Generative Now | AI Builders on Creating the Future

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 Stay in touch: * www.lsvp.com [http://www.lsvp.com/] * X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp [https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/ [https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/] * Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co [http://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 [http://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 Stay in touch: * www.lsvp.com [http://www.lsvp.com/] * X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp [https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/ [https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/] * Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co [http://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 [http://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 Stay in touch: * www.lsvp.com [http://www.lsvp.com/] * X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp [https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/ [https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/] * Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co [http://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 [http://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 Stay in touch: * www.lsvp.com [http://www.lsvp.com/] * www.lsvp.com/gametheory [http://www.lsvp.com/gametheory]  * X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp [https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/ [https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/] * Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.com [http://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 [http://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 Stay in touch: * www.lsvp.com [http://www.lsvp.com/] * X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp [https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/ [https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/] * Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co [http://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 [http://lsvp.com/legal].