The Delphi Podcast

Tarun Chitra is the founder of Gauntlet and managing partner at Robot Ventures, which just led Nous Research's $90 million round. He joins Tommy on The Delphi Podcast to explain why he backed Nous and Hermes Agent after months of diligence on OpenRouter data and GitHub forks.

Tarun traces how crypto's first run at AI went wrong, from GPU networks to token-launched agents, and why the crypto people who dropped the token have done well. He breaks down why OpenClaw is the worst developer experience he's used, why Hermes is closer to Ubuntu than to Android, and how robotics makers built on Hermes without Nous knowing.

The conversation closes on his market structure thesis: AI inference looks like crypto, OpenRouter looks like a DEX, some providers game cache pricing, and the money will flow to the harnesses on top and the inference providers underneath. Hermes, in his words, is like investing in Phantom or FOMO.

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
06:34 Robot Leads Nous's $90M Round
09:37 Crypto AI Was Meme Coins With More Steps
14:40 Why Nous Stood Out Early
28:14 Hermes vs OpenClaw
35:39 The End of AI Lock-In
46:33 The Ubuntu of AI
56:17 Microsoft and Nvidia Join the Round
59:42 OpenRouter Is a DEX for AI
1:07:02 All the Money Goes to the Top

💡 Want to stay updated with the latest in crypto & AI? Hit subscribe and the notification bell! 🔔

🧠 Follow the Alpha

Tommy: https://x.com/Shaughnessy119
Tarun: https://x.com/tarunchitra


🔗 Connect with Delphi

🌐 Portal: https://delphidigital.io/
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/delphi_digital
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/delphi-digital


🎧 Listen on

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/62PR1RigLG2YN5Pelq6UY9?si=18ac7ccf36ab4753
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-delphi-podcast/id1438148082
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q

🔥WATCH:

$100M+ Crypto Investor: How to Prepare for Next Bull Market: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQQErgSvjnc&list=PLNBYLyvyGrM8

The Worst Is Behind Us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJX1U6EeIM4


Disclaimer
The Delphi Podcast is produced by DELPHI MEDIA, LLC. This content is solely for educational and informational purposes and is not, and should not be construed as, legal, tax, investment, or financial advice. Delphi Media is not a financial, tax, or legal advisor. You are expressly advised to consult with a professional advisor before making any investment decisions. Also, the views expressed by Podcast are solely those of hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect those of Delphi Media.

Delphi Media is a member of the DELPHI DIGITAL family, a group of distinct companies sharing the same brand and vision. Delphi Ventures operates as an independent venture capital firm that seeks to invest in world-changing founders.

From a pandemic side project to delivering exabytes of web data to frontier AI labs, Andrej Radonjic has built a data business most people have never heard of. The co-founder and CEO of Wynd Labs, the team behind Grass, joins Yan on The Delphi Podcast in Miami for a conversation about why the open internet is closing its doors to AI, what labs actually pay for when they buy data, and how millions of people sharing spare bandwidth became one of the ways AI reads the web.

Andrej shares how an arbitrage bot he built during his PhD pulled him into web scraping, why Grass was built on consent, and what it took to scale to exabytes, including a co-founder who flew to Ashburn and assembled servers overnight. He also explains how robots are learning from web video, why he compares AI data to defense tech, and how the new Contents API turns any public web page into a single API call.

The conversation closes with the ownerless Grass Foundation behind the recent revenue attestation, what a moat really is, and his vision for Grass to become the way AI accesses the world's information.


