Nothing Ventured

In this episode of Nothing Ventured, we break down the real state of the venture capital market, from AI investment concentration and startup funding trends to liquidity pressure, emerging manager struggles and the growing power of platforms like OpenAI.

We explore:

• Why a handful of companies dominate venture funding


• The liquidity crisis still facing founders and investors

• Why emerging VC funds are struggling to survive


• The rise of secondaries and engineered exits


• How OpenAI, YC and platform ecosystems are changing startup investing

• Why SpaceX and AI infrastructure matter for the future of venture capital

• The shift from broad software investing to strategic infrastructure bets

This is not a story about venture capital roaring back. It’s a story about power, concentration and ecosystem control reshaping the startup world.

If you’re interested in venture capital, startups, AI investing, technology trends, private markets or the future of innovation, this episode is for you.

#VentureCapital #Startups #AI #OpenAI #SpaceX #TechNews #StartupFunding #ArtificialIntelligence #VC #BusinessPodcast

This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.

Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/

Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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In this episode, we welcome Kris Naudts & Zeynep Koruturk two leading voices in quantum investing and deep tech innovation from Firgun Ventures to break down where the industry is really heading.

Quantum is often spoken about as a single technology but the reality is far more fragmented. In this episode, we break down the three core pillars of the quantum industry: computing, sensing, and communications —and why treating them as interchangeable is leading to major misallocations of capital and a misunderstanding of the space.

We explore where venture capital is actually flowing, why hardware is dominating funding, and how middleware like error correction is quietly becoming one of the most important layers in the ecosystem.

Timestamps:

00:01:25 — Quantum investing intro & capital misallocation across sectors

00:03:51 — Hardware vs software vs middleware in quantum

00:06:52 — Confusion in the quantum ecosystem (sensing vs computing vs crypto fears)

00:08:00 — Where quantum is in its lifecycle (3–7 year horizon shift)

00:09:25 — Early commercialisation + SPACs + emerging quantum “majors”

00:11:26 — Why exits may happen faster than expected in quantum

00:12:36 — Key barriers: talent, regulation, and adoption challenges

00:15:38 — Seed vs Series A/B funding gap in quantum VC

00:18:31 — Europe vs US vs China: capital, strategy & sovereignty

00:21:24 — Global competition and where quantum ecosystems are forming

00:24:54 — Hardware vs software trade-offs for investors

00:28:28 — Exit paths: public markets, consolidation & defence primes

00:30:57 — Non-dilutive funding (DARPA & government capital)

00:34:52 — Quantum use cases: pharma, finance, sensing

00:41:33 — Contrarian views: China, geopolitics & ecosystem blind spots

00:45:23 — What emotionally drives founders & investors in quantum

Find Kris Naudts & Zeynep Koruturk online at:

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-kris-naudts-md-phd-10403838/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeynepkoruturk/

Firgun Ventures: https://firgun.vc

This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.

Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/

Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

What if the next breakthrough in solar, OLEDs, batteries, or carbon capture already exists… hidden inside millions of undiscovered molecules?

In this episode of Nothing Ventured, we sit down with Omer Omar co-founder & CEO of Apollo — a startup building a digital platform for discovering organic materials using AI, quantum chemistry, and massive molecular databases.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro

01:20 – Making Material Discovery Faster

04:30 – Why Molecule Discovery Was Broken

07:05 – AI Meets Chemistry

09:20 – The Bias Problem in Material Science

13:00 – Why Electronics Lags Behind Biotech

15:30 – AI vs Generative Molecule Design

18:00 – The Future of Organic Electronics

22:10 – How AI Speeds Up Quantum Chemistry

24:10 – The Future of Solar & Wearable Tech

31:45 – University Spinouts & Tech Transfer

39:20 – Why Europe Struggles With Deep Tech

45:30 – The Future of Venture & Material Science

47:55 – Founder Life vs Academia

Find Omer Omar online at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omerhomar/

Apoello: https://apoello.com

This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.

Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/

Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe

#podcast #venturecapital #founderlife #techstartup #business #entrepreneur #success Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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What happens when making music no longer requires talent, training, or expensive studio time?

In this episode of Nothing Ventured, we sit down with the founder of Mozart AI Sundar Arvind which is an AI-powered music creation platform that’s redefining how music is made. From generating full tracks on your phone to scaling to 100,000+ users and raising $6M, this is a conversation about speed, creativity, and the future of building in the AI era.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:39 What is Mozart AI?

01:40 AI vs Human Creativity

02:20 30K Users Overnight

03:17 Building for Beginners vs Pros

04:12 Music Without Limits

06:42 Does AI Kill Creativity?

09:18 Idea → Song in Seconds

10:21 Why Songwriters Win

12:42 Spotting AI Music

15:56 Can AI Understand Taste?

17:58 Who Owns AI Music?

22:45 Beginners vs Pros

24:23 Vibe Mode vs Studio Mode

28:56 What He’d Do Differently

30:10 AI = Faster Creation

32:20 Scaling with a Small Team

34:34 Idea → Product Fast

36:06 Going Viral

37:06 Capital = Speed

38:05 Vision for the Future

41:14 Future of Music Platforms

42:24 Music Discovery

44:17 Fans → Creators

45:47 Contrarian Founder Advice

50:42 What Drives Him

Find [guest name] online at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sundar-arvind/

Twitter: https://x.com/MOZARTaiMusic

Mozart AI: https://getmozart.ai

This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.

Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/

Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

In this April edition of Nothing Ventured News, we break down a venture landscape that isn’t recovering it’s dividing.

