The $1.2T Bottleneck: How Stuart Lacey Is Using AI to Fix Permitting and Unlock Growth
From Legends N Leaders by Ben Weiss
April 22, 2026 · 20 min
About this episode
Stuart Lacey discusses how AI can streamline permitting processes to unlock innovation and growth.
There’s a hidden bottleneck slowing down innovation—and most people don’t even see it. In this episode of LegendsNLeaders, we sit down with Stuart Lacey, serial entrepreneur, AI pioneer, and TEDx speaker, who’s tackling one of the most overlooked problems in the global economy: permitting. Through his new company Labrynth, incubated by Invisible Technologies, Stuart is building AI to streamline complex regulatory workflows—helping cities and companies move faster without sacrificing compliance. We dive into: The “invisible tax” on innovation—and why permitting delays cost trillions How AI can navigate complex, multi-stakeholder regulatory systems Lessons from building 13 companies—and what Stuart would never do again The future of infrastructure, regulation, and public-private collaboration How unlocking permitting could accelerate entire industries Before Labrynth, Stuart founded Trunomi and holds 13 patents across data privacy and AI—bringing over 20 years of experience at the intersection of technology, policy, and innovation. If you care about building, scaling, or fixing real-world systems—this episode is a must-watch.
People in this episode
Host: Ben Weiss
Guest: Stuart Lacey
Topics covered
- permitting
- AI
- innovation
- regulatory workflows
- infrastructure
- public-private collaboration
Keywords
- permitting
- AI
- innovation
- regulatory systems
- infrastructure
- compliance
- entrepreneurship
- public-private collaboration
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Labrynth, Invisible Technologies, Trunomi
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