In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano sits down with Kayvon Beykpour, co-founder and CEO of Macroscope, which launches today, and the former co-founder of Periscope. They dive into how Macroscope will serve as an “understanding engine” for software companies, giving leaders real-time visibility and saving engineers time with AI-powered workflows. Kayvon reflects on his journey from building Periscope and leading product at Twitter to reimagining how teams manage both human and agentic workforces. They get into philosophies on starting companies, management styles, and how AI could be the thing that helps managers solve their biggest challenges.

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome

00:52 Introducing Macroscope: The New Product

01:24 The Problem Macroscope Solves

02:30 How Macroscope Works

03:52 The Future of AI in Software Development

08:58 Empowering Leaders with Macroscope

10:56 Kayvon's Journey: From College Startup to Macroscope

16:22 The Periscope Story: From Idea to Acquisition

28:22 The Rise and Challenges of Periscope

32:43 Twitter's Live Feature Evolution

33:59 Integrating Audio Conversations

35:07 Challenges in Twitter's Product Strategy

35:32 The Clubhouse Acquisition Attempt

36:27 Twitter's Cultural Shift with Spaces

38:48 Managing Large Teams at Twitter

44:05 Macroscope: The Genesis

47:03 The Role of LLMs in Macroscope

48:36 The Elon Musk Encounter

54:23 The Pivot to Macroscope

59:21 Future of Macroscope and Product Development

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The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.

In this special episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano talks with Semil Shah, founder and partner of Haystack VC and partner at Lightspeed. Together, they have a wide-ranging, unfiltered conversation on the state of AI, venture capital, and the future of media. They get into everything from Meta’s high-stakes AI talent spree and Apple’s uncertain strategy, to the Figma IPO, to the evolution of the seed stage, and the brewing battle between AI agents and the open web. Semil also shares hard-earned insights on founder strategy, brand building, and why design still wins.

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:30 Reflecting on Long Island

01:47 M&A Frenzy and Talent Wars

02:10 Meta's Strategic Moves

06:30 Apple's AI Strategy

11:12 Figma's IPO Success

21:33 The State of Seed Investing

25:30 The Model's Mathematical Basis

26:00 Case Study: Firebase Acquisition

27:19 Seed Fund Strategies and Challenges

30:30 Founders' Incentives and Signal Risk

36:40 AI Agents vs. CDNs: A Legal Playground

42:57 The Evolution of Podcasts and Media

51:31 The Future of AI Branding

56:03 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: generativenow@lsvp.com

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.

In this episode of Generative Now, Lightspeed Partner Michael Mignano sits down with Rahul Vohra, founder of the email client Superhuman, to unpack the future of AI-powered productivity. Rahul shares the origin story of Superhuman, how game design principles shaped its blazing speed and keyboard-first UX, and why time—not email—is the real problem it solves. He dives into the thinking behind their recent acquisition by Grammarly, his vision for an AI-native productivity suite, and what it means to build both apps and agents for the future.

Episode Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Guest Overview

01:00 The Superhuman Email Experience

02:28 Building Superhuman: Challenges and Innovations

04:50 The Importance of Speed and Efficiency

05:36 Superhuman's Unique Features and Early Decisions

11:44 The Acquisition by Grammarly

15:35 The Vision for an AI Native Productivity Suite

22:32 Exploring Verticalized Workflows

22:52 The Excitement of the Superhuman-Grammarly Deal

24:23 The Strategy of Bundling

28:10 AI's Role in Future Productivity

32:26 Superhuman's Use of AI

41:53 Lessons from Previous Acquisitions

Stay in touch:

• www.lsvp.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lightspeedvp

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightspeed-venture-partners/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightspeedventurepartners/

• Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: generativenow.co

• Email: generativenow@lsvp.com

The content here does not constitute tax, legal, business or investment advice or an offer to provide such advice, should not be construed as advocating the purchase or sale of any security or investment or a recommendation of any company, and is not an offer, or solicitation of an offer, for the purchase or sale of any security or investment product. The views expressed by our guests do not necessarily represent the views of Lightspeed. For more details please see lsvp.com/legal.