In this episode, Jim is joined by leading wireless industry analyst Chetan Sharma for a candid conversation on what really held 5G back - and what operators must get right before 6G.

They unpack why 5G was never a technology challenge, but a business model and execution problem, especially in Western markets where strong consumer ARPU reduced urgency to pursue enterprise innovation. In contrast, operators in China and select global markets embraced connectivity-plus strategies built on private 5G, edge computing, AI, and industry-specific solutions.

Key topics include:

• Why enterprise 5G adoption stalled in the West

• What global operators can learn from China’s private 5G success

• Why private networks should be as simple as Wi-Fi

• The importance of outcome-driven enterprise engagement

• And why missing the mark in 5G puts 6G at risk

A must-listen for operators, enterprise leaders, and anyone shaping the future of connectivity beyond the “dumb pipe.”

What if deploying to the cloud were as simple as running an app on your laptop?

In this inspiring episode, Jim sat down with Prakash Sundaresan, Founder of Defang, to unpack one of the most persistent challenges in modern software development: cloud complexity.

With nearly 30 years of experience spanning Microsoft, AWS, and Workday, Prakash has seen the cloud from every angle - as a builder, an operator, and a customer. That unique perspective led to Defang: a developer-first, cross-cloud platform that lets teams deploy production-grade applications to AWS, GCP, and beyond using the same Docker Compose file they already use locally - with a single command.

In this conversation, Prakash explains:

• Why cloud complexity affects startups and enterprises alike

• How Defang bridges the gap between simple platforms and hyperscaler power

• What “develop once, deploy anywhere” really looks like in practice

• How Defang uses AI responsibly - to assist, not introduce risk

• Why agentic AI applications represent the next major platform shift

• And how Defang has grown to nearly 10,000 developers with rapid month-over-month adoption

This episode is a must-listen for developers, founders, DevOps leaders, and anyone building the next generation of cloud and AI applications.

If you’ve ever felt that infrastructure was slowing innovation instead of enabling it, this conversation will change how you think about the cloud.

For our Season 2 and 2025 finale, Innovation Unplugged welcomes Alex Smith, CEO and co-founder of Nectar Edge - a company redefining how AI workloads are processed at the edge. Jim and Alex explore why AI’s future depends on distributed compute, the inefficiencies of today’s centralized cloud model, and the massive opportunity emerging for telcos and enterprises.

Alex shares Nectar’s founding story, their integrated hardware-plus-software approach, and how their immersion-cooled edge systems and novel workload orchestration platform (“the brain”) deliver sub-20ms inference, dramatic backhaul reduction, and scalable multi-tenant environments. The discussion dives into real-world use cases - from public safety to manufacturing to next-generation advertising - and why adoption has historically been so difficult.

This episode is a deep dive into the infrastructure challenges of the AI era and how Nectar aims to unlock the next wave of real-time intelligence at the far edge.

AI may be everywhere, but getting it into production is still painfully hard. In this episode of Innovation Unplugged, Jim talks with Darren Kimura, CEO of AI Squared, about why enterprises struggle to turn AI investments into real results - and what it takes to change that.

Darren reveals the surprising government origins of AI Squared, the real reasons most AI POCs stall, and how bringing intelligence into existing enterprise applications (instead of forcing teams to rebuild workflows) is accelerating adoption.

They dig into real-world examples, enterprise deployment timelines, and why AI is on track to reshape-not just enhance-core enterprise systems like CRM, ERP, and HRIS.

For leaders serious about driving ROI from AI, this conversation offers clarity in a very noisy market.

In this episode of Innovation Unplugged, Jim sat downwith telecom visionary Glenn Lurie, whose leadership helped usher in one of the most transformative moments in technology history - the launch of the first iPhone with AT&T.

As a veteran of the wireless industry and now a General Partner at Stormbreaker Ventures, Glenn reflects on his remarkable journey - from negotiating with Steve Jobs and Apple’s team on a groundbreaking deal that reshaped the mobile ecosystem, to leading AT&T Mobility and pioneering the rise of Cricket Wireless and IoT connectivity.

Together, Jim and Glenn unpack the pivotal moments thatchanged how we connect, communicate, and live - and explore what’s next at the intersection of wireless, software, and venture innovation. Glenn offers an insider’s view on:

• How the original iPhone deal came together - and how it permanently redefined the carrier and device relationship.
• Why the App Store was the true game-changer that unlocked today's mobile-first society.
• The evolution of MVNO's and new connectivity models reshaping competition and consumer choice.
• The role of Stormbreaker Ventures in backing the next generation of innovators driving the, "connected ecosystem." And much more...

