This week I'm breaking down one of the most important conferences in the tech world. RSAC 2026 is happening right now in San Francisco, and even if cybersecurity isn't your world yet, I think this one is worth your attention. We get into how a single room of cryptographers (the people who figured out how to keep your data private using math) in 1991 became a 40,000-person global institution, why AI has completely taken over the conversation this year, and the three trends that are going to be defining headlines for the next decade.

This is the patch:

• why RSAC is the one conference the whole industry actually pays attention to
• agentic AI: who owns it when no one does
• post-quantum cryptography and why the time to prepare is now, not later
• CTEM: the shift away from checking for threats every few weeks to having a live, always-on view of where you are exposed

We close with the lifestyle segment, and this one is for my listeners who are constantly on the move for work. I get into why I stopped bringing a carry-on and never looked back, why this Korean skincare product is my ultimate travel companion, and why a trench over a TNA butter set is the only airport outfit you will ever need.

All views expressed are my own.

Lauren Wilson was one of my very first friends in tech. She took me under her wing, showed me the ropes, and now she's doing something I think is genuinely rare: she spent eight years at one of the biggest companies in the world, left it all behind, and went to teach and coach the next generation at the University of Alabama. On top of having an MBA in business analytics, Lauren is also a certified career coach, and one of the most grounded people I know.

This is the kind of career conversation I wish I'd had at 22.

This is the patch:

• how to actually break into tech when your degree has nothing to do with STEM
• imposter syndrome: why it never fully goes away and how to stop letting it run the show
• your personal board of directors and why the people on it need to know they're on it
• being comfortable with being uncomfortable, and why embarrassment is just the price of entry

We close with the lifestyle segment where Lauren talks about the non-negotiables that make her feel like herself: the coffee ritual, the morning walks, the music that carries her through every mood. We take a little country music detour (Nashville will do that to you), and she gives a very heartfelt shoutout to her brother's artist, Logan Mize.

All views expressed are my own.

Chelsea Squires is an AI and data leader at Slalom, a consultancy that believes the best technology outcomes start with people, not the other way around, and one of Forbes' top ranked management consulting firms in 2025. She spends her days helping companies move past the noise and actually implement AI in ways that stick. She also happens to spend her weekends building Claude-powered apps to manage her skincare routine. Both require the same thing: knowing exactly what you're working with.

This episode is about what it actually takes to use AI well.

This is the patch:

• The problem: why adoption is the hardest part of any AI rollout and what most companies are getting wrong
• The method: reframing AI not as a time-saving tool but as something that gives you your mental bandwidth back
• The routine: how Chelsea built a personal Claude-powered skincare app and what it reveals about where this technology is actually headed

In the lifestyle segment we talk about fashion as a form of confidence, dressing with intention, and the shoe that put her foot quite literally in the door.

All views expressed are my own.

The robotics market is already worth over $50 billion and projected to hit $200 billion by 2033. It is one of the fastest growing areas in tech and one of the most exciting spaces to be paying attention to right now.

This week I sit down with Hiten Sonpal, CEO of Rise Robotics, based out of Somerville, Massachusetts. He has spent his entire career in the robotics industry, from iRobot to leading his own companies, and now he's running a startup founded by graduates of MIT and the Rhode Island School of Design that just broke a Guinness World Record for the strongest robotic arm ever built.

This is the patch

• The technology: how Rise's belt technology is replacing hydraulics, the system that has powered heavy machinery for over a century, with something faster, smoother and more efficient

• The record: what it actually took to build the strongest robotic arm prototype ever and why 7,000 pounds matters - check out their celebration here
• The opportunity: how Rise is powering the electrification of heavy machinery and why that makes this one of the most interesting spaces to be watching right now

Rise recently opened their funding round to the public, raised $5.7 million, and came in 15% over their cap. A new round is opening soon so if you're interested in becoming an investor, check out the link!

In the lifestyle segment, Hiten shares how drumming keeps him connected to the creative side of engineering.

All views expressed are my own.

Sabrina Pasterski is a theoretical physicist at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Canada. She built a plane at twelve, graduated top of her class at MIT, earned her PhD at Harvard, and is now leading one of the most ambitious research programs in modern physics. Stephen Hawking cited her work. And people are calling her the next Einstein.

