We all talk about #AI, but what good is it if your models are powered by stale, outdated data?In Episode 99 of Great Things with Great Tech, Deepti Srivastava, founder and CEO of Snow Leopard, and former founding PM of Google Spanner, calls out the broken state of enterprise AI. With decades of experience in distributed systems and data infrastructure, Deepti unveils how Snow Leopard is redefining how AI applications are built, by tapping into live, real-time data from SQL and APIs without the need for ETL or pipelines.Instead of relying on static snapshots or disconnected data lakes, Snow Leopard’s #agentic platform queries native sources like PostgreSQL, Snowflake, and Salesforce on-demand, empowering AI to live directly in the critical decision path.In This Episode, We Cover:

• Deepti’s journey from building Spanner at Google to founding Snow Leopard AI.
• Why most enterprise AI fails due to reliance on stale data and outdated pipelines.
• How Snow Leopard federates live data across SQL and APIs with zero ETL.
• The limitations of vector databases in structured, real-time business use cases.
• Why putting AI in the critical path of business decisions unlocks real value.

Snow Leopard is a U.S.-based technology company founded in 2023 by and is Headquartered in San Francisco, CaliforniaSnow Leopard specializes in building a platform that enables the development of production-ready AI applications by leveraging live business data. The company's approach focuses on real-time data retrieval directly from sources like SQL databases and APIs, eliminating the need for traditional ETL processes and data pipelines. This innovation allows for more accurate and timely AI-driven business decision.PODCAST LINKSGreat Things with Great Tech Podcast: https://gtwgt.comGTwGT Playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTwGTPodcastListen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Y1Fgl4DgGpFd5Z4dHulVXListen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/great-things-with-great-tech-podcast/id1519439787EPISODE LINKSSnow Leopard Web: https://www.snowleopard.ai/Deepti Srivastava on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/thedeepti/Snow Leopard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/snow-leopard-ai/GTwGT LINKSSupport the Channel: https://ko-fi.com/gtwgtBe on #GTwGT: Contact via Twitter/X @GTwGTPodcast or visit https://www.gtwgt.comSubscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTwGTPodcast?sub_confirmation=1Great Things with Great Tech Podcast Website: https://gtwgt.comSOCIAL LINKSFollow GTwGT on Social Media:Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/GTwGTPodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/GTwGTPodcastTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@GTwGTPodcast🎵 Music by BenSound: https://www.bensound.com☑️ Support the Channel: https://ko-fi.com/gtwgt

We all know that virtual machines have dominated IT infrastructure for 25 years... but is that era really at an end?In Episode 98 of Great Things with Great Tech, Lucas Gentele, CEO of Loft Labs, shares how Loft is reshaping infrastructure by eliminating the need for virtual machines. Starting from early entrepreneurial roots and open-source projects like DevSpace, Lucas explains how Loft Labs tackled Kubernetes inefficiencies by building multi-tenant solutions like vCluster and vNode. Their innovations enable Kubernetes clusters to run more securely, efficiently, and cost-effectively without traditional VM overhead. As companies seek alternatives to legacy virtualization, Loft Labs mission is to bring lightweight, scalable, and open-source virtual clusters into more environments, making Kubernetes accessible for both development and production workloads

Key Takeaways:

• The journey from DevSpace to founding Loft Labs and the rise of Kubernetes multi-tenancy.
• Why the traditional VM-based model is becoming obsolete — and what’s replacing it.
• How Loft’s vCluster and vNode are revolutionizing Kubernetes cluster management.
• The impact of Broadcom’s VMware acquisition on cloud infrastructure strategies.
• The future of cloud-native infrastructure: virtual clusters, no VMs, better scalability.

Links & Resources:

Loft Labs: https://www.loft.shLukas Gentele on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genteleLoft Labs on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/loftlabs

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Did you know every time you order food, book a ride, or even check who viewed your profile, real-time analytics is powering your experience behind the scenes?

In this episode of Great Things with Great Tech, we dive deep into the power of real-time analytics with Kishore Gopalakrishna, CEO and Co-founder of StarTree. StarTree leverages Apache Pinot, a high-performance real-time analytics database, revolutionizing how leading companies like Uber, LinkedIn, Walmart, and Etsy provide instant insights and personalized experiences at massive scale.

Kishore shares his journey from a gaming enthusiast fascinated by distributed systems to building mission-critical platforms at Yahoo and LinkedIn, eventually creating Apache Pinot. Discover how StarTree is powering billions of real-time queries per week, enabling businesses to enhance customer interactions, optimize operational decisions, and supercharge modern AI and observability.

Key Takeaways:

• How real-time analytics transform industries, enabling instantaneous insights and rapid decision-making.
• The evolution from traditional databases to highly efficient columnar, real-time analytics systems.
• Real-world applications of Apache Pinot, from consumer apps to enterprise observability and operational excellence.
• How real-time data is accelerating innovations in AI, specifically through Real-Time Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).
• The future of analytics: seamless data ingestion, enhanced concurrency, and the growing demand for sub-second response times.

Links & Resources:

Web StarTree: https://startree.ai

Kishore Gopalakrishna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kgopalak/

Apache Pinot: https://pinot.apache.org

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