With candid reflections and forward-looking insights, Glennshares how wireless innovation has evolved from the early days of flip phones to a world of intelligent, connected everything - and what needs to happen next for the industry to keep leading the way.

Whether you’re a founder, investor, or technologist, thisepisode offers a masterclass in leadership, transformation, and the future of connectivity from someone who’s helped shape it at every stage.

Tune in to hear how Glenn Lurie helped move the world from the phone line to frontier tech - and where he believes the next wave of disruption will come from.

The edge is no longer a future promise - it’s becoming plug-and-play.
In this episode, Jim sat down with Peter Thomson, CEO of Nedge, to explore how the company is expanding cloud computing seamlessly to the edge.

Nedge’s platform optimizes cloud applications for remote and end-user computing by offloading and accelerating them at the edge - giving enterprises the speed, security, and scalability of the cloud, without the latency or complexity.

Peter shares the origin story behind Nedge - from solving real-world pain points in unified communications during the pandemic to pioneering a hybrid model that blends the best of cloud and edge infrastructure. You’ll hear how Nedge’s “meshing layer” enables real-time integration between edge workloads and end-user devices, creating a native-like experience that’s changing how businesses think about distributed compute.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why traditional VDI and secure browsers fall short in today’s edge-first world.

• How Nedge simplifies deployments for both public and private environments.

• The role of the “meshing layer” in bridging cloud and edge for seamless user experiences.

• Real-world examples of how enterprises — including defense organizations — are deploying Nedge to enhance performance and security.

In this episode of Innovation Unplugged, we sat down with Caroline Chan, a longtime Intel executive and industry visionary shaping the future of networking, AI, and edge innovation.

From her early role driving Intel’s edge and telecom strategy to her most recent leadership in advancing AI-enabled connectivity, Caroline shares how 5G has evolved beyond consumer applications to power the next wave of industrial transformation. Together, Jim and Caroline explore how global markets are approaching 5G and the road to 6G, the rise of AI at the edge, and what it means for enterprises building smarter, more connected ecosystems.

This is a must-listen for anyone interested in the convergence of AI, connectivity, and edge technologies-and how these forces are reshaping industries worldwide.

In this episode, we sat down with Michael Maxey, VP of Business Development at Zededa, to explore the rapidly evolving world of edge computing. Maxey shares how Zededa is making edge infrastructure effortless, open, and secure—bringing the simplicity of the cloud to some of the most distributed, rugged, and complex environments on the planet.

The conversation covers the origins of Zededa, why the edge is different from traditional IT, and how enterprises are consolidating legacy systems with modern workloads to unlock real business value.

From oil rigs and shipping vessels to manufacturing plants, learn how Zededa helps customers securely deploy applications, manage AI and analytics at scale, and keep critical systems running with zero trust reliability.

If you want to understand how the edge is shaping the future of data, AI, and enterprise IT, this episode is a must-listen.

Discover how Embeint is making networks smarter at the edge! In this episode of Innovation Unplugged, host Jim talks with co-founder Phil Valencia about AI-native wireless networks, ultra-low power IoT devices, and real-world deployments that are transforming industries from smart cities to industrial operations.

Learn how Embeint is keeping devices connected, adaptive, and intelligent - all while reducing complexity and energy use.

In this powerful episode of Innovation Unplugged, Jim sits down with Khalid Raza, a legendary pioneer in networking and the mind behind Graphiant, to explore why traditional network models are breaking under the pressure of today’s AI-enabled, edge-driven world.

With a track record that includes co-founding Viptela (acquired by Cisco) and CloudGenix, Khalid unpacks why yesterday’s MPLS and SD-WAN architectures are no longer enough. He introduces a bold new approach with Graphiant’s stateless core - a next-gen model that merges the best of MPLS, SD-WAN, and segment routing, without the complexity.

• Why the network must become an intelligent participant in the AI data economy

• How Graphiant solves for data sovereignty, visibility, and observability

• The evolution from static routing to cloud-native, scalable fabrics

• The critical role of carrier POPs and programmable infrastructure

• How enterprises can achieve real-time control from edge to LLMs

Whether you’re an enterprise leader navigating digital transformation, an AI innovator building for the edge, or just curious about where networking is headed - this episode will change how you think about infrastructure in the AI era.