Zero Shot

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Join Brady Ng, Praveen Gopal Krishnan, and Rohin Dharmakumar of The Ken as they discuss the big ideas in artificial intelligence. You’ll get the macro view, explore their experiments in practical applications, go deeper than the news coverage you’ve seen, and hear about the implications of the latest developments. Nothing is off the table.

3日前

The AI agent era has started in China. It looks different from anywhere else

Ever wondered what happens when AI agents are adopted at scale? Look no further than China. Over the last two months, people — yes, ordinary citizens — have been installing OpenClaw on their devices. Local governments are incentivising OpenClaw projects. Grandparents are lining up to get the software installed. And a cottage industry of "influencers" is telling people how to optimise their agent usage. It's a social and cultural moment as much as a technological one. How did China get here? To answer that question, we have Kevin Xu on this episode of Zero Shot. Kevin is the founder of Interconnected Capital, a global technology hedge fund, and a widely-read writer at the intersection of technology and geopolitics. His career is seemingly divergent: former White House press staffer, head of GitHub's international expansion, and an investor in AI startups. But it is this layered perspective — of a tech analyst, writer, fund manager, and operator all rolled into one — that can truly unpack what is happening in China. Tune in! ___ This episode was produced by Vidhatri Rao and edited by Rajiv CN. ____ Zeus, the mascot of Zero Shot, was generated using AI. Everything else is made by humans, just like all articles, columns, newsletters, and other podcasts created by The Ken. Write to us at Zeroshot@the-ken.com. We are all ears! ____ Additional Resources Interconnected | Chinese open source: A definitive history Hustlers are cashing in on China’s OpenClaw AI craze In China, a rush to "raise lobsters" quickly leads to second thoughts OpenClaw, government support fuel rise of 1-person companies in China "Claw-powered" one-person companies become hot topic at China's "two sessions" Explore Intermission

1 小時 1 分鐘
3月18日

India’s biggest B2B marketplace takes OpenAI to court

Say you want a chunk of plywood. Or a passenger lift. Or a power cable. Or a corrugated packaging box. Chances are you will find yourself on IndiaMART, the country’s largest B2B marketplace connecting buyers with suppliers. With 60% of market share and a 12,000 crore market cap, the company essentially commands this space. Say you want a chunk of plywood. Or a passenger lift. Or a power cable. Or a corrugated packaging box. Chances are you will find yourself on IndiaMART, the country’s largest B2B marketplace connecting buyers with suppliers. With 60% of market share and a 12,000 crore market cap, the company essentially commands this space. There is one major problem though: ChatGPT. In December, IndiaMART filed a petition against OpenAI in the Calcutta High Court for “selective discrimination” at the hands of the company, saying that its LLM “specifically and consciously” excludes it from its results while servicing other e-commerce platforms. In a hearing, the court said the exclusion seems to have occurred “without any logic”. The case is ongoing. As our host Praveen Gopal Krishnan says, the “specifics of the case are far less interesting” than the proverbial can it seems to have kicked down the road. The case asks some crucial second, third, and fourth order questions about AI, competition, and who gets to win in this new market. To answer all of those questions and give us a picture of the regulatory landscape of India, we have Samir R Gandhi on this episode. Samir heads Axiom5, a boutique law firm specialising in competition law. He has spent over two decades at various law firms, and has had a ringside view of the development of competition law in India from the time of its enactment. He says the case gives him a sense of “deja vu” because it is fundamentally about an old incumbent being challenged by a disrupter. But the questions posed by AI systems — “part morality, part philosophical, part business model, part geopolitics” — will have wide-ranging implications for the market from a legal standpoint. Tune in! This episode was produced by Vidhatri Rao and edited by Cymasonic Productions. ____ Zeus, the mascot of Zero Shot, was generated using AI. Everything else is made by humans, just like all articles, columns, newsletters, and other podcasts created by The Ken. Write to us at Zeroshot@the-ken.com. We are all ears! ____ Recommended Reading: Ghosted by the bot: Why IndiaMART is desperate to be visible on ChatGPTCCI Rejects Allegations of Anti-Competitive Conduct against Uber and OlaAccioAmazon V. Perplexity: Welcome To The Battle For The Future Of Commerce

53 分鐘
3月11日

AI and the end of SaaS 'playbooks'

