse engineering biological brains to create a "radical new scientific approach to doing AI". And, Danny, the cat and the Tesla. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 1 November 2024

Satya Nadella is only the third boss in the tech giant's 50 year history, but he has pivoted Microsoft towards accelerating technology, and forging partnerships with leading companies including OpenAI. On a whistle-stop AI tour of the world and in his only UK interview this year - this exclusive conversation with Satya Nadella covers the dangers, pitfalls and growth of AI. What better time to sit down with the Microsoft supremo than almost two years after the public launch of ChatGPT? He tells Katie that his major worry is that nations miss the opportunity to take advantage of AI and technological innovation for economic growth "ultimately the benefits of it being much more broad spread are, I think... the real dream." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 25 October 2024

Katie and Danny are joined by Al Gore for big thoughts on how to take on the big challenges. Outside of AI, there is one area that is still getting a good amount of venture capital dollars and that's tackling climate change. But what's the right way to invest and will it work? Who decides the way forward, the investors, the tech giants or the politicians? And who better to answer these questions than Al Gore, former US Vice-President and now guru to climate campaigners worldwide. He's our guest this week. Follow us now for more big interviews coming up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 18 October 2024

This week - money, invention and regulation as we delve deep into the mind of Vlad Tenev, the co-founder and CEO of Robinhood, a hugely influential App designed in their words to “democratise finance”. And did Danny cleverly predict in our first episode, that Sir Demis Hassabis would indeed win a Nobel Prize? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 11 October 2024

Danny joins Katie in London for the Times Tech Summit, where the co-founder and boss of Google DeepMind Sir Demis Hassabis sets out his startling view that AI has the potential "to cure all diseases" and could 'have general human cognitive abilities within ten years." But fundamentally - do we really understand what AI is? Professor Neil Lawrence, the inaugural DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at Cambridge University, Faculty AI CEO, Marc Warner, and Naila Murray, Director of AI Research at Meta share their views. And Danny and Katie ponder whether AI mania could be more about money than the mind? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 4 October 2024

Danny Fortson in California - 'Danny in the Valley' - joins Katie Prescott in London to talk to the people changing tech across the world. As The Sunday Times’ West Coast Correspondent, Danny Fortson has witnessed first hand the technological whirlwind coming from Silicon Valley. Katie as Technology Business Editor at The Times has reported on how digital technology is transforming businesses and society around the world. Now ‘Danny in the Valley’ meets ‘Katie in the City’ - with a podcast presented from San Francisco and London. Each week sees a fresh interview with pioneers in tech from the brightest start-ups to the tech giants as they chronicle the AI revolution. Sounds good, but what will it sound like? Here's a taste. 'What Occurs' by Islands is used by permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 1 October 2024

'For nearly seven years Danny Fortson has made the Valley his own, interviewing the newcomers and the established; the inventors and the entrepreneurs; the brightest minds and most daring doers in Silicon Valley. Now the show gets an extra dimension as he is joined by London Technology Business Editor, Katie Prescott for the new Times Tech Podcast as they look at who is shaping tech not just in Silicon Valley, but around the world. It will be with you very soon, but first a special edition of Danny in the Valley, where Danny talks Katie through the people and the themes from the journey so far.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 27 September 2024

The Sunday Times’ tech correspondent brings on John Chambers, former chief executive of Cisco, to talk about artificial intelligence (4:30), why booms are necessary (8:00), coming to Silicon Valley (12:15), Cisco (14:15), buying 180 companies (19:00), the dotcom bust (23:00), how the old startups have grown up (29:15), whether founder shares are a good thing (31:00), still working at 75 (34:00), competition (35:40), why he has bet on the startup Humane (40:45), spending his own money (45:00), how AI will change everything (48:15), and his worst day (53:15). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcribed - Published: 20 September 2024