Greylock Partners’ Asheem Chandna on First-Check Investing, Founders, and the Age of AI
1: Where is software value heading in the age of AI?
In the premiere episode of Technoventure, host Peter High speaks with Asheem Chandna, General Partner at Greylock Partners, one of Silicon Valley’s most storied venture firms. Asheem has led early investments in industry-defining companies such as Palo Alto Networks, AppDynamics, Rubrik, and Abnormal Security.
With over 20 years at Greylock and a background in product management and cybersecurity, Asheem offers a masterclass on how he assesses founders, identifies breakout potential, and mitigates risk—often before a single line of code is written. He also explores the evolving dynamics of enterprise software, the impact of agentic AI, and how cybersecurity must adapt to combat both bad and good AI.
Key themes include:
Assessing founders in a world of younger AI entrepreneurs
The changing nature of enterprise software and data platforms
The immigrant’s mindset and risk tolerance in venture
The venture capitalist’s evolving toolkit in the AI era
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Apple in China: Financial Times’ Patrick McGee on Tim Cook, Scale, and Risk
1006: Apple’s success in China is more complicated—and consequential—than most realize.
In this episode, Peter High speaks with Financial Times journalist and author Patrick McGee, who covered Apple for years and recently published Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company. Patrick’s reporting reveals how Apple became deeply intertwined with China’s manufacturing and political landscape, why the company’s investment strategy mirrors the scale of the Marshall Plan, and what it means for America’s technological and geopolitical future.
Patrick explains how Apple trained tens of millions of Chinese workers, enabled critical industrial know-how, and inadvertently supported the rise of China’s tech and military capabilities. He also discusses the internal tensions between product design and supply chain mastery, Tim Cook’s evolution as a CEO, and the risks of Apple’s continued dependence on a single nation for its most critical operations.
Key insights include:
The little-known “Gang of Eight” and Apple’s in-China-for-China strategy
Why Apple’s $275B China deal dwarfs U.S. tech investments like the CHIPS Act
How Apple’s success helped catalyze Huawei’s resurgence and HarmonyOS
The supply chain realities that make shifting manufacturing nearly impossible
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How Shez Partovi Is Driving Patient-Centered Innovation and AI Strategy at Philips
1005: "Great innovations are painkillers, not vitamins."
In this episode, Peter High speaks with Shez Partovi, Chief Innovation & Strategy Officer and Chief Business Leader of Enterprise Informatics at Royal Philips, a €18B global health technology leader. Shez shares how Philips is building people- and patient-centric innovation by partnering with healthcare providers, co-creating solutions, and scaling software and AI-driven insights to meet the growing demands of modern care delivery.
A former AWS health exec and practicing neuroradiologist, Shez offers a unique lens on the convergence of tech and clinical practice. He outlines how Philips’ software-first strategy is accelerating productivity, reducing clinician burnout, and expanding access to care while also navigating AI trust gaps and reshaping internal engineering practices.
Key themes include:
The strategy behind Philips’ health tech transformation
AI’s role in automation, augmentation, and agility in care delivery
Co-creation with health systems to drive scalable impact
Philips’ dual-speed innovation model (80% business-led, 20% moonshots)
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Vijay Sankaran on Digitizing Johnson Controls and the Future of Smart Buildings
1004: How can AI, digitization, and data create smarter, healthier, and more sustainable buildings?
In this episode of Technovation, host Peter High welcomes Vijay Sankaran, Chief Digital and Information Officer of Johnson Controls, a global leader in smart building technologies. Vijay shares how he’s leading enterprise-wide digital transformation across a $23B company while scaling platforms like OpenBlue to optimize energy, equipment, and workplace performance.
He unpacks how traditional machine learning, generative AI, and agentic workflows are converging to deliver predictive insights, autonomous actions, and tailored digital experiences. Vijay also reflects on trends in hybrid work, his journey to board membership at Veralto, and why quantum computing is on his innovation radar.
Key topics include:
AI-driven optimization of HVAC, energy use, and building health
OpenBlue’s role in unifying smart building systems
Applying generative and agentic AI to customer and employee experiences
Trends in workplace utilization and digital transformation at scale
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Chris Isaacson on Resilient Market Infrastructure and Tech Leadership at Cboe
1003: “Resilience is a mindset.” Chris Isaacson, Chief Operating Officer of Cboe Global Markets, joins Technovation host Peter High to discuss how the global exchange operator delivers trusted, 24/7 markets through technology, operational excellence, and a deeply integrated data strategy.
A founding employee of BATS Global Markets and former CIO of both BATS and Cboe, Chris reflects on his two-decade journey scaling from startup to enterprise. He shares insights on building fault-tolerant platforms, organizing global teams for growth, and navigating crises like the flash crash and COVID with calm, systems-level thinking. Chris also explores the future of exchange operations, from AI-powered security and timestamping services to data commercialization and agentic software development.
About Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews)
Twice-weekly conversations with top executives and thought leaders at the intersection of business, technology, and innovation. Each episode of Technovation explores the technology trends that are transforming business, and the leaders driving digital change inside their organizations. Produced by Metis Strategy and hosted by firm President Peter High, Technovation is the premier podcast for IT and technology professionals with the largest collection of interviews with elite CIOs, CTOs, and CDOs.
Listen to Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews), The Money Show and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
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