In this episode, Chris Corbishley speaks with Thomas Wolf, co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Hugging Face, the open-source AI platform now powering millions of models and researchers worldwide. Thomas shares the unlikely origins of the company from a teen chatbot to the central hub of the global machine learning community sparked by a research codebase for BERT and GPT-2 that unexpectedly went viral and reshaped the company’s trajectory.

He discusses how Hugging Face now incubates internal “mini-startups” across open science, small on-device models, robotics and AI for science, and how this mirrors his work angel-investing in over 100 AI companies. The conversation explores the cultural differences between European and US founders, the importance of mission and openness, the limitations of today’s large language models, and why Thomas believes multiple research paths, not just those pursued by frontier labs, are essential for the field’s long-term progress.

• How Hugging Face evolved from a teen chatbot into the backbone of the global open-source AI ecosystem
• Why an open-sourced research codebase for BERT and GPT-2 became the catalyst for a full company pivot
• How Hugging Face incubates internal “startups” such as BigScience, small on-device models, robotics, and AI for science
• Why Thomas believes mission, culture, and long-term orientation are essential and how they emerged over time rather than being predetermined
• How European founders can overcome self-censorship and think bigger, and why Thomas encourages a more American-style approach to ambition
• Why he sees AI as a dual-use technology, the limitations of current LLMs, and the importance of multiple research paths beyond today’s frontier labs
• How regulatory cycles swing between under- and over-correction, and why this matters for innovators
• Where Thomas sits on the spectrum between benevolent and disruptor—and how that shapes his work today

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In this episode, Rory speaks with Colin le Duc, Co-Founder and Partner at Generation Investment Management, the sustainability-focused investment firm created alongside former US Vice President Al Gore and David Blood of Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Generation was founded on a bold premise: that sustainability and long-term financial performance reinforce each other rather than compete. Two decades later, the firm manages more than $40 billion and has become one of the most respected voices in mission-driven investing.

Colin shares Generation’s origin story, the serendipitous alignment that brought its founders together, and how the firm set out to integrate sustainability into every stage of investing. He reflects on building both public and private market strategies, the moments of luck and timing that accelerated their success, and what it means to stay mission-driven while scaling a global investment platform.

The pair also discuss the advantages mission-driven companies have, why founders with genuine purpose outperform, and how political headwinds shape (and fail to derail) climate and sustainability investing. Colin explains why resilient, long-term fundamentals still guide Generation’s approach and why this is an unusually compelling time to invest in sustainable solutions.

Key Takeaways

• How Generation Investment Management was founded on integrating sustainability into capital markets
• Why timing, luck, and early market conditions accelerated their first decade
• How mission and investment performance reinforce each other, not compete
• Why sustainability became a source of alpha long before the market recognised it
• How being mission-driven helps attract the best entrepreneurs, teams, and shareholders
• Why short-term political shifts don’t change long-term sustainable investing fundamentals
• How climate and sustainability cycles create opportunities for specialist investors
• Why Generation focuses on returning capital, not just raising it

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In this episode, Chris Corbishley speaks with Matt Oppenheimer, Co-Founder and CEO of Remitly - the global payments company reshaping how money moves across borders.

Matt shares how his time in Kenya sparked the idea for Remitly and how the company grew from a small startup in Seattle into a platform now trusted by millions. What began as a response to an unfair, outdated system of money transfers became a mission to make financial services more affordable, transparent, and human.

The pair talk about the highs and lows of entrepreneurship from the early “nerve-sited” days to running a listed company and what it means to stay mission-driven while scaling globally. Matt also reflects on why purpose has been Remitly’s biggest advantage, how regulation can build trust, and why AI and stablecoins could open up the next chapter of financial inclusion.

• How a frustrating personal experience in Kenya inspired Remitly’s founding idea
• The emotional rollercoaster of building a fintech from scratch
• Why being “too mission-driven” once scared investors, and why that’s now a strength
• How purpose creates resilience, attracts great teams, and builds better businesses
• What really allowed Remitly to challenge giants like Western Union
• Why regulation can be a competitive advantage, not a roadblock
• The opportunities AI and stablecoins bring to global finance
• Matt’s vision for serving the 300 million people still left out of fair financial systems

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