Danny In The Valley

Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott reunite in London to unpack the biggest takeaways from The Times Tech Summit 2025 – from the race to power AI’s energy demands, to News Corp CEO Robert Thomson’s fight to make tech firms pay for content, and former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s warning that Britain has become a “vassal state” in global tech. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As OpenAI’s chip spree rolls on, Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott ask the question – are we already in an AI bubble? And they hear from Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince about AI content wars and making LLM's pay for the content they use. Image: Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Danny and Katie are joined by Rose Wang, COO of BlueSky, the decentralised social network born out of Twitter, to discuss how it’s rewriting the rules of social media, why it’s turning down ad money, and whether an open, user-curated model can rival the giants. And they look at OpenAI’s six gigawatt chip deal with AMD, the growing warnings of an AI bubble and Donald Trump’s TikTok return.Image: The Times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Danny and Katie look at California’s new AI safety law, OpenAI’s in-chat checkout, and the rise of AI “actors”, and how it all depends on one thing – data centres, the hidden plumbing of the internet. They’re joined by Adaire Fox-Martin, CEO of Equinix, which runs the giant facilities where the world’s data lives, to explain how the company is racing to keep up with demand and why it plans to add as much capacity in the next five years as it did in the past 27. But with soaring energy use and limited space, can the industry keep pace?Image: Jack Taylor/The Times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this bonus edition of the Times Tech Podcast we have teamed up with Smart Energy GB for a look at what smart meters can do for small businesses. There is more to tech than AI, and sometimes the most important tech developments are about getting the basics right. Katie Prescott has been talking to one small business in the North of England, and to an academic expert who has been studying what we now know about how energy use and running any small business go hand in hand.This is a paid for edition in partnership with Smart Energy GB. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Danny and Katie are joined by Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone to dive into the company’s journey — from its rise as an internet pioneer to its reinvention in the age of AI, as he shares details of his plans for the 30-year-old tech brand, and what the relationship needs to be between AI and Yahoo's content. Plus, Danny and Katie unpack the latest in AI’s breakneck growth, including Nvidia’s $100 billion deal with OpenAI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Britain in a "Goldilocks" moment for AI? US President Donald Trump’s state visit to Britain brought more than pomp and ceremony. American tech giants pledged £31 billion in AI and data centre investment, from Nvidia’s 120,000 processors to Microsoft’s GDP-boosting promises. Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott unpack what the new UK-US “tech prosperity deal” really means, and speak with one of the investors – CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator and CBO Mike Mattacola about their £1.5 billion UK expansion.Image: Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Danny Fortson and Katie Prescott sit down with Loveable AI CEO Anton Osika, fresh off a $200m raise at a $1.8bn valuation. They dig into “vibe coding,” and why he thinks Loveable could be the “last piece of software” for building websites and apps. Plus, Danny gets tips for his masterpiece game – Meatball Mania.Image: Jack Hill/The Times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Danny and Katie tackle Google's antitrust win, TikTok job cuts and a new Stanford research on how AI is reshaping entry-level roles. Plus, Katie speaks to Steve Hare, CEO of Sage, the FTSE 100 accounting software company, to discuss AI’s impact on hiring, the limits of “copilot” tools, and why Britain needs more homegrown tech champions so he can have 'some friends'.Image: GettyFurther listening: Perplexity CEO on Chrome, AI and challenging the tech giantsAn AI-induced recession on the horizon? Klarna's CEO thinks so Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Katie and Danny unpack Nvidia's $47 billion second-quarter revenue – more than it made in all of 2023. But can anyone challenge its dominance? Danny interviews AMD’s Lisa Su, head of the American chipmaker that designs the processors powering everything from PCs to data centres, about the company’s turnaround, China, and whether Nvidia’s crown is within reach.Image: Getty Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas explains his bold $35 billon bid for Google Chrome and why he thinks the startup can take on tech giants. Was it a PR stunt or a serious move? Danny puts that to him directly, and they talk about how Perplexity hopes to reshape the internet. Plus, Danny and Katie unpack the complicated geo-politics of semiconductors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

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.

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.Further listening: Interview with Dylan Field, the CEO of Figma. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

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.

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.

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: techpod@thetimes.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

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.