TechFirst with John Koetsier

Updated: 27 Aug 2025 • 335 episodes
johnkoetsier.com/category/tech-first

Tech that is changing the world. Innovators who are shaping the future. Deep discussions with diverse leaders from Silicon Valley giants and scrappy global startups. Plus some short monologues based on my Forbes columns.

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The future could be much healthier for both farmers and everyone who eats, thanks to farm robots that kill weeds with lasers. In this episode of TechFirst, we chat with Paul Mikesell, CEO of Carbon Robotics, to discuss groundbreaking advancements in agricultural technology. Paul shares updates since our last conversati

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Can robots reduce herbicide and fertilizer use on farms by up to 90%? Probably yes. In this episode of TechFirst we chat with Verdant Robotics' CEO Gabe Sibley about SharpShooter, the company's state-of-the-art farm tech that precisely targets herbicide and fertilizer application, massively reducing chemical use. That'

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Will your next browser be AI-enabled? AI-first? Perhaps even an AI agent? In this episode of TechFirst, John Koetsier sits down with Henrik Lexow, Senior Product Leader at Opera, to explore Opera Neon, a big step toward agentic browsers that think, act, and create alongside you. (And buy stuff you want, simply hard pro

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Can nuclear waste solve the energy crisis caused by AI data centers? Maybe. And maybe much more, including providing rare elements we need like rhodium, palladium, ruthenium, krypto-85, Americium-241, and more. Amazingly: - 96% of nuclear fuel’s energy is left after it's "used" - Recycling can reduce 10,000-year waste

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Neura Robotics officially launched shed 4NE-1 this week. It's the leading European humanoid robot and it's the most powerful humanoid robot in existence right, as far as I'm aware, able to life 100kg or 220 pounds. Neura also released a plan to build 5 million robots by 2030, a new home service robot named MiPA, a new

33 min
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AI is big these days. Massive. More parameters, more memory, more capability. But what if the future is in tiny AI. Neural networks as small at 8 kilobytes on tiny chips, embedded in everything? Think smart shoes. Smart doors. Smart ... everything In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier discusses the future of

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