RRE POV

Hosted by RRE Ventures

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Jul 2026

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About the show

Demystifying the conversations we're already having here at RRE and with our portfolio companies. In each episode, your hosts, Will Porteous and Raju Rishi, will dive deeply into topics that are shaping the future, from satellite technology to digital health to venture investing and much more.

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49 recent

August 24, 2026Episode 4845 min

The SaaSpocalypse Debate: Is AI Really Killing Software?

Is SaaS really dying, or is AI simply forcing the software industry into its next era? In this episode of RRE POV , Raju Rishi and Will Porteous take on the “SaaSpocalypse” and separate the structural shifts from the market panic. They examine how AI agents are challenging some of SaaS’s most fundamental assumptions—from seat-based pricing and long-term contracts to the traditional build-versus-buy equation, while also making the case that the strongest software companies may be more resilient than headlines suggest. Proprietary data, security, governance, regulatory expertise, customer trust, and deep domain knowledge could prove to be enduring advantages. But the bigger story may be what comes next. They look ahead to what could be an even bigger shift: moving away from subscriptions toward consumption- and output-based pricing, the rise of tech-enabled services, and a new generation of AI-native business models. The SaaS model may be under pressure, but software isn’t disappearing. It’s becoming more dynamic, more fluid, and potentially far more valuable in ways the industry is only beginning to understand. Highlights: (00:00) Welcome and Setup (00:17 )Defining SaaSpocalypse (01:47) Is SaaS Really Dead (04:11) Threat One Seat Pricing (07:23) Threat Two Wrapper Apps (10:18) Threat Three Build vs Buy (15:47) Why Vertical SaaS Survives (21:06) Regulation and Governance Moats (29:17) New Reality Pricing Models (39:34) What SaaS Companies Should Do

July 21, 2026Episode 4744 min

AI Advice for the Ones We Love

In this episode, Will and Raju answer a question they keep hearing from limited partners: How should we actually use AI? The guys break down what AI does well today, where it still falls short, and how LPs and corporate leaders can begin putting it to work. They also highlight AI tools from within the RRE portfolio, discuss the metrics every AI dashboard should track, and share practical ways to move beyond experimentation. The takeaway: AI may not be ready to make your most important decisions, but it is already capable of helping teams move faster, work more efficiently and reclaim valuable time. Highlights (01:10) Raju Sings REM (03:38) What AI Is Actually Good at Today (06:44) The Overhyped Side of AI (13:56) How Originalis Helps Investors Decide (23:00) Farsight Turns Weeks of M&A Work Into Minutes (27:55) The AI Playbook for Corporates (29:14) Six Metrics for Your AI Dashboard (35:32) Avina, the AI Sales Tool That Times Your Pitch (39:31) Unlocking Old Company Knowledge With AI

July 7, 2026Episode 4636 min

The State of AI: Down the Rabbit Hole

In this episode of RRE POV, Raju Rishi and Will Porteous unpack two major forces shaping the future of AI: model distillation and the debate between open-source and proprietary models. They break down what distillation means, why it matters for model defensibility, and how open systems have historically reshaped major technology markets. From Linux and Android to the open internet, the conversation explores what past platform shifts can teach us about where AI is headed, and why founders and enterprises should focus less on model lock-in and more on durable workflows, data, and customer value. Highlights: (02:04) Explaining AI Distillation (03:10) How Distillation Copies AI Models (06:47) LLMs Trained on Everyone Else's Data First (08:26) The Sunk Cost Problem in AI (14:30) 85% of AI Queries Are Repeats (19:47) Open vs. Proprietary Models Explained (21:28) What Windows vs. Linux Teaches Us About AI (26:33) AOL's Walled Garden Warning (34:34) Lock-In on Apps, Not AI Models

June 2, 2026Episode 4545 min

AI's Growing Pains: What's Really Slowing the Revolution?

