Unhashed Podcast

Avery Ching shares his outlook on the intersection of crypto and AI, the fundraising process for Aptos Labs, and the key differences between Aptos and other Layer 1s like Solana and Ethereum. He further discusses the use cases for Aptos, the challenges of the Move programming language, and Aptos' future goals.Avery is the CTO and Co-Founder of Aptos Labs. He has spent over a decade building distributed technologies and scaling them to billions of users worldwide. Prior to co-founding Aptos Labs, Avery led the crypto platform team at Meta, focusing on all aspects of blockchain technology, from wallet infrastructure to L1 blockchain development—most notably the Diem blockchain.We hope you enjoy Avery’s conversation with hosts Kenzi Watanabe, Sachi Mihara, and Diksha Lyer, where he talks in-depth about his Web3 X AI journey.

In this episode, Ron Bodkin explores the intersection of AI and crypto, emphasizing responsibility, governance, and the transformative potential of Web3. He shares his journey from Google to founding Theoric and ChainML, reflecting on the shift from corporate AI leadership to startup innovation. The discussion covers agent collectives, challenges in AI standardization, and metrics for decentralized AI success. Ron also introduces Proof of Contribution and Collaboration as trust-building mechanisms in AI, along with Theoric’s core pillars—interoperability, composability, and decentralized innovation. He delves into token economics, governance, and company culture, concluding with insights on leadership and the future of AI.

In this episode of Unhashed Podcast, we speak with Karan Sirdesai, the Co-Founder of Mira Network, a decentralized AI infrastructure platform that's pioneering a new approach to reliable and safe artificial intelligence. Karan shares how Mira tackles the challenge of AI hallucinations, making intelligent systems more trustworthy for critical use cases in finance, healthcare, and beyond.Karan dives into his non-linear founder journey, from hustling in university and working with Balaji Srinivasan, to founding Mira alongside deep AI and crypto experts. You'll hear how the team discovered their "aha" moment through hands-on experimentation with GPU rentals and AI pipelines—and how this led them to a breakthrough solution using multiple models and consensus-based verification.

In this conversation, Nick Emmons, Co-Founder of Allora Labs, delves into the synergies between crypto and AI, exploring the potential for decentralized AI to create a collective intelligence network. Emmons outlines Allora Labs' mission, emphasizing their focus on AI-powered DeFi and innovative financial primitives. He also discusses the ongoing debate between open and closed AI systems and highlights the opportunities available for blockchain developers within the AI space. The discussion wraps up with Emmons sharing the milestones and developments at Allora Labs that excite him the most, underscoring the crucial role of markets in problem-solving. We hope you enjoy Nick’s conversation with hosts Kenzi Watanabe, Sachi Mihara, and Diksha Lyer, where he talks in-depth about his Web3 founder journey.

Greg Osuri, Founder of Akash Network, dives into the significance of liberty, sovereignty, and freedom in the decentralized web. Explore Greg's journey, the challenges he faced, and the importance of community in Web3. Learn about building a Web3 product, maintaining work-life balance for founders, and the differences between Web2 and Web3. Greg also shares his insights on open-source technology, decentralized AI, and the role of governments in AI decentralization. As cofounder and CEO of Akash Network, Greg has transformed the future of cloud computing. Prior to Akash, Greg founded AngelHack, the world’s largest hackathon organization with over 100,000 developers across 50 cities worldwide. He launched his career at IBM and later designed Kaiser Permanente’s first cloud architecture. We hope you enjoy Greg’s conversation with hosts Kenzi Watanabe, Sachi Mihara, and Diksha Lyer, where he talks in-depth about his Web3 X AI journey.

DC Builder, Research Engineer at Worldcoin Foundation, shares the project's approach towards decentralization and its mission to democratize digital identity and finance globally, ensuring fair wealth distribution. He highlights the challenges of the web of trust and biometrics in verifying personhood, shedding light on the Semaphore protocol's innovative use. We also delve into the emerging ZKML space and other crypto-AI projects that are reshaping the landscape. We hope you enjoy DC Builder’s conversation with hosts Kenzi Watanabe, Sachi Mihara, and Diksha Lyer, where he talks in-depth about his Web3 journey.

David Tse, Co-Founder of BablylonChain, shares the future of scaling the Bitcoin ecosystem with staking, the founding story of BabylonChain, and his journey from academia to now being a Web3 founder. With BabylonChain, bitcoin holders can earn yields from their idle bitcoins in a secure way: no third-party trust, no bitcoin bridging to any other chain. Bitcoin holders simply lock their bitcoins in a self-custodial way to gain the rights to validate PoS chains and earn yields as a return. David Tse is a visionary electrical engineering expert who has made groundbreaking contributions to wireless communication, blockchain technology, and genomics research. He is a celebrated professor at Stanford University and a co-founder of BabylonChain, a blockchain project that is Scaling Bitcoin to secure the decentralized world. In addition, David is an advisor of Bain Capital Crypto, where he provides strategic guidance to the investment firm. We hope you enjoy David’s conversation with hosts Kenzi Watanabe, Sachi Mihara, and Diksha Lyer where he talks in-depth about his Web3 founder journey.

