Kris Billmaier is Executive Vice President and General Manager of Sales Cloud and Growth Products at Salesforce, where he leads the product strategy and vision for Sales Cloud, Starter Suite, Pro Suite, Salesforce Foundations, and Agentforce.~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He is responsible for driving product-led growth and helping organizations adopt AI-powered sales workflows that transform how businesses acquire, engage, and serve customers. With more than 15 years of experience in product management, business development, and corporate strategy, Kris has built and launched products across enterprise software, office productivity, search, and emerging technologies. Before leading Sales Cloud, he held several executive leadership roles at Salesforce spanning growth products, strategic technology partnerships, and business development. Prior to Salesforce, Kris spent nearly eight years at Microsoft leading business development, strategic partnerships, and product initiatives for Microsoft 365 and Office 365. Throughout his career, he has negotiated strategic partnerships with industry leaders including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, while also founding and scaling his own startup, giving him a unique perspective on building products from startup to enterprise scale.Topics

• How Agentic AI Is Transforming Sales Organizations and the Future of Enterprise CRM
• Building AI Products That Drive Product-Led Growth from Startups to Global Enterprises
• The Next Generation of Sales Technology: Unifying Data, Automation, and AI to Accelerate Revenue Growth

#ArtificialIntelligence #Salesforce #EnterpriseSoftware #SalesTech #ProductManagement

Evaline Tsai, Ph.D. is a Partner at Gigascale, where she invests in breakthrough climate and deep technology companies, combining scientific rigor with founder empathy to help technical founders commercialize transformative innovations. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~She serves as a Board Observer for Gigascale portfolio companies including Cocoon, Dioxycle, Pasture Biosciences, Skouria, Terradot, and Vor Systems, and is known for her thesis-driven approach to evaluating how frontier science can scale into enduring businesses. Previously, Evaline was an investor at Fine Structure Ventures, where she backed companies including Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Phytoform, and completed a fellowship at Costanoa Ventures. Before venture capital, she founded Cambridge Cancer Genomics, a Y Combinator-backed healthcare startup, and later became the first Product Manager for AI and Machine Learning at Samsara, earning four patents during her tenure. Evaline is a Kauffman Fellow, was named a Business Insider Rising Star of Venture Capital in 2023, and holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology from the University of Cambridge and a B.S.E. from Princeton University.Topics

• How Venture Capitalists Identify Breakthrough Science Before It Becomes a Billion-Dollar Company
• Turning Frontier Research into Venture-Scale Startups: What First-Time Technical Founders Need to Know
• The Future of Climate Tech, AI, and Industrial Innovation Through the Lens of a Deep Tech Investor

#DeepTech #ClimateTech #VentureCapital #ArtificialIntelligence #Startups

Randall Hom is the Co-Founder and CEO of Hostie.Disclosure: Grace is an investor in Hostie. Hostie is an AI-powered guest communications platform that helps restaurants automate phone calls, texts, emails, and reservations while delivering a more seamless hospitality experience. Hostie integrates directly with reservation and point-of-sale systems, enabling restaurants to automate more than 80% of routine guest inquiries without sacrificing service quality. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~This episode is brought to you by Nebius — the ultimate cloud for AI innovators.Nebius provides AI infrastructure you can count on, combining reliability and speed with flexibility and engineering support unmatched by hyperscalers.AI leaders like Meta, Shopify, and Higgsfield already partner with Nebius to run their AI workloads. Plus, venture-backed startups can save up to $150,000 on compute costs when they apply for access. Visit nebius.com or nebius.com/startups to learn more~~~~~~~~~~~~~The company has raised over $16 million in funding, including a $4 million Seed round led by Gradient Ventures and a $12 million Series A. Before founding Hostie, Randall spent nearly a decade as a product designer at leading technology companies including Instacart, Flexport, and BetterWorks. He also co-founded and operated Back to Back, a San Francisco restaurant, where firsthand experience running daily operations inspired him to build AI tools purpose-built for the hospitality industry. By combining deep product expertise with real-world restaurant experience, Randall is redefining how AI enhances—not replaces—hospitality.Topics

• How AI Is Transforming Restaurant Operations Without Replacing Human Hospitality
• Building AI Products from Firsthand Industry Experience: Lessons from Running a Restaurant
• Why the Future of Hospitality Depends on Better Guest Communication, Automation, and Operational Efficiency

#ArtificialIntelligence #Hospitality #Restaurants #Startups #CustomerExperience