Are We Raising a Generation That Can't Think? | Rahim Hirji

June 2026 Venture Capital & AI Market Breakdown | The SpaceX IPO Changes Everything?

June 2026 Venture Capital & AI Market Breakdown | The SpaceX IPO Changes Everything? June wasn't just another AI news cycle. It was the month the venture capital concentration story finally spilled into the public markets. In this episode of Nothing Ventured, we break down the biggest developments shaping venture capital, startups, AI, and deep tech. From SpaceX's record-breaking IPO and the return of public market liquidity to the rise of AI infrastructure, fusion energy, world models, and enterprise AI, we explore where capital is really flowing—and who is actually getting paid. We discuss: 🚀 SpaceX's historic IPO and what it means for startup exits 💰 Why liquidity remains the biggest challenge in venture capital 📈 The barbell effect reshaping the VC market 🤖 Enterprise AI, productivity tools, and AI infrastructure investments ⚡ Helion's fusion energy breakthrough and the future of physical AI 🧠 Odyssey, world models, and the next frontier of AI 🔄 Why secondaries are becoming a critical source of liquidity 🏗️ The growing importance of chips, compute, power, and AI infrastructure While the headlines focus on mega-rounds and trillion-dollar valuations, the reality is more nuanced. June 2026 revealed a venture market where the biggest winners continue to attract capital and liquidity, while much of the ecosystem still faces a difficult fundraising and exit environment. 🎙️ Subscribe for weekly conversations on venture capital, startups, technology, innovation, and the future of business. This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe #VentureCapital #AI #SpaceX #Startups #ArtificialIntelligence #TechNews #DeepTech #FusionEnergy #VC #PrivateMarkets #IPO #Innovation #NothingVentured #Technology #Investing Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Are We Raising a Generation That Can't Think? | Rahim Hirji

In a world where anyone can prompt an LLM, what actually makes you valuable? Rahim Hirji author of SuperSkills, founder of Box of Amazing, and former international growth lead at Quizlet joins Aarish on Nothing Ventured to explore the skills that will define the next decade of work, learning and leadership. In this episode: - The SuperSkills ladder every person and immigrant family goes through - Why synthetic seniority is quietly breaking organisations - Should kids use AI? Raheem's hard line at age 14 explained - How companies are becoming "reverse pyramids" and why it'll backfire - Why human at the start matters as much as human in the loop - The truth about edtech: scale vs. efficacy and what founders get wrong - Why accessibility beats rigor when teaching AI strategy to leaders Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction: Who is Rahim Hirji? 01:30 – The SuperSkills ladder explained 04:20 – Why the immigrant mindset fuels better entrepreneurs 12:00 – Why "soft skills" is the worst name for the hardest skills 14:15 – The danger of replacing juniors with AI 24:00 – Synthetic seniority: the illusion of experience 31:00 – Should kids use AI? The case for waiting until 14 43:30 – Protection vs agency: the parenting trade off 50:15 – Truth, Trust & Taste: the three T's AI can't replace 54:00 – Why reverse pyramids will backfire on corporates 01:01:00 – Human at the start vs human in the loop 01:08:00 – What edtech got wrong 01:25:30 – The beach bar that perfectly summed up human + AI 01:34:00 – Contrarian take: ask what AI shouldn't do 01:37:00 – What moves Rahim emotionally 01:41:00 – Where to find Rahim & the Superskills book Find Rahim Hirji online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahimhirji/ Book Superskills: https://superskills.com This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Is Mobile Gaming Dead? Why Istanbul Beats Helsinki & The $5B Micro Drama Gold Rush | Anton Backman

Is mobile gaming still a venture-worthy bet or has the gold rush ended? Anton Backman, General Partner at Play Ventures, has one of the most contrarian takes in VC right now. In this episode, Anton breaks down why the gaming funds that exploded during Covid are struggling, why Istanbul has quietly become the world's hottest hub for mobile games (and why Helsinki lost its edge), and why micro dramas are following the exact same monetisation playbook as mobile gaming. We also get into: → Why success in mobile is 50% product, 50% user acquisition and why most studios get both wrong → How Turkey's gaming companies out-pay investment banking for top graduates → Why a micro drama app briefly dethroned ChatGPT in India → The rise of real money gaming and what VC-backed startups are getting right → Why analogue is making a comeback in a world drowning in digital content Whether you're a founder, investor, or just fascinated by where attention (and money) is flowing — this one's packed. Find Anton Backman online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonbackman/ Twitter: https://x.com/retripaladin Play Ventures: https://playventures.vc This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why AI Token Prices Are About To Explode | Meryem Arik

AI is scaling faster than the infrastructure supporting it. In this episode of Nothing Ventured, Aarish Shah sits down with Meryem Arik, Co-Founder of Doubleword, to explore the hidden economics powering the AI revolution. They discuss why token prices may have to rise, why AI companies are facing compute shortages, the growing GPU bottleneck, and how open-source AI models are challenging the dominance of OpenAI and Anthropic. Miriam explains why sovereign AI is becoming a critical geopolitical issue, why the UK should focus on inference rather than foundation models, and how governments are thinking about AI infrastructure, security and national competitiveness. They also explore AI's impact on jobs, Gen Z attitudes toward technology, agentic workflows, AI adoption, and what happens when AI becomes embedded in every industry. Topics Covered: AI token economics explained Why AI compute demand is exploding The GPU shortage and AI infrastructure crisis Open source vs closed AI models OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini and DeepSeek Sovereign AI and national security The UK's AI strategy AI agents and the future of work Why AI could become more expensive The future of AI adoption If you enjoy conversations about venture capital, startups, artificial intelligence, technology and innovation, subscribe for more episodes. Find [guest name] online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meryemarik/ Twitter: https://x.com/MeryemArik9 Doubleword: https://www.doubleword.ai/ This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #OpenAI #Anthropic #DeepSeek #AIInfrastructure #MachineLearning #VentureCapital #Startups #TechPodcast #NothingVentured Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Venture Capital in 2026: AI, Liquidity & Startup Funding Explained

In this episode of Nothing Ventured, we break down the real state of the venture capital market, from AI investment concentration and startup funding trends to liquidity pressure, emerging manager struggles and the growing power of platforms like OpenAI. We explore: • Why a handful of companies dominate venture funding • The liquidity crisis still facing founders and investors • Why emerging VC funds are struggling to survive • The rise of secondaries and engineered exits • How OpenAI, YC and platform ecosystems are changing startup investing • Why SpaceX and AI infrastructure matter for the future of venture capital • The shift from broad software investing to strategic infrastructure bets This is not a story about venture capital roaring back. It’s a story about power, concentration and ecosystem control reshaping the startup world. If you’re interested in venture capital, startups, AI investing, technology trends, private markets or the future of innovation, this episode is for you. #VentureCapital #Startups #AI #OpenAI #SpaceX #TechNews #StartupFunding #ArtificialIntelligence #VC #BusinessPodcast This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.