AI is transforming industries at an extraordinary pace, but the path to real-world adoption is proving more complex than the headlines suggest. In this episode of RRE POV, Raju and Will unpack the biggest growing pains facing AI today — from hallucinations and infrastructure costs to GPU shortages, talent bottlenecks, legal uncertainty, data governance, and the realities of enterprise adoption. Drawing on lessons from previous technology cycles and insights from across the RRE portfolio, they explore where the hype is getting ahead of itself, which companies are helping solve critical constraints, and why the next phase of AI may be driven less by broad platforms and more by focused, vertical applications. Whether you’re building with AI, investing in it, or trying to understand where the market is headed, this conversation offers a candid and practical look at what comes next. Highlights: (00:35) Five AI Growing Pains (02:34) Hallucinations and Trust (06:17) Fixing Hallucinations (08:58) Prime Intellect and RL (10:27) Farsight and Source Links (14:27) AI Cost and GPU Crunch (19:57) Cooling and Space Data Centers (24:18) Efficiency Wins Lovelace (28:22) Talent Legal and Adoption Wrap

April 6, 2026Episode 4437 min

4 Million Trackers Later... The Full-Stack Founder Story of Krenar Komoni

In this episode of RRE POV , hosts Raju Rishi and Will Porteous sit down with Tive founder and CEO Krenar Komoni for a deeply personal and forward-looking conversation on building at the intersection of hardware, software, and AI. Krenar shares his journey from growing up in Kosovo during political upheaval, to becoming a full-stack entrepreneur leading one of the world’s most advanced real-time supply chain visibility platforms. What began as a scrappy solution to a family trucking problem has evolved into Tive, a global company powering mission-critical logistics for thousands of customers. The conversation explores how AI, first-party data, and full-stack thinking are reshaping logistics, and why companies like Tive, with years of real-world data and embedded infrastructure, are uniquely positioned to define the future of autonomous supply chains. Highlights: (00:00) Welcome and Guest Intro (01:55) Early Coding in Kosovo (06:09) War Displacement and Grit (09:30) Falling for RF Engineering (14:03) Founding Tive from Trucking Pain (18:31) From Term Sheet to Trust (19:21) Hitting One Million Trackers (20:21) Soft Skills and CES Connections (23:05) Tive Today Product and Metrics (27:35) AI Roadmap and Wrap Up

March 23, 2026Episode 4342 min

The Longevity Equation: Living Better, Longer

In this episode of RRE POV , Raju and Will dive deep into the evolving science and philosophy of longevity. Moving beyond the simple goal of living longer, they explore what it really means to live better for longer. Raju shares his latest thinking on the five major sectors shaping the longevity landscape: health data, insights and planning, personalized medicine, verticalized solutions, and frontier technologies. Along the way, the guys unpack everything from wearables, blood work, and full-body MRIs to the limitations of today’s healthcare system and the need for better feedback loops in personal health. At the heart of the episode is a powerful idea: longevity is not just about correcting biomarkers or adding years to life, but about improving the body’s ability to recover, adapt, and regenerate. From personal reflections on aging and lifespan expectations to the societal implications of extended life (think careers, marriage, and even prison sentences), this conversation spans both the practical and philosophical and takes a thought-provoking look at the future of health, wellness, and longevity. Shownotes: (00:00) Welcome (00:49) Why Longevity Matters Now (03:08) Living Forever Tradeoffs (08:52) Five Longevity Startup Sectors (10:13) Health Data and Wearables Deep Dive (19:56) Battery And Recharge (20:15) Stress States And Regeneration (22:07) Resilience And HRV (24:38) Exercise Ceiling Recovery Floor (28:24) Recursive Feedback Healthcare (30:32) Precision Dosing Personalization (33:04) Longevity Clinics Reality Check (34:17) Microbiome Early Navigation (37:44) Vertical Apps And GLP Ones (41:10) Frontier Tech And Wrap Up

March 9, 2026Episode 4240 min

Dan Rosenberg on Building Octane11 and the Future of AI-Driven B2B Marketing

In the first-ever video edition of the RRE POV podcast, Raju sits down with longtime collaborator and friend Dan Rosenberg, Founder and CEO of Octane11. Dan and Raju share stories from their scrappy days building Rave Wireless, and reflect on what makes great early startup teams, why culture is shaped by your first hires, and how those early experiences shaped their approach to building companies today. Dan shares his journey from Venture to MediaMath and ultimately to founding his latest venture, Octane11, reflecting on the startup lessons that shaped him along the way. Dan and Raju dive into how Octane11 is synthesizing marketing data across channels into a unified model tied to companies and revenue—creating the foundation for AI to generate meaningful insights that help B2B marketers connect campaign activity to real business outcomes and make smarter, faster decisions across the marketing stack. Show Notes: (00:00) Welcome to the Show (00:59) Dan Rosenberg Bio (02:00) IKEA Box Dive Interview (10:50) MediaMath Rise and Lessons (14:49) MediaMath Focus vs Trade Desk (17:41) Octane11 Origin Story (18:21) Why B2B Attribution Is Hard (19:30) Account Based Marketing Explained (22:13) Mapping Engagement to Companies (24:17) Ideal Customer Profile Sweet Spot (26:32) Agency and Platform Partnerships (27:34) AI Strategy Data First (36:02) Wrap Up Stories Gatling Questions

