Sastra Spotlight

In this episode of Sastra Spotlight, Brodie Reid-Owen sits down with Dennis Yap, Co-Founder and CEO of AI Seer, to explore how AI can help bring accuracy and accountability back to the internet.

We cover:

1. How AI-powered fact-checking works and why misinformation spreads so easily online
2. The role of AI in detecting false or misleading content at scale
3. The future of truth, free speech, and trust in the age of algorithms

In this episode of Sastra Spotlight, we sit down with Sandeep Madduri, Co-Founder & CEO of Precanto, to explore how AI is transforming modern finance teams.

Sandeep shares how Precanto’s AI-powered analyst helps enterprises forecast, plan, and answer budget questions in real time-freeing finance teams from manual reporting and enabling them to focus on strategy. We also dive into real customer results, the future of FP&A as a service, and lessons from building an AI startup as a first-time founder.

Key topics:

1. AI-driven forecasting and FP&A
2. 30–40% productivity gains for finance teams
3. Self-serve financial insights for business leaders
4. Founder lessons on scaling and resilience

Brodie sit down with David Sangyoon, Co-Founder & CEO of AIM Intelligence, to explore one of the most critical frontiers in tech today: AI security. They dive into how AIM Intelligence uses automated AI red teaming and customizable guardrails to uncover vulnerabilities, ensure regulatory compliance, and help enterprises safely adopt AI at scale.

David breaks down real-world use cases across finance, telecom, and emerging sectors, discusses the growing risks around AI misuse, deepfakes, and unsafe deployments, and offers a forward-looking perspective on where AI security is heading as agents and physical AI become more common. Key topics covered in this episode:

1. AI security, red teaming, and building guardrails for enterprise AI systems
2. The future of AI agents, physical AI, and emerging security risks
3. Real-world use cases in regulated industries like finance and telecom
4. Founder insights on fundraising, scaling teams, and building in a new category

If you’re building with AI, investing in AI, or simply curious about how the future of AI will be kept safe, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

In this episode of Sastra Spotlight, Tanya Sethi sits down with Quentin Amaudry, CEO and co-founder of Mendo, a digital adoption platform helping large organizations turn generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot into everyday productivity superpowers.

Quentin shares his journey from investment banking to entrepreneurship and explains how Mendo is solving one of the biggest challenges in AI today: driving real adoption inside companies. In this episode, they discuss:

1. Building Mendo before the AI boom and evolving with the market
2. Helping employees adopt AI through in-flow learning and gamification
3. Scaling strong company culture with near-zero turnover
4. Fundraising, growth, and expanding into the US
5. Advice for founders: talk to users early and often

A must-listen for founders, operators, and anyone navigating the future of work with AI.

In this episode, host Brodie Reid-Owen sits down with Sandra Chai, Founder of Plurall AI, an AI-Powered B2B cybersecurity solution with anti-fraud and anti-deepfake features.

A few things we covered:

• Sandra's journey to founding Plurall AI
• Why companies are pivoting to these research methods.
• How the future of Deep-Fakes / Cybersecurity looks with AI being introduced.
• How Sandra has been on both sides of the Deep-Fake world.

In this episode, host Brodie sits down with Addy Graves, Co-Founder and CEO of Cashew Research, the tech-driven market-research platform that’s redefining how businesses understand consumers.

A few things we covered:

• Addy's journey into founding Cashew.
• Why companies are pivoting to these research methods.
• How the future of consumer insights looks with AI being introduced.

In this episode of Sastra Spotlight, Tanya Sethi sits down with Yagub Rahimov, CEO and founder of Polygraf AI, the company building the world’s most advanced AI security layer for critical operations. Fresh off a milestone funding round, Yagub breaks down why traditional LLMs aren’t enough for regulated environments, and why SLMs are the future of secure AI.

We dive into:

•⁠ ⁠The rise of deepfakes and AI-powered fraud

•⁠ ⁠How SLMs deliver privacy, speed, and reliability where LLMs fail

•⁠ ⁠Why chip shortages shouldn’t prevent national security

•⁠ ⁠Building mission-driven teams in high-stakes environments

•⁠ ⁠Yagub's personal journey as a repeat founder obsessed with trust, safety, and impact

Whether you're an AI builder, founder, or simply curious about the future of security, this episode delivers clarity within chaos, straight from one of the sharpest minds in the field.

Brodie sat down with Tina Williams-Koroma, CEO & Founder of CyDeploy. Having been in security for over 20 years Tina spotted a gap in the Pre-emptive Cybersecurity sector. Some of the topics we cover are:

• Why pre-emptive cybersecurity is the future.
• Majority of breaches are a known factor to that company.
• Tina's journey into founding CyDeploy
• How the Pre-emptive market will excel with AI being introduced.

At Sastra Group, we live and breathe startups! Helping founders hire and scale teams behind tomorrow’s leading companies. And now, we’re turning the spotlight on the people shaping that journey.

Welcome to Sastra Spotlight - a podcast exploring the real stories behind building and backing great startups.

Tanya Sethi and Brodie Reid-Owen are sitting down with the founders bringing bold ideas to life and the VCs who bet on them early.

If you’re a founder, startup operator, early-stage investor, or just someone who loves hearing how ideas become impact - this podcast is for you!

Follow Sastra Spotlight and join us as we explore the intersection of people, capital, and possibility.