#133 Javad Mushtaq: Norway Needs to Think Bigger - AI, Capital and Ambition

#133 Javad Mushtaq: Norway Needs to Think Bigger - AI, Capital and Ambition

From EXPresso by Henrik Holth

June 25, 2026 · 1h 2m · Season 4 · Episode 134

About this episode

Javad Mushtaq discusses Norway's potential and challenges in ambition, technology, and global thinking.

Javad Mushtaq is back on EXPresso for the third time. In our earlier conversations, we spoke about investments, impact, diversity, entrepreneurship and emerging markets. Since then, Javad has continued his journey internationally through MIT, Harvard, AI, technology, investments and work at the intersection of capital, society and impact. In this episode, we meet in New York for an honest conversation about Norway, the US, ambition and what it takes to build bigger from a small country. We talk about: Why Norway has the talent, but often lacks the ambition and risk tolerance The difference between Norway and the US when it comes to capital, networks, scale and belief Janteloven, storytelling and why Norwegians need to become better at talking about their wins Why Norwegian founders should think globally from day one AI as a fundamental technological shift, not just a hype cycle What responsible AI means when technology has the potential to impact billions of people Outsider energy, imposter syndrome and social mobility How Javad went from almost dropping out of high school to MIT and Harvard Why failure, learning and resilience need to become a bigger part of Norwegian founder…

People in this episode

Host: Henrik Holth

Guest: Javad Mushtaq

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MIT, Harvard

Places: Norway, US

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