Science & Technology

AI-driven hiring and the science of compatibility

This season on Build Mode, we’re breaking down what it really takes to build a world-class team and that starts with hiring the right people the first time. This week, we’re joined by Sarah Lucena, founder and CEO of Mapa, a behavioral intelligence platform that uses voice AI to decode human behavior in under 60…

Published

1 month ago

March 3, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

This season on Build Mode, we’re breaking down what it really takes to build a world-class team and that starts with hiring the right people the first time.

This week, we’re joined by Sarah Lucena, founder and CEO of Mapa, a behavioral intelligence platform that uses voice AI to decode human behavior in under 60 seconds. After rebuilding teams over and over again early in her career, Sarah set out to answer the question: why do “great on paper” candidates fail to flourish after their hired?

In this episode, she explains how Mapa analyzes thousands of voice biomarkers, from speech patterns to linguistic signals, to build behavioral profiles and match candidates based on compatibility, not just the on-paper credentials. They help their clients make the right hired the first time, saving crucial time and money.

She breaks down:

• Why most hiring decisions are still a gamble
• Compatibility vs. similarity (and why it matters)
• How voice biomarkers reveal behavioral traits
• How to reduce bias without lowering the bar
• How founders should think about building aligned teams

Whether you’re hiring your first employee or scaling a fast-growing startup, this episode will change the way you think about talent, team dynamics, and what it really means to be a “fit.”

Chapters:

00:00 – Why great hires still fail
00:47 – Meet Sarah Lucena (Founder & CEO, Mapa)
01:39 – What Mapa does: voice → behavioral intelligence
04:22 – Why voice (not video) is the best signal
06:03 – The proprietary dataset & real-life outcomes
12:30 – Mapping companies, not just candidates
14:27 – Compatibility vs. similarity
16:10 – Bias, diversity & better hiring signals
23:53 – Expanding beyond hiring (VCs, finance, insurance)
30:16 – Using Mapa to evaluate investors
33:02 – Building Mapa’s own team
35:49 – Founder advice: patience, compatibility & lawyers
39:16 – Startup Battlefield experience
41:29 – Outro

New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday. Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.

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2 Comments

@عليموحان-س5ع

March 3, 2026 at 1:46 pm

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March 3, 2026 at 9:27 pm

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Science & Technology

Why Snowflake is no longer just a data warehouse

Snowflake is betting that the future of AI isn’t just analyzing data, it’s acting on it. That means a shift away from chatbots and toward autonomous agents that can actually get work done. And Snowflake is reorganizing fast to keep up, from shipping hundreds of AI features to restructuring teams along the way. On this…

Published

1 day ago

April 8, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan sits down with Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy to unpack the company’s transformation and what it signals about where AI is headed next.

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

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:17 Snowflake’s AI shift and agentic future
01:45 Why 2026 marks the end of chatbots
04:09 Cortex Code, Snowflake Intelligence, and new products
06:09 Who benefits: non-technical users & enterprises
07:35 Adoption challenges and why AI pilots fail
12:11 How AI is reshaping jobs and skills
14:39 Layoffs, automation, and the future of documentation
18:37 Snowflake’s evolution into an AI platform
21:04 Competition: Databricks, hyperscalers, and AI giants
25:01 Outro

Popular Science

The Experiment That Tried to Weigh the Human Soul

It’s a little complicated to weigh a dying person on a hospital bed, but that didn’t deter Duncan MacDougall. In the early 20th century, MacDougall’s unique bed-scale detected that 21 grams left the human body at the moment of death. He had finally discovered it: the weigh of the human soul … or so he…

Published

2 days ago

April 7, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

He had finally discovered it: the weigh of the human soul … or so he thought.

Read more about the cultural legacy of MacDougall’s flawed but influential experiment:

CNET

NASA’s Artemis II Moon Flyby Livestream

Watch the excitement as NASA sends four astronauts on a historic mission to the moon, potentially farther into space than any humans have ever traveled. Follow CNET’s Live Blog at CNET.com NASA Artemis II Day 6: Monday Is Moon Flyby Day Add CNET as a trusted news source Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s…

Published

3 days ago

April 6, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

Watch the excitement as NASA sends four astronauts on a historic mission to the moon, potentially farther into space than any humans have ever traveled.

Follow CNET’s Live Blog at CNET.com
NASA Artemis II Day 6: Monday Is Moon Flyby Day

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