00:00 Intro
00:43 From Nuclear Physics to Web Scraping
03:38 The Pandemic Signal Everyone Missed
07:31 The Smart TV Proxy Scandal
09:10 Why the Internet Is Blocking AI
11:56 Training Data vs Live Data
16:05 Mapping the Entire Internet
18:03 Delivering Exabytes to AI Labs
21:48 What AI Labs Really Pay For
24:43 How Robots Learn From Web Video
33:02 When Labs Change Direction
35:57 One API Call for Any Website
41:58 AI Flipped Search Upside Down
47:03 Can the Network Keep Up?
49:52 The Defense Tech of AI Data
52:58 Why Data Is the Alpha
57:08 Why AI Labs Won't Buy Slop
59:17 The Metric That Matters Most
01:02:35 The $100 Billion Data Market
01:05:07 Who Actually Owns Grass
01:08:18 What a Real Moat Looks Like
01:13:16 What Happens Next


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Follow or get in touch in the comments...
Yan: https://x.com/YanLiberman
Andrej: https://x.com/0xdrej
Wynd Labs: https://x.com/wyndLabs_ai
Delphi Digital: https://twitter.com/delphi_digital
Portal: https://delphidigital.io/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/delphi-digital
Podcast: https://thedelphipodcast.buzzsprout.com

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🔥WATCH:
AI is Coming For Bitcoin With Quantum: https://youtu.be/-Unv3d-OXjw

Crypto's $150 Trillion Opportunity: https://youtu.be/jbmersfBF1g

Billionaire's Warning: The Ai Bubble is About to Pop. Prepare Now: https://youtu.be/JnKaeBXyHng


━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

DISCLOSURE
Delphi Ventures is an investor in Grass and holds a Grass token.

DISCLAIMER
The Delphi Podcast is produced by DELPHI MEDIA, LLC. This content is solely for educational and informational purposes and is not, and should not be construed as, legal, tax, investment, or financial advice. Delphi Media is not a financial, tax, or legal advisor. You are expressly advised to consult with a professional advisor before making any investment decisions. Also, the views expressed by Podcast are solely those of hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect those of Delphi Media.

Delphi Media is a member of the DELPHI DIGITAL family, a group of distinct companies sharing the same brand and vision. Delphi Ventures operates as an independent venture capital firm that seeks to invest in world-changing founders.

From building TechCrunch to backing Uber and Airbnb, Michael Arrington has had a front-row seat to some of technology’s biggest shifts. He joins Tommy on The Delphi Podcast for a candid conversation about the unstoppable AI race, the psychology of exceptional founders, and why he believes Bitcoin is the hard money the world needs.
Michael shares how he broke the news of Google buying YouTube, what working with Steve Jobs taught him, and how his relationships with founders translated into early investments in generational companies. He also opens up about burnout, leaving TechCrunch, reinventing himself through crypto, and staying convinced through brutal market cycles.
The conversation closes with his advice for entrepreneurs: face your fears, play to your strengths, and build a team that complements your weaknesses.


Timestamps
00:00 Intro & the Fourth Turning
07:00 AI, China & the race to AGI
17:00 Founder psychology & investment red flags
29:00 Building TechCrunch & lessons from Steve Jobs
44:00 Selling TechCrunch & backing Uber and Airbnb
53:00 Moving into crypto & navigating market cycles
60:00 Bitcoin, AI & an uncertain future
01:09:00 Advice for founders: play to your strengths

Tommy: https://x.com/Shaughnessy119
Michael: https://x.com/arrington


🔗 Connect with Delphi

🌐 Portal: https://delphidigital.io/
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/delphi_digital
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/delphi-digital


Watch on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/YgyjaD8mgbs


DISCLAIMER
This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token.

José sits down with Rohan Pujara, general partner at Valhalla Ventures, for another episode of the Emerging Managers series on The Delphi Podcast. Rohan explains why he avoids crowded investment themes, seeks out unconventional founders, and believes venture capital has increasingly traded risk-taking for status and consensus.

They explore what separates repeatable investing skill from getting lucky, why a great seed investment should have no competitors, and how Valhalla builds conviction in companies other investors overlook. Rohan breaks down the thinking behind investments in K2 Space, Jaza and Truffle—from large satellites and electricity in sub-Saharan Africa to the case for running AI on personal devices.

The conversation also covers concentrated portfolios, selective follow-on investing, the appeal of owning future monopolies, and how LP incentives shape fund managers’ decisions. Rohan shares how growing up with little money shaped his willingness to take risks, why he prefers New York to San Francisco, and what it takes to build an enduring investment firm.

