Bold Names

Every second, tens of thousands of transactions cross Visa’s global network. Last year alone, the company processed more than $13 trillion in purchases – nearly triple the size of Japan’s economy. Now, one of the largest payment networks in the world wants to become even bigger. On this episode of Bold Names, Rajat Taneja, Visa’s president of technology, joins WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins to discuss how the company is embracing digital currency and agentic AI to power the future of payments. Taneja says this is a natural evolution for a company built on innovation. But what does the future hold? Will Visa be the next everything platform? To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com. Check Out Past Episodes: This Tech Founder's $1.3 Billion Company Is Taking On Apple and Samsung Condoleezza Rice on Beating China in the Tech Race: 'Run Hard and Run Fast' The Google-Backed Startup Taking on Elon Musk in Humanoid Robotics Why IBM's CEO Thinks His Company Can Crack Quantum Computing Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can a startup beat Apple and Samsung on their own turf? Carl Pei, the founder and CEO of Nothing, is betting on it. Growing up in Sweden, Pei was captivated by American gadgets like Apple’s first iPod. But over time, he says, those products lost their edge. On the latest episode of Bold Names, Pei joins WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins to explain why he believes his electronics company, Nothing, which is valued at $1.3 billion, can challenge Apple and Samsung. Pei believes that artificial intelligence and a new generation of design-savvy users will set Nothing apart. To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com. Check Out Past Episodes: Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win The Google Exec Reinventing Search in the AI Era Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks' Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The artificial intelligence boom has sparked one of the costliest building sprees in history. By 2028, investment in chips, servers and data centers could hit nearly $3 trillion, according to Morgan Stanley. To help fund the build-out, tech companies are taking on huge amounts of debt, raising concerns of a possible bubble. On the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast, Martin Casado, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, who leads the firm’s $1.25 billion infrastructure practice, speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins, about whether the industry’s biggest bet in decades will deliver returns. Casado explains why he is optimistic about AI and how this moment compares to the internet buildout of the 1990s. To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com. Check Out Past Episodes: The Google Exec Reinventing Search in the AI Era Condoleezza Rice on Beating China in the Tech Race: 'Run Hard and Run Fast' Why IBM's CEO Thinks His Company Can Crack Quantum Computing How Tubi Is Coming for Netflix and YouTube in the New Streaming Wars Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every day, billions of searches flow through Google, making it not just the world’s most popular search engine, but one of history’s most valuable products. Yet for the first time in nearly 30 years, the company’s dominance is under threat. Generative artificial intelligence tools like Open AI’s ChatGPT and Perplexity are changing how people find information. On the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast, Liz Reid, VP, head of Google Search, speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins about transforming search for the age of AI. After more than two decades inside the company, Reid says that Google has weathered disruption before and believes this moment will expand, not erode, how people explore the web. But can Google Search survive in a world of AI chatbots and answer engines? To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com. Check Out Past Episodes: Condoleezza Rice on Beating China in the Tech Race: 'Run Hard and Run Fast' The Google-Backed Startup Taking on Elon Musk in Humanoid Robotics Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win Why IBM's CEO Thinks His Company Can Crack Quantum Computing Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Condoleezza Rice’s experience navigating geopolitical tensions and uncertainty gives her a background few people have. The former secretary of state currently leads the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and is a founding partner at Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC, a strategic consulting firm. On this week’s episode of Bold Names, she speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins about why she says the U.S. needs to “run hard and run fast” and win the tech race with China. She also explains why executives can no longer afford to think of foreign policy as separate from strategy. To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com. Check Out Past Episodes: This CEO Says Global Trade Is Broken. What Comes Next? What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE ‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0 Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks' Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column.Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who will take care of you in old age? Jeff Cardenas, the CEO and co-founder of Apptronik, says the answer is robots. The startup founder set out to build a smart, dexterous robot after watching his grandfathers grow old and dependent in their later years. Beyond healthcare, Cardenas sees robots as essential to U.S. economic growth and national security with applications across industries. Even with the latest advances in artificial intelligence and hardware, what will it take for humanoid robots to make the leap from science fiction to reality? On the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast, Cardenas tells WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins why Apptronik is betting it will create the home robot helper that everyone will want. Check Out Past Episodes: Why IBM's CEO Thinks His Company Can Crack Quantum Computing ‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0 Humanoid Robot Startups Are Hot. This AI Expert Cuts Through the Hype. Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The relationship between the U.S. and China is typically framed as competitive and even adversarial. Each superpower brings strengths and weaknesses to how it approaches its society, business and growth. In his new book Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future, author and China expert Dan Wang, frames the key differences between the two superpowers. He argues that China can be understood as an "engineering state" that builds at breakneck speed regardless of public opinion or dissent. He says the U.S., on the other hand, is a "lawyerly society" that offers civil and environmental protections, but blocks everything, good and bad. On the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast, Wang speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims about how this framework could help us understand which country ultimately has the upper hand in the current geopolitical and technological arms race. To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com. Check Out Past Episodes: This CEO Says Global Trade Is Broken. What Comes Next? What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE ‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0 Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks' Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After spending much of the 2010s in the doldrums, IBM has made something of a comeback in the past five years under the leadership of CEO Arvind Krishna. That's thanks to a lot of the success in its hybrid cloud business, as well as its consulting services. All of this has led to a surge in the company's share price. Now, IBM is betting that quantum computing will be the next big thing. But will Big Blue succeed against rivals like Microsoft and Google who are racing to make their own quantum breakthroughs? And how is the company learning from its past mistakes with Watson AI? Arvind Krishna speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast. To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com. Check Out Past Episodes: This CEO Says Global Trade Is Broken. What Comes Next? What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE ‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0 Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks' Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every day, Wall Street Journal journalists talk with the most powerful, influential and interesting people. WSJ columnists Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins are bringing some of those conversations directly to you. Bold Names returns with new episodes on Fridays starting September 12 on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins take a trip into the Bold Names podcast archives. They’ve covered everything from artificial intelligence and humanoid robots, to the online sports betting industry and the new streaming wars. Check out highlights from some of their favorite interviews. Plus, Tim and Christopher look back on what made these conversations memorable and share their own insights on guests including Anduril founder and CEO Palmer Luckey, venture capitalist Sarah Guo and Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman. Bold Names returns with new episodes on Fridays starting September 12 on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. Check Out Past Episodes: Booz Allen CEO on Silicon Valley’s Turn to Defense Tech: ‘We Need Everybody.’ Venture Capitalist Sarah Guo’s Surprising Bet on Unsexy AI Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the AI ‘Fantasy Land’ Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column . Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Longtime space rivals Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are vying to reach outer space with their giant rockets. Meanwhile, an ecosystem of other space-related startups are racing to be ready to set up shop on the moon and Mars. Lunar Outpost is one of three companies competing to build a space truck for NASA's Artemis missions. Founder and CEO Justin Cyrus is betting there will be a commercial rush to tap into the moon’s resources, including critical minerals. He says he wants his company to be the “mobility provider” for the lunar economy. On the latest episode of Bold Names, Cyrus joins WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins to discuss why the U.S. and its biggest rivals are in a race to build permanent bases on the moon. Check Out Past Episodes: How Tubi Is Coming for Netflix and YouTube in the New Streaming Wars Tariffs, EVs and China: A CEO Insider’s View of the Car Business Booz Allen CEO on Silicon Valley’s Turn to Defense Tech: ‘We Need Everybody.’ Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column.Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tubi is a free ad-supported streaming service that's gaining ground on big players like Netflix and Amazon. It has the largest content library of any streaming platform, full of obscure gems and films by up and comers, including one starring TikTok influencer Noah Beck. Tubi CEO Anjali Sud says that by putting viewers first, the streamer is "expanding the definition of quality" when it comes to content. On the Bold Names podcast, Sud speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins about how Tubi is thinking about original content, audience retention and strategy in a changing streaming landscape. Plus, why she says Tubi will be the home for the next generation of Hollywood talent. Check Out Past Episodes: 70,000 Bets a Minute: How FanDuel’s Parent Is Winning at Sports Gambling Venture Capitalist Sarah Guo’s Surprising Bet on Unsexy AI Why José Andrés Says We Need Leaders Who Believe in ‘Longer Tables’ Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Informatica isn’t a household name, but it plays a crucial role in helping companies like Toyota and Unilever manage and organize vast amounts of data. As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful, that data is like a gold mine. Customer relationship software company Salesforce recently struck a multibillion-dollar deal to acquire Informatica. On the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast, Informatica CEO Amit Walia speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins about why his company is worth $8 billion to Salesforce’s AI ambitions. Check Out Past Episodes: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the AI ‘Fantasy Land’ Tariffs, EVs and China: A CEO Insider’s View of the Car Business How Microsoft’s AI Chief Defines ‘Humanist Super Intelligence’ Venture Capitalist Sarah Guo’s Surprising Bet on Unsexy AI Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column.Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Elon Musk’s Tesla piloting its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas and Waymo expanding, it’s the perfect time to revisit our interview with Zoox CEO Aicha Evans. She went deep with WSJ’s Tim Higgins and Christopher Mims on her decisions to sell the company to Amazon for over $1.2 billion and to keep Zoox’s radical design for a driverless car that looks like a lounge on wheels. As she and her rivals work to win customers’ trust, Evans’s insights into robotaxi safety are even more timely. Plus, in a brand-new segment Higgins and Mims dig into why this moment is so crucial for the robotaxi business to reach surprising new customers–like parents. Check Out Past Episodes: Tariffs, EVs and China: A CEO Insider’s View of the Car Business How Microsoft’s AI Chief Defines ‘Humanist Super Intelligence’ How Zipline’s Drones Are Taking Off in the U.S. and Rivaling Amazon Humanoid Robot Startups Are Hot. This AI Expert Cuts Through the Hype. Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For months, the complex global auto industry has grappled with the added challenge of navigating the Trump administration’s trade war. That gives Swamy Kotagiri, the CEO of Magna International, a first-hand perspective of how tariffs, trade negotiations and shifting supply chains are reshaping the future of the business, today. How is the largest auto parts manufacturer in North America adjusting its plans now that the industry’s traditional patterns have been disrupted? Kotagiri speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast. Check Out Past Episodes: This CEO Says Global Trade Is Broken. What Comes Next? What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE ‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0 Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks' Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

José Andrés knows what it’s like to work under pressure. From managing the chaos of restaurant kitchens, to running a global business empire, to helping feed people in disaster zones, the celebrity chef doesn’t like to sit still, especially when it comes to food. On a special bonus episode of the Bold Names podcast, Andrés speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins about his new book, why he’s investing in lab-grown meat and his belief that good meals and “longer tables” are the cure for what ails us. Check Out Past Episodes: Booz Allen CEO on Silicon Valley’s Turn to Defense Tech: ‘We Need Everybody.’ This CEO Says Global Trade Is Broken. What Comes Next? How Zipline’s Drones Are Taking Off in the U.S. and Rivaling Amazon What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few people developing artificial intelligence have as much experience in the field as Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. He co-founded DeepMind, helped Google develop its large language models and designed AI chatbots with personality at his former startup, Inflection AI. Now, he’s tasked with leading Microsoft’s efforts on its consumer AI products. On the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast, Suleyman speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins about why AI assistants are central to his plans for Microsoft’s AI future. Plus, they discuss the company’s relationship with OpenAI, and what Suleyman really thinks about “artificial general intelligence.” Check Out Past Episodes: Booz Allen CEO on Silicon Valley’s Turn to Defense Tech: ‘We Need Everybody.’ Venture Capitalist Sarah Guo’s Surprising Bet on Unsexy AI Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the AI ‘Fantasy Land’ Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column . Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Horacio Rozanski says he is obsessed with speed. As the CEO of Booz Allen Hamilton, a company that helps government agencies leverage the latest advances in technology used by the private sector, he has insight into the global race to develop artificial intelligence, especially in the realm of warfare. How does Rozanski see the relationship between the U.S. government and Silicon Valley evolving? He speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast. Check Out Past Episodes: This CEO Says Global Trade Is Broken. What Comes Next? Venture Capitalist Sarah Guo’s Surprising Bet on Unsexy AI What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Evan Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Altana, one of a few companies that have a global view and insight into the world’s supply chains. Think LinkedIn, but with the ability to track every step of a product’s movement from raw materials to store shelves. That lets him see firsthand how President Trump’s tariffs have thrown global trade networks into chaos as companies rush to rework every step of the manufacturing process. And Smith says this is just the beginning. Is the era of global free trade over? And if so, what comes next? Smith speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast. Check Out Past Episodes: Venture Capitalist Sarah Guo’s Surprising Bet on Unsexy AI What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE ‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0 Palmer Luckey's 'I Told You So' Tour: AI Weapons and Vindication Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at BoldNames@wsj.com Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. Read Tim Higgins’s column. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The major indexes ticked up for the first trading day since Moody’s Ratings downgraded the U.S.’s credit rating on Friday. Investors are also getting nervous about President Trump’s tax bill as it advances through congress. Plus: UnitedHealth Group notched its second day of gains in a row. Danny Lewis hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices