Code and Connor

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  1. 16 HR AGO

    CxC Ep25: Giving Technology A Truly Human Voice

    CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 25 features our friend Jack Smith from ElevenLabs. Jack leads global channel partnerships and strategic alliances at ElevenLabs. Previously, he was the Employee Experience and Consumer Bank Operations tech strategy lead at JPMorgan Chase, overseeing emerging technology initiatives and leading engagement with the tech ecosystem. This episode focuses on: → Solving the fiction of existing software including the GUI, with ElevenLabs → Evolution of voice-first AI agents and the complexity of a system built on language → Will voice become the primary interface for AI agents? → ElevenLabs’ Agents platform and the competitive landscape → ElevenLabs focus on DevEx in their platforms and recent enhancements → Research teams inside ElevenLabs four walls → From pilot to production and the scaling challenges → Natural language interface wrapping the global API economy → What does the ‘voice of technology’ become in five years? Be sure to follow us to get the latest information, and schedule a meeting with us through www.codestrap.com! ElevenLabs Website: elevenlabs.io LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevenlabsio/ Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackanthonysmith/ CodeStrap Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/ Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/ CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/Codestrap_ai CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap

    1h 6m

  2. 3 MAR

    CxC Ep24: AI on the World Stage

    This week on Code x Connor, Unit8 co-founder & CTO Michal Rachtan joins us to debrief the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos and discuss global perspectives around AI. As CTO at Unit8, a Swiss-based data + AI services company, Michal leads a team of over 160 deploying production-grade data platforms and agentic solutions for major global enterprises in the life sciences, manufacturing, and financial sectors. Prior to launching Unit8, Michal served as a Tech Lead and Forward Deployed Engineer at Palantir, where he was instrumental in helping massive organizations implement and scale complex data platforms. In this episode, we discuss: → Attitudes around sovereign infrastructure and AI at Davos → What world leaders are actually prioritizing in 2026 → Jamie Dimon’s hot take on AI deployment and job loss → Policy and implementation in Europe vs. the US →The impact of regulation on startups and innovation → Navigating partnerships with industry giants like Palantir and OpenAI → Misconceptions around Palantir’s data collection and pricing → Building data foundations for AI coding that actually works Be sure to follow us to get the latest information, and schedule a meeting with us through www.codestrap.com! Unit8 Website: https://unit8.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unit8/  Michal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michal-rachtan/ CodeStrap Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/ Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/ CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411 CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap

    1h 2m

  3. 19 FEB

    CxC Ep23: Scaling Ontologies

    CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 23 features our friend Francisco Ferreira, Founder and CEO of Datalinks, a company that is laser-focused on bringing human understanding to the core of the data and AI value chains. Prior to founding Datalinks, Francisco spent 9 years at Palantir. At Palantir, he architected and created the product and infrastructure group for Skywise, the world’s biggest aviation platform, growing it from 3 airlines to 100+. He went on to create the Developer Relations groups and co-led Channel partners. Before Palantir, he had a multi-year stint at eBay. This episode focuses on: → Francisco’s journey from Palantir to DataLinks → Large scale integrations and how to do them successfully → Why a clean ontology matters and how to build reusable components → What Datalinks is working on, including AI-generated ontologies → Enhanced search/retrieval across complex data relationships → The AI Bubble → AI model benchmarks and the pressures to align to them → Frontier models, open-source, small language models Be sure to follow us to get the latest information, and schedule a meeting with us through www.codestrap.com! Datalinks Website: https://datalinks.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/datasetlinks Francisco: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franciscomsferreira/ CodeStrap Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/ Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/ CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411 CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap

    1h 8m

  4. 26 JAN

    CxC Ep22: AI Shifted Minds, New Business Models Will Move Markets

    CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 22 features our friend Robert Fidler, General Manager of Valinor Streamline. Prior to joining Valinor, Rob spent five years as a Forward Deployed Engineer at Palantir Technologies, working on projects with a variety of civilian agencies such as the FDA. He also spent 2 years as a Software Engineer at Chapter building their core technology layer. Our 22nd episode focuses on Valinor, unpacking "a constellation of mission-aligned products", and the new business models that are the true disruptive forces moving economies. We also discuss the problem with government procurement around national security,  how Valinor unlocks innovation at the product level (e.g., Streamline), the advantages from strategic partnerships with Palantir Technologies, Anduril Industries, Helsing, unpacking Streamline and demoing the product, the importance of public-facing apps and structured writeback even in disconnected, offline environments, Ontology-native data capture, syncs, and application examples across Real Estate, Military, Manufacturing, Mining and more. Be sure to follow us to get the latest information, and schedule a meeting with us through www.codestrap.com! Valinor Streamline Website (Valinor): https://www.valinor.co/about Website (Streamline): https://www.valinor.co/products/streamline LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/valinor-enterprises/ Rob: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-fidler-9299944a/ Rob’s Blog: https://bobbyfidz.tech/ CodeStrap Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/ Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/ CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411 CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap

    1h 9m

  5. 15 JAN

    CxC Ep21: Will AI and Edtech restore America's Education System?

    CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 21 features friend Bill Salak, CTO and CTO of Brainly. At Brainly, he’s helped scale one of the world’s largest AI-powered learning platforms, serving 15 million learners daily. Bill has over two decades of leadership driving transformative technology at Age of Learning, AOL, HBO, ETS, Hasbro, NBC-Universal, and even the U.S. Army.  Our 21st episode focuses on, the state of AI and its current limitations, AI in education, the state of education in the U.S. K-12 and above, how can we use AI to improve student outcomes in light of the recent findings , how is AI impacting students negatively and positively, the AI impact on young children specifically around learning, and the state of edtech Brainly Website: https://brainly.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/brainly-com/ Bill: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billsalak/ CodeStrap Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/ Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/ CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411 CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap

    1h 24m

  6. 4 JAN

    CxC Ep20:Winning the AI Software Race

    CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 20 features our friend Chad Wahlquist. Chad is a Forward Deployed Architect at Palantir and serves customers and the developer audience with business-focused solutions and product exposure that the developer and customer community yearn for.  On this episode we discuss Chad’s journey from Tyson to Palantir, solving business problems during crises, the AIP launch and compounding features, MMDP and unlocking interoperability, the Palantir product roadmap and filling in gaps in enterprise architecture, pairing with Akshay and ensure the product is refined and understandable, NVIDIA partnership and setting the technical standard for optimization, software that dominates across government and commercial, AI FDE and the balance with human capital cultivation, and focusing on iteration against the unknown unknowns. Palantir Website: https://www.palantir.com/ Free Dev Tier: https://www.palantir.com/developers/ Lightweight Transform Deep Dive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MITSJDI08R4 Multi-modal Data Plane: https://www.palantir.com/interoperability/ Chad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-wahlquist/ CodeStrap Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/ Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/ CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411 CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap

    1h 12m

  7. 16/12/2025

    CxC Ep19: Can AI Save Government Procurement From Itself?

    CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 19 features our friend August Chen, Co-Founder and CEO of Hazel. Hazel is an AI-powered procurement platform that helps federal, state, and local partners compress procurement cycles from months to minutes and save millions on what they purchase. Hazel launched out of Y Combinator in 2024 and is backed by the investors behind Palantir and Anduril. Before founding Hazel, August led mission-critical deployments at Palantir, including working with Connor and Dorian at their former employer. Our 19th episode examines government inefficiency through the lens of procurement, and why competitive pricing often breaks down in the public sector. We explore emerging tech approaches for fixing these gaps, including large-scale processing of unstructured data, LLM-driven solutions, and the broader willingness—or cultural resistance—within government to adopt new capabilities. The conversation also covers the expanding startup ecosystem focused on public-sector innovation, the rise of AI and data-center infrastructure, and why some tech CEOs are now (laughably) urging the government to help underwrite AI investment. Hazel Website: https://www.hazelai.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hazel-ai/ Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/hazel-2 August: https://www.linkedin.com/in/augustschen/ CodeStrap Dorian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-smiley-97a72a14/ Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connordeeks/ CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411 CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap

    1h 4m

  8. 01/12/2025

    CxC Ep18: What Scaled Foundry Looks Like

    CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 18 features our friend Nicolas Renkamp. Nicolas Renkamp is the Global Head of Platform Product Portfolio at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. One of the most important voices in the Palantir ecosystem, he was deeply involved in the development of Foundry DevTools, allowing us to interact with the Foundry APIs and develop transforms locally, and in 2025 he worked with Palantir to bring lightweight transforms to the next level and to everyone in platform. He joined the company in 2019 and began working within the Palantir platform. He is also deeply involved with Merck’s deployment of AWS, Snowflake and Fivetran. On this episode we discuss the scaling Foundry and managing the complexity, the evolution of DevTools and enhancing DexEx in Foundry, Foundry’s branching and integration of lightweight transforms, open data formats and Palantir’s Multimodal Data Plane, interoperability and identity federation challenges, the importance of platform automation, AI and automation in Foundry and impact on business users, and unlocking value through Natural Language Interfaces Nicolas Renkamp: LinkedIn:   / nicolasrenkamp   Palantir Community: https://community.palantir.com/u/nico... Foundry-Dev-Tools: https://github.com/nicornk Nicolas & Chad:    • Chad & Nicolas | Lightweight Transforms at...   Dorian:   / dorian-smiley-97a72a14   Connor:   / connordeeks   CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411 CodeStrap (LI):   / codestrap   CodeStrap:

    1h 13m
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    Code and Connor