Capital is flooding into elite late-stage deals and highly disciplined early-stage bets, while the middle gets completely hollowed out. Mega-rounds are back, AI still dominates, but the real story is deeper: capital is concentrating, not expanding.

We explore:

Why VC isn’t “back” it’s selective

The rise of defence tech, space, and infrastructure beyond AI

How hard tech and real moats are back in fashion

Why liquidity is improving… but still fragile

And how geopolitics and sovereignty are reshaping where money flows

If you’re building, investing, or just watching the market this is the reality check you need.

This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.

Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/

Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

In this episode of Nothing Ventured, I sit down with Rupa Ganatra Poppat, Founder & Managing Partner of Aria Ventures, to unpack how AI is reshaping the entire startup and venture landscape.

We dive into why product-market fit is no longer a one-time milestone but something founders must re-earn constantly and how distribution, data, and storytelling are becoming the only real moats left.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro & Meet Rupa (Araya Ventures)

02:10 – Why Product-Market Fit Is No Longer Enough

04:30 – AI Has Made Startups Global From Day One

07:15 – Signal vs Noise: The Hardest Part of AI Investing

10:05 – Why Most Startups Become “Features” (Not Products)

12:40 – The Only Moats That Still Matter: Distribution & Data

16:20 – How VCs Actually Pick Winners at Pre-Seed

20:10 – Why Second-Time Founders Are Dominating AI

24:30 – Faster Exits & The New Venture Playbook

29:15 – Building 3 Funds in Under 2 Years

34:00 – Inside the Angel Investor Ecosystem (House of Aria)

39:20 – Why Community Is a Competitive Advantage

44:10 – The Truth About Angel Investing Mistakes

48:30 – Can Anyone Become an Investor?

52:10 – The Future of Venture Capital

56:00 – Contrarian Take: Education System Is Broken

58:30 – What Really Matters in Life (Emotional Closing)

Find Rupa Ganatra Poppat online at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupapopat/

Twitter: https://x.com/RupaGanatra

Araya Ventures: https://araya.ventures/

This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.

Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/

Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

Building a company isn’t just strategy it’s mindset.

We dive into why founders in the US think bigger, how UK culture holds people back, and why being “positively aggressive” might be your biggest advantage.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro

00:30 – Why pivoting = survival

02:45 – UK vs US mindset

06:00 – Ambition gap in founders

07:20 – New B2B growth expectations

09:30 – AI creating bigger outcomes

11:40 – SMB market opportunity

14:00 – Dev costs collapsing

17:30 – Show up & stand out

21:30 – “Positively aggressive” mindset

23:10 – Don’t disrupt, improve processes

25:00 – AI in legacy industries

29:30 – Generational shift

31:50 – Power of experimentation

33:00 – Contrarian idea

36:00 – Family & closing

Find Akriti Dokania online at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akritidokania/

Twitter: https://x.com/akritidokania

This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.

Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/

Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

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In this episode of Nothing Ventured, Aarish sits down with Mukund Jha, co-founder & CEO of Emergent the AI platform changing how software is built.

This conversation goes deep into the biggest shift happening right now:

→ You no longer need to code to build real products

→ AI is turning non-technical people into software creators

→ What used to cost billions can now be built in months

Timestamps:

00:00 – Anyone Can Build Software Now

01:10 – Why Prototypes Are Dead

03:00 – From Idea → Product in Minutes

05:20 – AI Replacing Entire Dev Teams

07:45 – The Rise of Non-Technical Builders

10:30 – $2B Worth of Software Built by AI

13:15 – One Person = Full Company Now

16:00 – Why SaaS Is Under Threat

19:10 – Agents Running Entire Businesses

22:30 – The Death of Coding Skills?

25:00 – What Actually Matters Now

27:30 – We’re Entering an Age of Abundance

Find [guest name] online at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mukund-jha-a1596413/

Twitter: https://x.com/mukundjha

Emergent: https://emergent.sh

This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.

Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/

Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

In this episode, we sit down with Jeremy, CEO of Go Global, to break down what really happens when companies expand internationally.

From employer of record (EOR) vs setting up your own entity, to the hidden costs, legal risks, and operational chaos this is the unfiltered truth about scaling globally.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro & Jeremy joins the show

01:00 What is Employer of Record (EOR)?

03:00 Why global hiring exploded post-COVID

05:00 When to switch from EOR to your own entity

08:00 The real costs & hidden complexity of expansion

11:00 Why Go Global avoided raising VC money

14:00 Scaling globally without burning cash

18:00 The dangers of hiring too fast internationally

20:00 Global expansion mistakes founders make

24:00 Employment laws & risks across countries

27:00 Where companies are expanding right now

31:00 Offshoring, cost arbitrage & AI impact

35:00 Building products faster than ever (AI shift)

36:00 The 5 stages of international expansion

40:00 Why most founders expand too early

42:00 Smarter ways to enter new markets (partnerships & M&A)

45:00 Personal story & what drives Jeremy

Find Jeremy Wastall online at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremywastall/

GoGlobal: https://goglobal.com

This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.

Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/

Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.

This isn’t another “AI is booming” story.

This is a power shift.

In March 2026, we saw something much bigger than funding rounds:

$110B raised by a single company

Private equity firms becoming the gatekeepers of AI adoption

IPOs reopening… but only for the elite

And capital concentrating harder than ever before

AI is no longer just a sector it’s becoming the foundation of the next computing stack.

The real question isn’t who’s building…

It’s who controls distribution, customers, and outcomes.

Because right now, the market is splitting:

A few dominant labs at the top…

And everyone else fighting for what’s left.

So where does opportunity actually sit?

And more importantly if you’re not inside the system… can you still win?

This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B.

Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/

Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

for information about our collection and use of personal data for

advertising.