Épisodes

  • Episode 35: Where the Money Meets the AI Model | Feat. Dr. Salman Azhar

    Episode 35: Where the Money Meets the AI Model | Feat. Dr. Salman Azhar
    Dec 14 2025

    Join us in this episode with Salman Azhar as he unpacks how money really moves in the age of AI, from seed bets to the quiet mid-stage crunch. Discover what serious investors look for in AI startups, why problem-space matters more than buzzwords, and what corporate leaders can learn about capital allocation and incentives.


    Download the episode transcript


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    AI innovation doesn’t happen on code alone; it runs on capital. In this episode, Lukas Egger talks with Salman Azhar about what really happens “where the money meets the models.” They walk through the lifecycle of an AI company, from risky angel and seed checks to the Series A/B bottleneck and eventual exits. Salman explains why he prioritizes high-value problem spaces and defensible IP over flashy founders and AI-heavy pitches. Hear how AI is transforming venture work at the top of the funnel, while still falling short on trustworthy probabilities. The conversation zooms out to a liquidity crunch, IPOs “queued like planes after a storm,” and too much money chasing a few household AI names while real applications go underfunded.


    For corporate innovators, Salman’s takeaway is clear: align incentives with upside, kill weak ideas early, and treat internal ventures more like startups where compensation and consequences track real value creation.


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    Guest: Salman Azhar, Azimuth Opportunity Fund & Duke University


    Dr. Salman Azhar has unique access in the venture world after investing in 250+ startups over 20+ years and generating a positive return with his first 12 exits. He specializes in buying pre-IPO unicorns’ shares from early investors.


    Dr. Azhar is a General Partner of Azimuth Opportunity Fund and Executive in Residence at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He is a Charter Life Member of OPEN Global and an advisor to several funds, including Quartus, Moment, and Regiment. His former business partners and clients include Toyota, Sony, SAP, and others.


    Dr. Azhar earned his MS and PhD in Computer Science from Duke as a James B. Duke Fellow and a BS in Math and Physics from Wake Forest University as a Carswell Scholar.


    If you want to learn more about:


    • Our guest Salman Azhar: LinkedIn
    • SAP Signavio


    Email us your questions or comments: processtransformers@sap.com
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    29 min
  • Episode 34: Narrative Intelligence: How Storytelling Shapes AI & Transformation

    Episode 34: Narrative Intelligence: How Storytelling Shapes AI & Transformation
    Nov 11 2025
    Innovation needs story. In this episode, Lukas Egger and Susan Lindner reveal why storytelling is a survival skill for innovators: turning failure into learning, imagination into possibility, and inertia into action. Explore the tension between “show me the data” and the human emotions that actually drive decisions. Learn to earn buy-in by naming shifts, pointing to winners, and co-creating a promised land your audience cares about. Packed with practical guidance for meetings, presentations, and pilots, this episode shows how to design change journeys that stick, and how AI can accelerate your narrative craft.
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    43 min
  • Episode 33: Redesigning Work for the Age of AI

    Episode 33: Redesigning Work for the Age of AI
    Oct 21 2025
    Join Lukas Egger and Peter Temes as they reimagine work for the age of AI. Peter shares pilots of the Match platform that expand task diversity, promote self‑management, and use AI to match people to roles through micro‑credentials and human‑in‑the‑loop recommendations. Hear practical stories from warehouses to industrial plants, and learn how listening to workers, modular tasks, and career path planning boost retention, safety, and training outcomes. If you want actionable insight into adapting your workforce, this episode will inspire leaders to start with understanding people and to design flexible, humane systems for the future.
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    38 min
  • Episode 32: How to Know You’re Winning with AI

    Episode 32: How to Know You’re Winning with AI
    Oct 14 2025
    How do you know you’re truly winning with AI? In this episode, Lukas Egger and Charlene Li share how to build an AI‑fluent workforce, prioritize with the double‑S (size and speed to value), and balance customer impact, internal efficiency, and reinvention. Learn to triage pilots, collect minimally viable data for fast decisions, and set incentives that reward deployment speed over perfection. See how embedding AI in quarterly reviews, cross‑functional learning, and an 18‑month rolling plan create adaptability. With solid examples from the industry, this episode gives you the steps to turn ambition into action.
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    37 min
  • Unplugged Episode 05: New Technologies, New Boundaries

    Unplugged Episode 05: New Technologies, New Boundaries
    Oct 10 2025
    From cloud kitchens to global shipping, technology has always redrawn the map of business. Now, it's AI's turn. Join Lukas Egger as he unpacks how AI is creating new boundaries today by collapsing the costs of work at critical handoffs and interfaces. He reveals that the biggest impact isn’t about making things faster, but about fundamentally changing what is possible. Discover how understanding this core principle can help you see opportunities that your competitors are missing. Tune in for actionable steps to build a more defensible, future-ready business.
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    10 min
  • Episode 31: Healthy Software at Scale – Blueprints for Adaptable Architecture

    Episode 31: Healthy Software at Scale – Blueprints for Adaptable Architecture
    Sep 23 2025
    Are you ready to transform your software architecture into a strategic advantage? Tune in as Lukas Egger and Chris Richardson delve into the blueprint for adaptable architecture. Chris unpacks the "success triangle," highlighting the crucial interplay of development processes, organizational structure, and architecture. Learn how to foster fast feedback loops, enabling rapid innovation and continuous improvement. Understand the truth behind microservices versus monoliths and gain actionable insights for building resilient, agile software that drives business success. Discover why loose design time coupling and frequent deployments are essential.
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    45 min
  • Episode 30: Beyond Tools – Envisioning AI as Symbiotic Partners in Business and Life

    Episode 30: Beyond Tools – Envisioning AI as Symbiotic Partners in Business and Life
    Sep 9 2025
    Is AI destined to replace us, or can it unlock unprecedented human potential? Helen and Dave Edwards join Lukas Egger to explore the emotional, cognitive, and cultural shifts that AI is ushering in. They challenge the narrow focus on productivity, urging us to consider AI's broader impact on our lives and organizations. Discover how AI can be a powerful force for innovation, creativity, and meaning-making, but only if we prioritize human dignity and cultivate symbiotic relationships between humans and machines. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone seeking to navigate the AI revolution with purpose and vision.
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    44 min
  • Unplugged Episode 04: Human-Like Interactions, Human-Like Expectations

    Unplugged Episode 04: Human-Like Interactions, Human-Like Expectations
    Sep 2 2025
    Beyond features and benchmarks, what truly drives user engagement in AI? Lukas Egger explains why "engagement in AI is not just about knowledge or utility, it’s about emotional connection." This episode explores how human-like interactions with generative AI are creating unprecedented emotional bonds, fundamentally changing product perception and customer loyalty. Discover the power of "industrialized empathy" and why users are even downgrading products for preferred "personalities." Lukas shares thought-provoking insights on why understanding and mastering the emotional dimension of AI is fast becoming a critical competitive advantage.
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    8 min