Victor Ji, the Co-Founder of Manta Network explains the concept of Zero-Knowledge (ZK) proofs and how Manta is delivering a seamless developer experience for ZK applications. He also shares the milestones and turning points in Manta's journey and the qualities he believes are important for Web3 founders to succeed. Manta Network is building a secure and interoperable future with zero knowledge with a mission to deliver the best developer experience that enables ZK applications. Before his role as the Co-Founder of Manta in 2020, Victor worked as a Research Assistant at Harvard's Belfer Center where he gained expertise in international security, diplomacy, and technology policy. We hope you enjoy Victor's conversation with hosts Kenzi Watanabe, Sachi Mihara, and Diksha Lyer where he talks in-depth about the founding story of Manta Network and his Web3 founder journey.

Chris Spadafora, Founder of BadgerDAO, discusses decentralized governance, crypto tribalism, and his mission of bringing Bitcoin to the Defi ecosystem. BadgerDAO is an open-source, decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that enables Bitcoin to be used as collateral across decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. The DAO has its native token, BADGER which allows users to vote on proposals put forward by community members. Voting power is determined by the amount of BADGER owned, and proposals that receive enough votes are implemented on the platform. We hope you enjoy Chris’ conversation with hosts Kenzi Watanabe, Sachi Mihara, and Diksha Lyer where he talks in-depth about the formation of BadgerDAO and his Web3 founder Journey.

Sreeram Kannan, co-founder and CEO of EigenLayer, discusses his journey into Web3, why he left academia to build a blockchain product, and how EigenLayer is solving some of the biggest challenges in the crypto ecosystem. Sreeram's journey into the realm of Web3 began with a deep-seated belief in the power of innovation to drive positive change. He recognized the potential of blockchain technology to democratize innovation and empower individuals to create value without the need for established reputations or access to exclusive resources. This unwavering belief led Sreeram to abandon his academic career and embark on his entrepreneurial journey into the world of crypto.

Beryl Li is the Co-Founder of Yield Guild Games (YGG), the largest decentralized network of gaming guilds. During our chat, we discussed Beryl Li's unique journey into the Web3 space and her contributions to the industry. She shared her insights into the role of guilds in shaping the future of Web3, emphasizing Web3 education and driving the adoption of blockchain tech. We also talked about the significance of native tokens in shaping the decentralized gaming landscape and the art of community management within YGG's vast decentralized network.Primarily focusing on Web3 education & blockchain games, YGG has reshaped the gaming landscape. It caters to an ever-expanding community comprising gamers and blockchain enthusiasts alike.Beryl's leadership shines brightly, earning her well-deserved recognition like a coveted spot in J.P. Morgan's Top 100 Women-Powered Businesses in the Asia-Pacific region. She's also a proud member of the inaugural cohort of Technology Pioneers and Unicorns at the World Economic Forum. Her journey is nothing short of an inspiration, particularly for women-of-color founders in the Web3 sphere.

In this episode of Unhashed Podcast, hosts Kenzi Watanabe, Sachi Mihara, and Diksha Lyer speak to Jiho about his early days in Web3, starting Sky Mavis and Axie Infinity with Trung Nguyen, Tu Doan, Aleksander Larsen, and Andy Ho.Jiho talks about building in the bear market, being “small and unrecognized” yet confident in their founding team, vision, and community. The team wanted to build a Web3 community that would reward those with the technical knowledge and those willing to learn about the technology. He perfectly sums up their founding principle: “Something that can play into childhood nostalgia is going to be a compelling way to educate people on Web3.”Jiho also talks to us about the obstacles the Axie Infinity team faced while building and maintaining their product. One of those was working with the community on expectations around the company’s roadmap as they put out features. In fact, it was one of his biggest learnings:“I think we're always thinking about the intended action that we want to coordinate with the community and the outside world. And how do we ensure that the things that we're launching and saying, that we can actually do that? I think it's more important in Web3… How do you turn your community into your best evangelists? And how do you have them doing the things that are most beneficial and helpful for the network, which benefits everybody? I think an understanding of aligned incentives and different economic models and the cold start problem is something that a lot of Web3 startups have to think about.”Today, Axie Infinity is one of the biggest Play2Earn NFT games in the crypto world. Sky Mavis recently closed a $152 million Series B round eyeing Axie’s expansion, which brings the company valuation to $3 billion. Listen to this episode as Jiho discusses the Play2Earn economy, his responsibilities as Chief Growth Officer at Axie Infinity, and more.