This episode is about her. And honestly it is one of my favourite ones I have done.

Here is the thing about physics that I never really understood until I started researching this episode. It has two languages. One describes the very small. One describes the very large. Both work incredibly well on their own. And they fundamentally don't agree with each other. For a hundred years the smartest people on the planet have been trying to fix that. Sabrina is one of the people working closest to cracking it.

This is the patch:

• The problem: why physics has two languages that don't speak to each other and why that tension is at the heart of everything we don't yet understand about the universe
• The work: what celestial holography actually is and why it might be the bridge physicists have been searching for
• The person: a first generation Cuban-American from Chicago public schools who built a plane before she could drive and put the whole thing on YouTube

In the lifestyle segment I get into why this one felt personal, and what it means to have one of the most important scientific minds in the world working in Waterloo.

All views expressed are my own.

India hosted the AI Impact Summit, bringing together global tech leaders, heads of state, and record-setting commitments around responsible AI. Beyond the headlines, the week signalled a shift in who shapes artificial intelligence and how it is deployed at scale.

India represents roughly one in five people on earth, yet until recently received only a small share of global AI funding. That tension sits at the center of this episode.

I walk through three things that stood out and why they matter.

This is the patch:

• Responsibility: a Guinness World Record for AI responsibility pledges and what governance at scale looks like
• Adoption: 100 million weekly ChatGPT users and how usage shapes product evolution
• Infrastructure: billions invested in GPUs, data centers, and undersea cables to build AI at national scale

Together, these forces position India not just as a consumer of AI, but as a serious participant in defining its future.

In the lifestyle segment, I share a Lunar New Year dinner ritual with friends and the simple rule we created to stay connected in busy seasons of life.

All views expressed are my own.

Welcome to season three of patchperfect! To kick things off, I'm doing something a little different. I sat down with my 93-year-old grandfather, Papa Ben, for a coffee chat about technology, connection, and what actually matters when the world keeps moving faster.

This episode features someone who's lived through almost a century of innovation. We're talking Ford Model Ts with literal hand cranks, telex machines that punched dots into tape, and the moment email changed everything. Papa Ben takes us from a time when his family's first refrigerator was revolutionary (and half the size of what we have today) to his surprisingly nuanced take on AI and why he finds Teslas genuinely overwhelming.

This is the patch:

• what life actually looked like before electricity and running hot water
• how the internet compressed business communication from days into minutes
• why social media never really stuck for him (spoiler: he'd rather just call you)
• his honest thoughts on AI... the promise, the dangers, and what we lose when machines do our thinking

At its core, this is about choosing presence over productivity, staying connected to people not just platforms, and showing up for yourself even when no one else is watching. We close with the lifestyle segment where Papa Ben shares his daily routine (suited up by 10 AM, even working from home), his signature scent (Mr. Burberry), and the book that changed his life at 18: How to Win Friends and Influence People.

This one's special. Cross-generational wisdom, a tech history lesson you won't find in textbooks, and a reminder that attitude matters more than any algorithm.

PS: You probably noticed the rebrand. New cover art, fresh look. Thank you to @sandybrav on the new look, and check out our patch photoshoot playlist :)

All views expressed are my own.

In this season two finale of patchperfect, we close out the year with a story that brings together tech, discipline, and modern leadership in a powerful way.

This episode spotlights Luana Lopes Lara, the youngest self made woman billionaire in the world and co founder of Kalshi⁠, the regulated prediction market reshaping how people think about future events. Before fintech, before MIT, and long before building an eleven billion dollar exchange, Luana was training as a professional ballerina. Years at the barre built the discipline, focus, and patience that later became foundational to how she builds and leads.

This is the patch:

• what prediction markets actually are and how they work
• why regulation became Kalshi's true competitive advantage
• ⁠how the company fought and won a historic legal battle⁠

At its core, this episode is about trusting the process, doing the work long before the outcome is obvious, staying steady when progress feels slow, and letting consistency quietly compound over time.

Thank you so much for listening to season two of patchperfect. We will be back in February 2026 with season three and more conversations at the intersection of big tech ideas and the humans building them.

All views expressed are my own.