Science & Technology

How did Davos turn into a tech conference? | Equity Podcast

The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos felt different this year, and not just because Meta and Salesforce took over storefronts on the main promenade. AI dominated the conversation in a way that overshadowed traditional topics like climate change and global poverty, and the CEOs weren’t holding back. There was public criticism of trade…

Published

7 months ago

January 23, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane discuss which conversations took over Davos this week, the latest startup raises that caught our eye, and more.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro & OpenAI Earbuds?
02:32 Humans& Raises $480M Seed Round
05:32 The Revolving Door of AI Talent
09:16 Serve Robotics Acquires Diligent
12:13 Robots in Healthcare vs. Sidewalk Delivery
15:00 Tech Giants Take Over Davos
19:46 AI CEOs Compete for Customers & Investment
24:15 The End of the Metaverse?
27:00 Meta’s Shift Away from First-Party VR Development
28:47 Outro

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

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25 Comments

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January 23, 2026 at 7:58 pm

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Science & Technology

The VC Backing the American Dream with Manan Mehta, Unshackled Ventures

Immigrant founders have built some of the world’s most valuable companies, but many still face barriers that make it harder to get a startup off the ground. Visa restrictions, limited access to friends-and-family capital, shallow networks, and a venture industry built around pattern matching can keep promising founders from getting funded before they have a…

Published

18 hours ago

August 13, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

In this episode of Build Mode () , host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Manan Mehta, co-founder and managing partner of Unshackled Ventures, () to talk about why he believes immigrant founders represent one of venture capital’s biggest overlooked opportunities. Manan breaks down how Unshackled built an investment model designed to help founders navigate immigration barriers, why traditional VC pattern matching causes investors to miss potential outliers, and how his team evaluates founders at day zero—often before they have a product, customers, or traction. He also explains why the structural gaps that make some founders harder to fund may be exactly where investors should be looking for outsized returns.

They get into:

•

The four structural barriers immigrant founders face when starting companies in the U.S.

•

How Unshackled Ventures helps founders navigate visas while building their startups

•

Why VC’s reliance on pattern matching can cause investors to miss outlier founders

•

How Manan evaluates founders before they have a product, customers, or traction

•

The IQ, AQ, EQ, and SQ framework Unshackled uses to evaluate founder potential

•

Why resilience, lived experience, and a founder’s relationship to the problem can matter more than a polished pitch

•

Why structural gaps can create some of the biggest opportunities for investors

•

How founders without traditional networks can find alternative paths to early capital

•

Why founders should understand their personal “why” instead of trying to fit the traditional VC mold

Subscribe to Build Mode on Apple Podcasts () , Spotify () , or wherever you like to listen () . And watch the full videos on YouTube () . New episodes of Build Mode () drop every Thursday.

Chapters:

00:00 – Why VCs Miss Outlier Founders

01:45 – Why Manan Mehta Founded Unshackled Ventures

04:15 – The Problem With VC Pattern Matching

06:15 – The Friends-and-Family Gap for Immigrant Founders

08:18 – How Unshackled Helps Founders Navigate Visas

10:40 – Building a Startup in Today’s Immigration Environment

12:19 – Solving One of Unshackled’s Hardest Immigration Cases

14:39 – What the U.S. Stands to Lose16:59 – Raising Unshackled’s First Venture Funds

19:40 – Can You Start a Company on an H-1B Visa?

22:13 – How to Evaluate a Founder at Day Zero

28:30 – Measuring IQ, AQ, EQ, and SQ

30:26 – How Fear Drives VC Pattern Matching

33:01 – Why Structural Gaps Create Outlier Opportunities

35:14 – Finding Startup Capital Outside Traditional VC

38:09 – Why Founders Need to Understand Their “Why”

Hosted by Isabelle Johannesen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

Science & Technology

The High Risk, High Reward Model of Backing Immigrant Founders l Build Mode

Published

18 hours ago

August 13, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Manan Mehta, co-founder and managing partner of Unshackled Ventures, to talk about why he believes immigrant founders represent one of venture capital’s biggest overlooked opportunities. Manan breaks down how Unshackled built an investment model designed to help founders navigate immigration barriers, why traditional VC pattern matching causes investors to miss potential outliers, and how his team evaluates founders at day zero—often before they have a product, customers, or traction. He also explains why the structural gaps that make some founders harder to fund may be exactly where investors should be looking for outsized returns.

Subscribe to Build Mode:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Wherever you like to listen
New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday.

Chapters:
00:00 – Why VCs Miss Outlier Founders
01:45 – Why Manan Mehta Founded Unshackled Ventures
04:15 – The Problem With VC Pattern Matching
06:15 – The Friends-and-Family Gap for Immigrant Founders
08:18 – How Unshackled Helps Founders Navigate Visas
10:40 – Building a Startup in Today’s Immigration Environment
12:19 – Solving One of Unshackled’s Hardest Immigration Cases
14:39 – What the U.S. Stands to Lose
16:59 – Raising Unshackled’s First Venture Funds
19:40 – Can You Start a Company on an H-1B Visa?
22:13 – How to Evaluate a Founder at Day Zero
28:30 – Measuring IQ, AQ, EQ, and SQ
30:26 – How Fear Drives VC Pattern Matching
33:01 – Why Structural Gaps Create Outlier Opportunities
35:14 – Finding Startup Capital Outside Traditional VC
38:09 – Why Founders Need to Understand Their “Why”

Hosted by Isabelle Johannesen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

Science & Technology

Hands-on With Google’s New Pixel 11 Devices

Get a hands-on look at Google’s new Pixel 11 lineup, from the more durable Pro Fold, an updated new camera bar, and of course, a push for Gemini AI features.

Published

19 hours ago

August 13, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

Get a hands-on look at Google’s new Pixel 11 lineup, from the more durable Pro Fold, an updated new camera bar, and of course, a push for Gemini AI features.