Special: Live from the Databricks Data and AI Summit 2025 from San Francisco
Highlights from Databricks Data and AI Summit 2025 In this special episode of the AI Australia podcast, Kathryn Collier and Emma Bromet report live from the Databricks Data and AI Summit 2025 in San Francisco. The summit which attracts 22,000 attendees to the city and 65,000 in total making it one of the largest Data and AI conferences globally. The pervasive theme this year was “Data Intelligence” which can be distilled to the democratisation of data and AI – a clear strategic move to bridge the gap between business needs and the complex reality of end-to-end development of AI solutions. We cover off highlights and insights from all the key accouncements including Databricks Free Edition, Lake Base, Databricks Apps, and Agent Bricks, all focused on democratizing data and AI. Featuring interviews with Simon Johnson, AI Director for APAC at Databricks, and David Schneeberger, Principal Engineer at Mantel who provide in-depth perspectives on these innovations and their implications for the future of Data and AI.
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How AI is Reshaping Customer Expectations & Driving Business Value with Sandy Iyer
How AI is Reshaping Customer Expectations & Driving Business Value with Sandy Iyer (General Manager, Data Science at Sportsbet) Join your hosts Emma Bromet and Kathryn Collier as they chat with Sandy Iyer, a leading data and analytics executive, currently General Manager of Data Science at Sportsbet. With a career spanning energy retail, financial services, and wagering, Sandy brings a wealth of experience to the conversation. In this insightful episode, Sandy discusses: The Evolving Customer Landscape: How AI has profoundly shifted customer expectations, moving beyond just quality to demand instant gratification, personalised experiences, and ethical brand practices. Practical AI for Business Value: Discover compelling examples of AI in action, from L'Oréal's virtual makeup try-ons to advanced sports analytics. Measuring AI's Impact: Sandy shares a unique five-dimensional framework for evaluating the effectiveness of AI and machine learning models, ensuring they deliver real business value and are trustworthy. Cutting Through the Hype: Learn best practices for businesses to maximise AI ROI, including the importance of an "AI-enabled business strategy" over a standalone "AI strategy," and how to move effectively from Proof of Concept (POC) to Proof of Value (POV) and production. Building Customer-Facing AI: Sandy offers critical advice for developing successful AI products, emphasising the importance of product-market fit, ROI pragmatism, and continuous experimentation. Tune in to gain valuable insights from one of Australia's top analytics leaders and understand how to navigate the rapidly evolving AI revolution.
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Venture Capital in AI with Danielle Haj-Moussa and Roo Harris (Part 2)
Because we loved talking to Roo and Danielle SO much in our last episode, we are delighted to bring you another installment of that conversation. In this episode of the A.I. Australia podcast, Kobi and Nat host Roo Harris from Scale Investors and Danielle Haj-Moussa from Main Sequence Ventures to continue our discussion on responsible AI investment in startups. We explore critical topics such as the importance of responsible AI practices, the challenges startups face in integrating AI, and the role of VCs in setting ethical standards. The conversation also covers the significance of early-stage AI due diligence, the benefits of explaining AI technologies accurately, and how embracing ESG (environmental, social, and governance) principles can add value. Key issues such as AI's environmental impact, transparency, and the role of regulation in AI development are also discussed. Links: Danielle Haj-Moussa (Main Sequence Ventures) Roo Harris Scale Investors
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AI Australia Presents: This Week in AI vol 13
In this episode of This Week in AI brought to you by the AI Australia podcast, Kobi and Natalie dive into wide-ranging discussions covering recent political events, traversing: The implications of the French and UK election outcomes, and their relation to technology. AI's role in the U.S. presidential elections Tech sector developments like Meta's Llama models, and the economic and environmental impact of AI advancements The intersection of AI with job markets, wealth distribution, and universal basic income studies, while also considering the cultural and ethical impacts of technological integration in corporate settings The recent global technology outage caused by CrowdStrike on Microsoft Windows Links: The Grimy Residue of the AI Bubble Toby Murray: What really happened at CrowdStrike... Business Insider: CrowdStrike CEO Has Twice Been at the Centre of Global Tech Failure Lawfare: The CrowdStrike Outage and Market-Driven Brittleness
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Venture Capital in AI with Danielle Haj-Moussa and Roo Harris (Part 1)
This episode of AI Australia features a discussion with Danielle Haj-Moussa, a deep-tech investor at Main Sequence Ventures, and Roo Harris, a partner at Scale Investors. The conversation spans the different investment types, the importance of inclusive and ethical AI, and the differences between deep tech and general tech. Danielle shares insights into Main Sequence's focus on decarbonisation, industrial productivity, and the commercialisation of groundbreaking research. Roo discusses Scale Investors' mission to fund female-led startups across diverse sectors, emphasising the need to support underrepresented voices in innovation. Both speakers explore the evolving landscape of AI, the impact of democratising AI through open-source models, and the critical role of diverse and ethical investment in shaping the future. We hope you enjoy this thought-provoking conversation as much as we enjoyed having it - we enjoyed it so much we have decided to make this a two-parter and delve even deeper into this topic in our next episode. Links: Danielle Haj-Moussa (Main Sequence Ventures) Roo Harris Scale Investors
The AI Australia Podcast is hosted by Emma Bromet and Kathryn Collier and brought to you by Mantel. We report what’s going on in Artificial Intelligence in Australia today, with a particular focus on responsible AI, diversity and inclusion and AI at scale. What should we be aware of? And how could this affect society in Australia? We bring in leaders from across industries to get a sneak peak into what they’re working on and how they are handling any ethical considerations.
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