Bold Names

Who will take care of you in old age? Jeff Cardenas, the CEO and co-founder of Apptronik, says the answer is robots. The startup founder set out to build a smart, dexterous robot after watching his grandfathers grow old and dependent in their later years. Beyond healthcare, Cardenas sees robots as essential to U.S. economic growth and national security with applications across industries. Even with the latest advances in artificial intelligence and hardware, what will it take for humanoid robots to make the leap from science fiction to reality? On the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast, Cardenas tells WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins why Apptronik is betting it will create the home robot helper that everyone will want.

Check Out Past Episodes:

Why IBM's CEO Thinks His Company Can Crack Quantum Computing

‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0

Humanoid Robot Startups Are Hot. This AI Expert Cuts Through the Hype.

Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win

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Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.

Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column.

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The relationship between the U.S. and China is typically framed as competitive and even adversarial. Each superpower brings strengths and weaknesses to how it approaches its society, business and growth. In his new book "Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future," author and China expert Dan Wang, frames the key differences between the two superpowers. He argues that China can be understood as an "engineering state" that builds at breakneck speed regardless of public opinion or dissent. He says the U.S., on the other hand, is a "lawyerly society" that offers civil and environmental protections, but blocks everything, good and bad. On the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast, Wang speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims about how this framework could help us understand which country ultimately has the upper hand in the current geopolitical and technological arms race.

To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com.

Check Out Past Episodes:

This CEO Says Global Trade Is Broken. What Comes Next?

What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE

‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0

Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks'

Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected].

Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.

Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column.

Read Tim Higgins’s column. 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After spending much of the 2010s in the doldrums, IBM has made something of a comeback in the past five years under the leadership of CEO Arvind Krishna. That's thanks to a lot of the success in its hybrid cloud business, as well as its consulting services. All of this has led to a surge in the company's share price. Now, IBM is betting that quantum computing will be the next big thing. But will Big Blue succeed against rivals like Microsoft and Google who are racing to make their own quantum breakthroughs? And how is the company learning from its past mistakes with Watson AI? Arvind Krishna speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast.

To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com.

Check Out Past Episodes:

This CEO Says Global Trade Is Broken. What Comes Next?

What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE

‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0

Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks'

Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected]

Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.

Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column.

Read Tim Higgins’s column. 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every day, Wall Street Journal journalists talk with the most powerful, influential and interesting people. WSJ columnists Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins are bringing some of those conversations directly to you. Bold Names returns with new episodes on Fridays starting September 12 on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected]

Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.

Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column. 

Read Tim Higgins’s column. 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins take a trip into the Bold Names podcast archives. They’ve covered everything from artificial intelligence and humanoid robots, to the online sports betting industry and the new streaming wars. Check out highlights from some of their favorite interviews. Plus, Tim and Christopher look back on what made these conversations memorable and share their own insights on guests including Anduril founder and CEO Palmer Luckey, venture capitalist Sarah Guo and Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman. Bold Names returns with new episodes on Fridays starting September 12 on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. 

Check Out Past Episodes:

Booz Allen CEO on Silicon Valley’s Turn to Defense Tech: ‘We Need Everybody.’ 

Venture Capitalist Sarah Guo’s Surprising Bet on Unsexy AI 

Reid Hoffman Says AI Isn’t an ‘Arms Race,’ but America Needs to Win 

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the AI ‘Fantasy Land’ 

Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected]

Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. 

Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column .

Read Tim Higgins’s column. 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Longtime space rivals Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are vying to reach outer space with their giant rockets. Meanwhile, an ecosystem of other space-related startups are racing to be ready to set up shop on the moon and Mars. Lunar Outpost is one of three companies competing to build a space truck for NASA's Artemis missions. Founder and CEO Justin Cyrus is betting there will be a commercial rush to tap into the moon’s resources, including critical minerals. He says he wants his company to be the “mobility provider” for the lunar economy. On the latest episode of Bold Names, Cyrus joins WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins to discuss why the U.S. and its biggest rivals are in a race to build permanent bases on the moon.