💡 Want to stay updated with the latest in crypto & AI? Hit subscribe and the notification bell! 🔔

🧠 Follow the Alpha

▸José Macedo: @ZeMariaMacedo
▸Rohan Pujara: @rohanpuj


🔗 Connect with Delphi

🌐 Portal: https://delphidigital.io/
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/delphi_digital
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/delphi-digital


🎧 Listen on

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/62PR1RigLG2YN5Pelq6UY9?si=18ac7ccf36ab4753
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-delphi-podcast/id1438148082
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q


Timestamps

00:00 Cold Open
00:44 Meet Rohan Pujara and Valhalla Ventures
01:56 Why Rohan Avoids Consensus Investments
10:23 Has Venture Capital Lost Its Risk Takers?
13:11 Investing Skill vs. Getting Lucky
17:23 Finding Founders Before They Raise
19:14 What Makes an Exceptional Founder?
28:28 Concentrated Portfolios and Follow-On Investing
34:32 San Francisco Groupthink vs. New York
36:48 TCI, Monopolies and Long-Term Moats
39:37 From Crypto to Deep Tech and Beyond
44:25 K2 Space: Betting Against Small Satellites
47:34 Jaza: Bringing Electricity to Africa
51:33 Investment Mistakes and Overthinking
55:17 Backing Technical AI Founders
58:44 Truffle and the Future of Personal AI
1:03:53 Growing Up Poor and Learning to Take Risks
1:11:38 Valhalla’s Future and Aligning Incentives

Disclaimer

This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token.

Join José as he hosts another episode of the Emerging Manager series on the Delphi Podcast, sitting down with Ian Rowntree, founder and managing partner of Cantos. Ian details the ten-year journey of Cantos, moving from early vertical software into hard tech and physical AI, while announcing the launch of their $70M Fourth Fund.  They dive into the reality of venture capital returns, the power law dynamics of outlier funds, and why traditional SaaS playbooks fail in frontier markets. Ian shares the frameworks Cantos uses to evaluate hard-tech founders, the mechanics behind portfolio companies like Neros and Castilleja, and why vertical integration is required to displace entrenched incumbents. 

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:39 Why Invest in Venture Capital?
07:10 The Edge of Emerging Managers
11:05 From Software to Hard Tech
23:08 Contrarian Investing, Valuations, and Venture Mistakes
34:14 What Makes an Exceptional Founder?
56:38 Bringing Technology Into the Physical Economy
1:10:51 Defense Tech, Drones, and the Future of Warfare
1:23:55 Physical AI and Shaping the Future


💡 Want to stay updated with the latest in crypto & AI? Hit subscribe and the notification bell! 🔔

🧠 Follow the Alpha

▸ José: @ZeMariaMacedo
▸ Ian's Twitter: @IanRountree


🔗 Connect with Delphi

🌐 Portal: https://delphidigital.io/
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/delphi_digital
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/delphi-digital


Watch on
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q



Disclaimer

This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token.

In this episode of The Delphi Podcast, Tommy sits down with AccelXR, author of Delphi Digital’s “Evaluating the AI Labs of China” report, to break down what’s actually happening in the US-China AI race. 

You can read the report here:
https://members.delphidigital.io/reports/evaluating-the-ai-labs-of-china?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social


Timestamps

00:00 Intro
00:35 Is China Innovating or Just Distilling?
06:10 DeepSeek and China’s Leading AI Labs
10:15 How China Is Working Around Weaker Chips
18:25 China’s Biggest AI Advantage: Electricity
29:45 Three Scenarios for the US-China AI Race
40:20 America’s AI Talent Advantage Is Reversing
47:45 China’s Path to AI Sovereignty

Tommy: https://x.com/Shaughnessy119
AccelXR: https://x.com/accelxr


🔗 Connect with Delphi

🌐 Portal: https://delphidigital.io/
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/delphi_digital
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/delphi-digital


Watch on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/@delphi_digital

DISCLAIMER
This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token.