“We were so close to the finish line and boom ‘SaaS is dead’. We are restarting…. There is one more round to run.” That’s an honest admission from Avinash Raghava, the founding volunteer and CEO of the pay-it-forward community SaaSBoomi. As someone who has spent years building networks and communities — at Nasscom, Accel, and Together Fund previously — Avinash has a full view of the inflection point that founders are at. They are having to reinvent themselves, change business models and pivot entirely to become AI-native. The idea is to disrupt their own models before the market does. SaaSBoomi is undergoing its own transformation. It is now AIBoomi, with the primary focus of helping founders navigate the new world where old SaaS playbooks are irrelevant. Can there be a new playbook? How does one write it? How does one learn, grow, and create a community along the way? Avinash takes on all of these questions in this episode. The result is a conversation that captures and dissects the crossroads that SaaS is currently at. Tune in! ____ This episode was produced by Vidhatri Rao and edited by Rajiv CN. ____ Zeus, the mascot of Zero Shot, was generated using AI. Everything else is made by humans, just like all articles, columns, newsletters, and other podcasts created by The Ken. Write to us at Zeroshot@the-ken.com. We are all ears! ____ Recommended Reading: Which Software Companies Will Survive the SaaSpocalypse The Three-Body Problem (novel) Dark forest hypothesis https://annual.aiboomi.org/ Over 100 Indian AI startup founders moving to US for funds and talent Voice AI has gone from whisper to commotion. Can the market get any louder?

1 小時 1 分鐘
3月4日 • 「THE KEN PREMIUM」限定

Engineers don’t want AI tool contracts. At least the ones they are caught in

As enterprises make sure their employees use AI, integrate it into their workflows, track productivity, and highlight AI usage in their investor calls, a new kind of tension is emerging within organisations. Engineers are simply not happy with the tools they have been assigned. They want flexibility and deals with companies that make tools that actually work for them. Some are even ready to go back to no tools. Verifying AI-generated code, they say, is an extra layer that is only burdening them. Meanwhile, India’s enterprise AI ecosystem is thriving. The country has emerged as one of the fastest-growing markets for tech giant Microsoft’s AI programmer Github Copilot. In December, the company had announced that more than 200,000 Copilot licences would be deployed across TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and Cognizant. At the recent AI summit, OpenAI and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) agreed on rolling out Enterprise ChatGPT internally. Anthropic tied up with Infosys to deploy Claude models and AI agents into enterprise workflows. Mrunmayee Kulkarni, The Ken’s AI reporter, spoke to dozens of employees and tech leaders to get to the heart of the tension. She joins us today to dissect it along with Ashwin Sekhar, the Chief Product and Technology Officer at Incred. In fact, Ashwin commented on Mrunmayee’s story. His interesting take made us reach out to him and start a conversation. And now, he finds himself on the podcast. We’d love to hear all of your takes, opinions, and thoughts. Please write to us at zeroshot@the-ken.com * This episode was produced by Vidhatri Rao and edited by Rajiv CN. Zeus, the mascot of Zero Shot, was generated using AI. Everything else is made by humans, just like all articles, columns, newsletters, and other podcasts created by The Ken. Additional Reading: Engineers gag as Amazon, TCS, and Cognizant ram ‘mandatory AI’ into everyday work ( https://the-ken.com/story/engineers-gag-as-amazon-tcs-and-cognizant-ram-mandatory-ai-into-everyday-work/ ) Anthropic goes to war ( https://the-ken.com/columns/zero-shot/anthropic-goes-to-war/ ) Our agreement with the Department of War ( https://openai.com/index/our-agreement-with-the-department-of-war/ ) Everyone in Seattle Hates AI ( https://jonready.com/blog/posts/everyone-in-seattle-hates-ai.html )