Check Out Past Episodes:

How Tubi Is Coming for Netflix and YouTube in the New Streaming Wars

Tariffs, EVs and China: A CEO Insider’s View of the Car Business

Booz Allen CEO on Silicon Valley’s Turn to Defense Tech: ‘We Need Everybody.’

Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected]

Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.

Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column.Read Tim Higgins’s column. 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tubi is a free ad-supported streaming service that's gaining ground on big players like Netflix and Amazon. It has the largest content library of any streaming platform, full of obscure gems and films by up and comers, including one starring TikTok influencer Noah Beck. Tubi CEO Anjali Sud says that by putting viewers first, the streamer is "expanding the definition of quality" when it comes to content. On the Bold Names podcast, Sud speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins about how Tubi is thinking about original content, audience retention and strategy in a changing streaming landscape. Plus, why she says Tubi will be the home for the next generation of Hollywood talent.

Check Out Past Episodes:

70,000 Bets a Minute: How FanDuel’s Parent Is Winning at Sports Gambling

Venture Capitalist Sarah Guo’s Surprising Bet on Unsexy AI

Why José Andrés Says We Need Leaders Who Believe in ‘Longer Tables’

Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected]

Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.

Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column.

Read Tim Higgins’s column.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Informatica isn’t a household name, but it plays a crucial role in helping companies like Toyota and Unilever manage and organize vast amounts of data. As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful, that data is like a gold mine. Customer relationship software company Salesforce recently struck a multibillion-dollar deal to acquire Informatica. On the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast, Informatica CEO Amit Walia speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins about why his company is worth $8 billion to Salesforce’s AI ambitions.

Check Out Past Episodes:

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the AI ‘Fantasy Land’

Tariffs, EVs and China: A CEO Insider’s View of the Car Business

How Microsoft’s AI Chief Defines ‘Humanist Super Intelligence’

Venture Capitalist Sarah Guo’s Surprising Bet on Unsexy AI

Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected]

Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.

Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column.Read Tim Higgins’s column. 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With Elon Musk’s Tesla piloting its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas and Waymo expanding, it’s the perfect time to revisit our interview with Zoox CEO Aicha Evans. She went deep with WSJ’s Tim Higgins and Christopher Mims on her decisions to sell the company to Amazon for over $1.2 billion and to keep Zoox’s radical design for a driverless car that looks like a lounge on wheels. As she and her rivals work to win customers’ trust, Evans’s insights into robotaxi safety are even more timely.

Plus, in a brand-new segment Higgins and Mims dig into why this moment is so crucial for the robotaxi business to reach surprising new customers–like parents.

Check Out Past Episodes:

Tariffs, EVs and China: A CEO Insider’s View of the Car Business

How Microsoft’s AI Chief Defines ‘Humanist Super Intelligence’

How Zipline’s Drones Are Taking Off in the U.S. and Rivaling Amazon

Humanoid Robot Startups Are Hot. This AI Expert Cuts Through the Hype.

Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected]

Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.

Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column.

Read Tim Higgins’s column.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For months, the complex global auto industry has grappled with the added challenge of navigating the Trump administration’s trade war. That gives Swamy Kotagiri, the CEO of Magna International, a first-hand perspective of how tariffs, trade negotiations and shifting supply chains are reshaping the future of the business, today. How is the largest auto parts manufacturer in North America adjusting its plans now that the industry’s traditional patterns have been disrupted? Kotagiri speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins on the latest episode of the Bold Names podcast.

Check Out Past Episodes:

This CEO Says Global Trade Is Broken. What Comes Next?

What This Former USAID Head Had to Say About Elon Musk and DOGE

‘Businesses Don’t Like Uncertainty’: How Cisco Is Navigating AI and Trump 2.0

Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks'

Let us know what you think of the show. Email us at [email protected]

Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter.

Read Christopher Mims’s Keywords column.

Read Tim Higgins’s column.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.