 Join José as he hosts another episode of the Emerging Manager series on the Delphi Podcast, sitting down with Michael Dempsey, managing partner of Compound. Michael makes the case that most venture funds being raised today are playing momentum games that won't survive contact with a real cycle, and explains why Compound has become known as one of the slowest-deploying seed funds in the US. They dive into the fallacy of founder legibility, why paying up at seed doesn't improve outcomes, and how the firm's research edge decayed the moment anyone could drop an academic paper into ChatGPT. Michael shares Compound's portfolio construction math, the thesis behind their public markets fund and the coming decade of market cap destruction, where he's investing across bio, materials, and robotics, and why the humanoid narrative is far more fragile than the market believes. 

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:24 Why Momentum Investing Fails in Venture
05:05 Price, Legibility, and the Myth of the Obvious Founder
15:10 Research as Edge and the Problem With Obviousness
32:31 Portfolio Construction and Shots on Goal
39:04 Bio, Materials, and the Commoditization of Intelligence
43:44 Public Markets, Software Margins, and the Short Side
56:58 Meta, Google, and the Mag 7
1:06:45 Crypto, Robotics, and Drone Warfare
1:21:38 Therapy, Psychedelics, and Writing


💡 Want to stay updated with the latest in crypto & AI? Hit subscribe and the notification bell! 🔔

🧠 Follow the Alpha

▸ José: @ZeMariaMacedo
▸ Michael's Twitter: @mhdempsey


🔗 Connect with Delphi

🌐 Portal: https://delphidigital.io/
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/delphi_digital
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/delphi-digital


Watch on
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q



Disclaimer

This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token.

In this episode of The Delphi Podcast, Tommy sits down with Steve McLaughlin, founder and CEO of FT Partners, to unpack how he left Goldman Sachs at 32 and built one of the most influential investment banks in fintech.

Steve shares the story behind FT Partners’ early days, including how his team took a company that had received roughly $150 million offers and ultimately sold it for $550 million. He explains why FT goes deeper than traditional investment banks, how the firm has built decades-long relationships with founders, and why incentives, founder ownership, and putting your own capital behind your conviction matter.

They also discuss FT’s $50 million investment in Revolut, what Steve looks for in great founders, the work ethic required to build a firm over 25 years, surviving multiple financial crises, and why he believes AI will ultimately be a bigger disruption to financial services than the internet, mobile, or crypto.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
02:20 Leaving Goldman and Starting FT Partners
11:00 Turning a $150M Offer Into a $550M Sale
18:30 How FT Partners Values Companies
28:30 Building Long-Term Founder Relationships
34:00 Founder Incentives and the Revolut Bet
52:00 What Steve Looks for in Great Founders
1:08:00 The Future of Fintech, Crypto, and AI

Tommy: https://x.com/Shaughnessy119
Steve: https://x.com/FTPartners


🔗 Connect with Delphi

🌐 Portal: https://delphidigital.io/
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/delphi_digital
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/delphi-digital


Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/P_JdhPqiww8

DISCLAIMER
This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token.

Join José as he hosts a special edition of the Emerging Manager series on the Delphi Podcast, sitting down with Andrew Kang, founder of RoboStrategy. After managing personal capital through Mechanism Capital across both public and venture markets, Andrew turned his focus entirely to the under appreciated robotics industry a space he identifies as being at a critical inflection point reminiscent of AI in 2022 or crypto in 2014.  

They dive deep into the underlying method behind finding asymmetric bets, sizing positions, and distinguishing a true contrarian play from simply being the sucker at the table. Andrew breaks down the multidisciplinary engineering breakthroughs that sparked his initial bullishness on humanoid robotics and why he believes the industry is poised to become a multi-decade, trillion-dollar powerhouse.