56 分鐘
2月25日 • 「THE KEN PREMIUM」限定

A tale of two AI summits: Beyond the stolen robot dog

Here’s a fresh take on the India AI Impact Summit that took place last week in New Delhi: it was two events stitched together, happening at the same time. There was the expo, where companies and nations showcased their products and services to 250,000 visitors. And then there was a conference where the geopolitical effects of AI were front and centre. Inderpal Singh, one of The Ken’s reporters, was on site to find out where the action was. Hear his firsthand account about what really mattered at the summit, what India’s builders were up to, and how it felt to be at what’s called the largest AI-themed gathering ever. Then, hosts Praveen Gopal Krishnan and Brady Ng discuss the ramifications of the summit and the way India is positioned—as an AI middle power, or something else? Plus, one country’s delegates were noticeably absent, and the two hosts have opposite takes on what that means. Tune in for all that and more. If you were at the India AI Impact Summit, tell us about it at zeroshot@the-ken.com ( zeroshot@the-ken.com ) * This episode was produced by Vidhatri Rao and edited by Rajiv CN. Zeus, the mascot of Zero Shot, was generated using AI. Everything else is made by humans, just like all articles, columns, newsletters, and other podcasts created by The Ken. Additional Reading: Indian university faces backlash for claiming Chinese robodog as own at AI summit ( https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cge8nd5ve00o ) AI impact summit layout ( https://www.impactexpo.indiaai.gov.in/venue-layout-map ) New Delhi declaration ( https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/40809 ) At A.I. Summit, India Tries to Find a Way Between the U.S. and China ( https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/21/world/asia/ai-summit-india-foreign-policy.html )

48 分鐘
2月17日 • 「THE KEN PREMIUM」限定

Voice AI startups are drawing in VC cheques fast. Will they 'differentiate or suffocate'?

“It’s a land grab market…” That’s how our guest Devyani Gupta, the founder of voice AI startup Arrowhead, describes the space she is operating in. A simple fact illustrates the competition she is stressing on: VC funding for Indian voice AI startups went from seven crore in 2023 to 280 crore in 2025. There is a lot to unpack in these figures. And Mrunmayee Kulkarni, The Ken’s AI reporter, followed the money to do just that. She found that the voice AI market is crowded, with many operating for BFSI clients. A senior manager in a bank summed it up best: “differentiate or suffocate”. Then, there is also the possibility of major enterprises acquiring voice AI capabilities themselves. So, what is the moat for voice AI companies? Mrunmayee joins Zero Shot hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Brady Ng to ask Devyani this question. Devyani makes a stark differentiation between “building a demo” and “running production”. The latter part, she argues, is what got Arrowhead its 50 plus enterprise clients. She gets into the technicalities and nuances of the business to explain why. And yes, we discuss the elephant in the room that is the India AI impact summit. We couldn't help but talk about the mild chaos that is unfolding in Delhi. Tune in! What did you think of this episode? Write to us at zeroshot@the-ken.com. --- This episode was produced by Vidhatri Rao and edited by Rajiv CN. --- Zeus, the mascot of Zero Shot, was generated using AI. Everything else is made by humans, just like all articles, columns, newsletters, and other podcasts created by The Ken. ---Additional Reading: Voice AI has gone from whisper to commotion. Can the market get any louder? ( https://the-ken.com/story/voice-ai-has-gone-from-whisper-to-commotion-can-the-market-get-any-louder/ )Voice AI startups hear the sound of money as enterprises sign up ( https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/voice-ai-startups-hear-the-sound-of-money-as-enterprises-sign-up/articleshow/127722356.cms?from=mdr&utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst )https://arrowhead.ai/ ( https://arrowhead.ai/ )Artificial Intelligence in India's Voice AI Sector ( https://tracxn.com/d/artificial-intelligence/ai-startups-in-voice-ai-in-india/__s7thq7EI12tPI5Mmcnok_vjilY5MhlglLRUi8kzPmHs#top-companies )Founder stuck outside the India AI impact summit venue ( https://tracxn.com/d/artificial-intelligence/ai-startups-in-voice-ai-in-india/__s7thq7EI12tPI5Mmcnok_vjilY5MhlglLRUi8kzPmHs#top-companies )India's AI Summit opening in New Delhi marred by long queues, confusion ( https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-ai-summit-opening-new-delhi-marred-by-long-queues-confusion-2026-02-16/ )