January 19, 2026Episode 4156 min

Owning the Code: The Enterprise Playbook for Voice Agents

In this episode of RRE POV, Raju and Will sit down with Nick Leonard, co-founder and CEO of VoiceRun — the world’s fastest, most extensible voice agent platform. The guys unpack Nick’s career pivots and hard-earned startup lessons, and go deep on the business behind the technology. They discuss why voice AI has historically fallen short, why enterprises, not startups, are driving real adoption, and how a code-first, serverless, LLM-native architecture enables speed, extensibility, observability, and trust. Nick shares what it truly takes to deploy production-grade voice agents across banks, insurers, and restaurant platforms, and why owning the code has never mattered more. Show Notes: (00:00) The Big Decision: College or Career? (00:47) Introducing the Guest: Nick Leonard (03:17) Nick's Journey from Muncie to MIT (14:44) Early Career and Entrepreneurial Lessons (28:56) The Evolution of People Leadership (31:02) The Rise of Voice AI (32:58) Building Voice Run: Challenges and Insights (36:17) Future of Voice AI and Final Thoughts

November 10, 2025Episode 4040 min

The AI Revolution: Opportunity, Risk & Reality

In this episode, Will and Raju pull back the curtain on what it really takes to invest in AI right now — amid trillion-dollar forecasts and valuations, and a pace of change that’s rewriting company building in real time. From “vibe coding” to AI agents that find the hottest DJ sets, they explore how the tech is reshaping daily life, work life, product roadmaps, and the venture math behind it. Drawing from decades of pattern recognition across the PC, internet, and mobile eras, they share how to separate hype from lasting value — unpacking RRE’s framework for backing durable AI businesses. Whether you’re building the future, backing the future, or just trying to understand it, this is the episode you don’t want to miss. Show Notes: (00:00) Introduction (01:41) The Staggering Numbers in AI Investment (04:41) Should Entrepreneurs Start an AI Company? (07:03) How Raju Uses AI (09:16) Why AI Won't Kill the Music Industry (12:18) Will's AI Use as (18:50) AI Valuations Are Bonkers (20:54) Comparing Four Tech Inflection Points (24:02) Three Unsolved Problems in AI Business Models (27:47) Raju's Four Characteristics for AI Investments (31:45) Why Nanit Is the Perfect AI Investment Example (34:41) The Fraudulent Satellite Imagery Problem (36:10) Data Authenticity as Investment Opportunity (38:30) Final Advice

September 29, 2025Episode 3945 min

AI or Die: Reinventing Old Companies in a New Era

What happens when your company wasn't born with AI, but now has to compete with those that were? In this episode of RRE POV , Raju Rishi and Will Porteous tackle what established companies should do when AI-powered competitors start knocking at the door. They break down how to protect your business while using AI to get better at everything you do. You’ll hear real company stories and experiences, plus practical advice on which AI tools to adopt right now. Show Highlights: (00:00) Introduction (00:45) How do Old Companies Survive AI? (02:00) Competing with Companies Built with AI from day one (04:06) Smart Baby Monitor Beats AI-Native Competition (07:00) Five Ways to Protect Your Business from AI (12:28) Using AI to Improve Sales and Marketing (15:06) Two Examples of AI-native Tools Driving Efficiency (18:02) How Some Founders Are Training Agents to Code like Them. (23:01) VoiceRun’s AI Support Breakthrough (26:32) Why Finance is the Next Frontier of AI transformation (31:00) How AI Is Changing Fundraising Expectations (34:36) Why SaaS Might Be Dead (40:12) Advice for Company Leaders Navigating AI (40:51) Gatling Gun: Will AI Replace Us? (44:11) How to Contact Us