🎯 Key Highlights

▸ The Robotics Inflection: Why the broader acceptance and adoption of physical AI is changing dramatically after years of stagnation.
▸ The $19M Play: The conviction and framework behind Andrew’s famous $19 million pre-markup investment into Figure.
▸ From Crypto to Nasdaq: Transitioning from on-chain trading habits to running a public robotics vehicle under the Nasdaq ticker BOT.
▸ Pre-ChatGPT Moment: Evaluating the first generation of robot foundation models and why generalizability was originally overlooked.
▸ Multidisciplinary Edge: Why generating structural alpha in robotics requires mastering electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and robot learning.
▸ The Physics of "Pick and Place": Tapping into a multi-billion dollar market by automating simple factory tasks like sorting and packaging.
▸ Beyond Deterministic Code: Moving past traditional "if-then" programmatic parameters to build safe, AI-driven physical adaptions.
▸ The Ultimate Game: Applying crypto-native risk principles, position sizing, and asymmetry filters to venture-scale hardware outcomes.

💡 Want to stay updated with the latest in crypto & AI? Hit subscribe and the notification bell! 🔔

🧠 Follow the Alpha

▸ José: @ZeMariaMacedo
▸Andrew Kang's Twitter: @Rewkang


🔗 Connect with Delphi

🌐 Portal: https://delphidigital.io/
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/delphi_digital
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/delphi-digital


🎧 Listen on

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/62PR1RigLG2YN5Pelq6UY9?si=18ac7ccf36ab4753
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-delphi-podcast/id1438148082
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Yy99ZlQIX9-PdG_xHj43Q


Timestamps

00:00 — Early stage pitfalls: How crypto instills bad habits in venture
00:25 — José welcomes Andrew Kang to the Emerging Manager series
01:50 — Managing personal capital from Mechanism Capital to RoboStrategy
03:00 — Humanoid robotics as a multi-decade, trillion-dollar industry
05:30 — Looking past the consensus: Finding alpha in multidisciplinary tech fields
06:50 — The Exponential Horizon: Abandoning short-termism and trading
07:15 — The 2022 DeepMind breakthroughs and signs of true robot intelligence
11:15 — Generalizability vs. Specific programming paths in traditional robotics
12:20 — The Taylor Swift vs. Kanye West task: Evaluating early vision-language backbones
13:10 — Moving objects in factories: Breaking down the massive "pick and place" market size
14:50 — Overthinking humanoids: Transitioning from industrial code to the human form factor
15:50 — Math of a billion-dollar scale: Why it only takes 20,000 robots sold at $50,000
17:40 — The hardware inflection: When traditional controllers become AI-driven joint angles
18:30 — The Figure bet: Betting on the timeline to billions in physical AI revenue


Disclaimer

This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token.

In this episode of The Delphi Podcast, Tommy sits down with Travis Good, co-founder of Ambient, to discuss why open-source AI may ultimately beat the closed labs and what that shift means for developers, businesses, and the broader AI economy.

Travis explains how Ambient is building a decentralized marketplace for AI inference, matching demand with underutilized GPU capacity while verifying that users receive the exact model quality they paid for. They also explore the risks of building on closed AI infrastructure, China’s growing advantage in open-source models, and why OpenAI and Anthropic may be creating long-term distrust among their own customers.

The conversation also goes deeper into what would happen if OpenAI achieved AGI first, why prompt injection remains one of AI’s most important unsolved problems, and how the current AI infrastructure spending boom could eventually trigger a broader funding shock or AI winter.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro
03:20 What Ambient Is and How It Works
18:40 Verified AI Inference
40:20 China and the Open-Source AI Race
49:00 Why Closed AI Is Making a Mistake
1:03:00 What Happens If OpenAI Reaches AGI?
1:17:10 The AI Bubble and a Possible AI Winter

Tommy: https://x.com/Shaughnessy119
Travis: https://x.com/IridiumEagle


🔗 Connect with Delphi

🌐 Portal: https://delphidigital.io/
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/delphi_digital
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/delphi-digital


📺 Watch on Youtube: https://thedelphipodcast.buzzsprout.com

DISCLAIMER
This podcast is strictly informational and educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any tokens or securities or to make any financial decisions. Do not trade or invest in any project, tokens, or securities based upon this podcast episode. The host and members at Delphi Ventures may personally own tokens or art that are mentioned on the podcast. Our current show features paid sponsorships which may be featured at the start, middle, and/or the end of the episode. These sponsorships are for informational purposes only and are not a solicitation to use any product, service or token.