Behind The Tech with Kevin Scott Microsoft Podcasts

Ethan Mollick is an associate professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches innovation and entrepreneurship. His research focuses on the impact of AI on work and education, and he has published numerous papers and a New York Times-bestselling book on AI, "Co-Intelligence." Ethan is also behind the popular Substack ”One Useful Thing,” which explores the implications of AI for work, education, and life. 

In this episode, Kevin and Ethan discuss Ethan’s background as a long-time technology enthusiast, his academic journey, and his insights on the current AI revolution. Ethan shares his experiences from running a bulletin board in the '80s to co-founding a startup company before entering academia, and the two discuss topics from the transformative potential of AI and its accessibility to a broader audience to the importance of AI as a co-intelligence tool that can enhance human capabilities. 
Ethan Mollick | Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania | Co-Intelligence
Kevin Scott  
Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  
Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.    

Mike Volpi is a longtime venture capitalist who joined Index Ventures in 2009 to establish the firm's San Francisco office and North American operations. Prior, he was Chief Strategy Officer at Cisco, overseeing a run of acquisitions still studied today as a model for technology merger strategy. Mike invests primarily in artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and open-source companies, and currently serves on the boards of multiple companies including Aurora, ClickHouse, Cockroach Labs, Cohere, Confluent, Covariant.ai, Kong, Scale, Sonos, and Wealthfront.  
 
In this episode, Kevin and Mike discuss Mike’s early childhood, how he got interested in the study of engineering, and his career experiences—including what led to Mike’s long career at Cisco and his current Partner position at Index—including his board experiences with multiple companies.  
 
Mike Volpi | Index Ventures 
Kevin Scott   
Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott   
Discover and follow other Microsoft podcasts.    

In 2023, after departing his role as CTO of Facebook, Mike Schroepfer launched the climate venture capital investment firm Gigascale Capital with the goal of building climate tech companies. Working alongside co-founders Victoria Beasley and Evaline Tsai, Gigascale’s investments are today driving advancements in clean energy, biotech and computing. In this episode, Kevin and Mike discuss Mike’s early childhood and how he got interested in the study of computer science, career experiences in engineering that shaped him, and what ultimately led to his decision to focus on climate change and philanthropic endeavors through his work at Gigascale and his organization Additional Ventures, respectively.  
Mike Schroepfer | Gigascale 
Kevin Scott   
Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott   
Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts at news.microsoft.com/podcasts.

Xyla Foxlin is an engineer and YouTuber with a passion for making things dating back to her early childhood love of art and creative exploration. What began as a way to entertain herself with whatever materials she could find blossomed into a career as a content creator and maker, showcasing her skills crafting everything from a rocket to a sailboat. In this episode, Xyla and Kevin discuss the challenges she’s faced in the maker space, overcoming imposter syndrome, and the work she’s done to help encourage other women and people of color interested in science, math, and engineering. 
Xyla Foxlin | @xylafoxlin 

Kevin Scott   

Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott   

Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.    

As Chair and CEO of AMD, Lisa Su leads the transformation of the strategy and product execution of one of the fastest growing semiconductor companies in the world. She’s the recipient of numerous awards, and a recent appointee to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. In this episode, she discusses her upbringing as the daughter of a mathematician, her early interest in engineering and figuring out how things work, and why she thinks this is the most exciting time in hardware in recent decades. 
Lisa Su | AMD  
Kevin Scott  
Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott  
Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.   

As 2023 comes to an end, we take a look back at some of the year’s most compelling, thought-provoking conversations with guests like Bill Gates, Neil deGrasse Tyson, OpenAI’s Mira Murati, Shopify’s Tobi Lutke, will.i.am, Sci-fi author Adrian Tchaikovsky, and many more. The year’s programs featured a wide range of topics including equity in tech, advocating for science and, of course, the transformative power of AI.  
Kevin Scott 
Behind the Tech with Kevin Scott 
Discover and listen to other Microsoft podcasts.