56 分鐘
2月11日 • 「THE KEN PREMIUM」限定

'Vibe coding lawyers': How AI is changing work at Trilegal

"We have vibe coding and Biryani sessions on Fridays…” This is not a scene from a tech startup or a weekend hackathon. It is a statement by Nikhil Narendran, a partner at Trilegal who heads the firm’s digital innovation group. Naturally, our host Praveen Gopal Krishnan was taken aback. Lawyers who are coding away? Who could imagine? Praveen was even more surprised when Nikhil said he almost never types and only uses Wispr Flow now. “You are the first non-tech person to say that,” he admits. This episode takes you inside a law firm that is aggressively using, collaborating, and experimenting with AI. About 75% of Trilegal’s lawyers currently use AI at various stages of their workflows. Several projects are underway and some prototypes are even created in-house. In fact, legal AI platform Lucio was incubated inside the firm and is its primary service provider. All of this is not surprising considering how tech forward Trilegal has been. For context: they started using Slack in 2012. In this episode, host Brady Ng tries to understand what Anthropic’s plugins mean beyond the immediate market shockwaves. Nikhil unpacks this through the choices made at Trilegal over the last couple of years, getting into the details of SLMs, custom-GPTs, multi-LLM systems, context windows, and much more. This is an episode on legal AI — a rapidly-growing space that does not get enough attention in our tech conversations. This is our first attempt at diving into the AI usage of a non-technical industry. What did you think of it? Would you like to hear similar stories? What other industries are you curious about? Write to us at zeroshot@the-ken.com. --- This episode was produced by Vidhatri Rao and edited by Rajiv CN. --- Zeus, the mascot of Zero Shot, was generated using AI. Everything else is made by humans, just like all articles, columns, newsletters, and other podcasts created by The Ken. --- Additional Resources * Trilegal's Rahul Matthan on the firm, the partnership, and the principles ( https://the-ken.com/podcasts/first-principles/trilegals-rahul-matthan-on-the-firm-the-partnership-and-the-principles/ ) * https://www.lucioai.com/ ( https://www.lucioai.com/ ) * https://wisprflow.ai/ ( https://wisprflow.ai/ ) * Lawyers don’t like tech. Businesses don’t like legal teams. Spotdraft wants to fix it all ( https://the-ken.com/story/lawyers-dont-like-tech-businesses-dont-like-legal-teams-spotdraft-wants-to-fix-it-all/ ) * Harvey reportedly raising at $11B valuation just months after it hit $8B ( https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/09/harvey-reportedly-raising-at-11b-valuation-just-months-after-it-hit-8b/ )

51 分鐘
2月4日 • 「THE KEN PREMIUM」限定

Will Sarvam be to AI what PhonePe became for UPI? No.

Pick any conversation on AI in India, one project keeps coming up again and again: UPI. Every major stakeholder — across government and industry — seems to be interested in replicating the success story of the payments interface. Praveen Gopal Krishnan argues that Sarvam AI — the startup that is a VC darling and government favourite at once — is at the heart of this narrative. Here is the problem. The UPI moment came to India in very specific circumstances. We did catch “lightning in a bottle” as Rohin Dharmakumar puts it. But it is unlikely to happen again. The AI supply chain is fundamentally different. There are many moving parts and a range of use cases to be solved for. A state-led centralised approach — with a main character around which everything pivots — is not the answer. What are the alternatives? Competing AI companies. The government enabling innovation in a diffused manner. Research incentives. Encouraging competition so that Indian AI companies are at par with the best in the world. There is precedent to this. Brady Ng, our resident China expert and tech nerd, gives us a history lesson. And if you have been wondering where the foundational model is, Sarvam AI is expected to unveil one soon. We will cover that ground when that happens. Until then, tune in for a round up of India’s AI strategy and its main company. ------ Zeus, the mascot of Zero Shot, was generated using AI. Everything else is made by humans, just like all articles, columns, newsletters, and other podcasts created by The Ken. This episode was produced by Vidhatri Rao and edited by Rajiv CN. Share your comments, critiques and suggestions with us at zeroshot@the-ken.com ( zeroshot@the-ken.com ). Or write in just to say hi. We would love to hear from you! ------ Additional Resources: Sarvam AI’s Rs 10,000 crore pivot ( https://the-ken.com/columns/zero-shot/sarvam-ais-rs-10000-crore-pivot/ )India’s ‘UPI Moment’ in AI has Arrived ( https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/indias-upi-moment-ai-has-arrived-analytics-india-magazine-6oevc/ )For AI, India can build on the Aadhaar-UPI model ( https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/ai-india-aadhaar-upi-model-10413796/ )Voice AI is India's next UPI moment: Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani ( https://www.business-standard.com/technology/tech-news/voice-ai-is-india-s-next-upi-moment-infosys-chairman-nandan-nilekani-126012801369_1.html )The Economic Survey ( https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey/ )PhonePe dominates payments but loses money. Now what? ( https://the-ken.com/podcasts/two-by-two/phonepe-dominates-payments-but-loses-money-now-what/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=daily_newsletter&utm_campaign=newsletter_plug )AI is not UPI: Why going by the UPI model risks stalling progress on artificial intelligence ( https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/ai-not-upi-model-risks-progress-artificial-intelligence-ai-policy-11769282335632.html )

51 分鐘

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