In this episode, Garuda Ventures co-founder Rishi Taparia joins Alchemist Accelerator CEO Ravi Belani to explore why the promise of AI teammates often stalls in the real world. Drawing on his experience as a VC, operator, and startup builder, Rishi explains why psychological friction, status dynamics, and expectation mismatches are bigger barriers than the tech itself.

You’ll learn:

• Why “AI teammates” are fundamentally different from tools—and why that matters

• How expectations vs. reality derails enterprise adoption

• Why status loss makes managers hesitant to deploy AI agents

• What startups need to understand before selling AI into the enterprise

• How to build trust and credibility inside slow-moving organizations

  
  

If you're building AI for the enterprise—or selling into it—this conversation will challenge your assumptions and give you a more grounded GTM strategy.

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Please take 1 minute to complete our short feedback form:👉 https://bit.ly/3H4XkiJ

In this episode, Alchemist Partner and GenAI expert Gnani Palanikumar reveals how AI agents are reshaping real industries like healthcare, supply chain, and life insurance. From reducing data prep time by 80 percent to enabling faster decisions, AI teammates are starting to do the work humans don’t have time for.

Gnani shares the mistakes founders keep making with GenAI and the exact process he uses to help startups build products customers are ready to buy.

In this episode:

- Why data scientists are stuck doing grunt work

- Where AI teammates create real value today

- The right way to validate startup ideas before building

- How to secure early adopters without a finished product

- Why customer interviews are powerful

If you’re building in AI, healthcare, or any complex B2B market, this is the playbook you didn’t know you needed.

We’d love your feedback

Take 60 seconds to let us know what you think: https://bit.ly/3H4XkiJ

Relying on a single AI model might be holding your team back.

In this episode, Not Diamond co-founder and former VC Jeffrey Akiki joins Alchemist Accelerator CEO Ravi Belani to share why the smartest AI systems don’t depend on just one model or agent. They use a network of specialized agents, routed in real time for speed, cost, and performance.

You’ll learn:

• Why “bigger” AI isn’t always better

• How model routing can outperform even top-tier LLMs

• Why modularity and transparency matter for enterprise AI

• What startups can do to compete with the big players

• How Jeffrey’s VC background shaped his founder journey

We’d love your feedback.
Take 60 seconds to share your thoughts: https://bit.ly/3H4XkiJ

Ever wondered why most enterprise AI projects never make it past flashy demos into real-world applications? Manjeet Singh, Senior Director of Product Management at Salesforce, sits down with Alchemist Accelerator CEO Ravi Belani to uncover why so many companies get stuck—and what it truly takes to move AI from proof-of-concept to full-scale production.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why even promising AI demos rarely reach production

• The key barriers companies face: accuracy, trust, and data security

• Emerging opportunities for both startups and established enterprises

• Practical frameworks and tools (like LangChain and LLaMA Index) you can use right now

Manjeet also shares his perspective on AI "agents," intelligent assistants designed to tackle daily tasks, and why he's excited about the future intersection of AI with health and wellness.

If you're serious about moving your AI beyond the lab, this conversation is for you.

We would love to know what you think about our podcast. Please take a minute to complete our short feedback form: https://bit.ly/3H4XkiJ

What if AI doesn’t just disrupt industries, but rewrites the rules of work and value?

In this thought-provoking Fireside Chat, Ben Parr, Co-Founder of OctaneAI and Partner at TheoryForge Ventures, joins Ravi Belani to explore how automation is already reshaping hiring, productivity, and opportunity and why the real tipping point is closer than we think.

Ben shares his vision for a future where AI either empowers people or leaves them behind, depending on the choices we make now. From universal basic income to AI agents that pay you to work for them, this episode dives into the intersection of policy, innovation, and what it takes to build meaningful AI startups in 2025.

We would love to know what you think about our podcast. Please take a minute to complete our short feedback form: https://bit.ly/3H4XkiJ

Can a corporate venture arm operate with full financial independence and still deliver strategic value?

In this episode of the Alchemist Accelerator Influencer Series, host Ravi Belani sits down with Jason Sydow, Partner at Next47, to explore how corporate venture capital (CVC) firms can successfully balance financial returns with corporate alignment or choose to focus on one without sacrificing value.

Jason walks through the transformation of Next47 from Siemens’ legacy CVC into a fully financially-driven fund with a billion-euro mandate, while still leveraging deep relationships to support portfolio startups through their go-to-market team. From structuring investment decisions to navigating internal trust and strategic veto rights, Jason shares lessons any CVC leader should hear.

🎧 Whether you're running a CVC, building one, or trying to partner with one this episode is packed with insight.

We’d love to know what you think about our podcast. Please complete our short feedback form: https://bit.ly/3H4Xk

How do we keep groundbreaking deep tech startups alive past Series B? In this episode, Ravi Belani talks with Tom Gwinn, Investment Manager at Evonik Venture Capital, about why so many promising deep tech startups struggle to get enough funding and how corporate venture capital can help close that gap.

Tom shares practical ideas on how CVCs can pool resources, share risks, and provide patient capital for breakthroughs in climate tech, quantum computing, biotech, and more. Expect real talk on what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to change.

We would love to know what you think about our podcast. Please take a minute to complete our short feedback form: https://bit.ly/3H4XkiJ

In this compelling episode of Alchemist Accelerator’s Influencer Series Fireside Chat Podcast, Ravi Belani sits down with Kristian Marquez, Founder & CEO of FinStrat Management, for a wide-ranging conversation that traverses the future of standalone software, the resurgence of U.S. manufacturing, AI in robotics, and the global implications of demographic decline.

Kristian shares his unique perspective at the intersection of finance, innovation, and geopolitical strategy, offering insights highly relevant to founders, investors, and corporate innovators navigating today’s rapidly shifting landscape.

Click to learn more about FinStrat Management: https://bit.ly/44IB4FiThank you to our Sponsors for making the Alchemist Accelerator’s Influencer Series possible. Notable Partners include: 1. BASF Venture Capital: https://bit.ly/3ZqFw842. FinStrat Management: https://bit.ly/3YTAlNO3. WilmerHale: https://bit.ly/45iAGgSWe would love to know what you think about our podcast, please complete our short feedback form: https://bit.ly/3H4XkiJIf you would like to plug in as a mentor, investor, customer or other role, email Ravi or let him know here: https://bit.ly/44JPlSd