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Published 10th November, 2026.
This episode is supported by Xero -- helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months by clicking Here
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What does it take to spot billion-dollar opportunities before the rest of the world sees them? And what happens when some of your biggest bets fail, even after you've helped build one of Silicon Valley's most successful venture capital firms alongside the legend Vinod Khosla?
Meet Samir Kaul -- one of three Founding Partners and a Managing Director at Khosla Ventures, one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture capital firms, with investments including OpenAI, Rocket Lab, Guardant Health and Impossible Foods. A scientist turned investor, Samir has spent over two decades alongside legendary investor Vinod Khosla, backing unconventional founders and breakthrough technologies across healthcare, energy, space and AI.
In this rare and unusually candid conversation, Samir shares his remarkable journey. From growing up in an Indian immigrant family, getting kicked out of school and nearly abandoning his medical ambitions, to working with genomics pioneer Craig Venter, attending Harvard Business School and stumbling into venture capital.
Vidit explores the extraordinary bets and lessons behind Khosla Ventures, including how a $5 million investment in a little-known startup became Rocket Lab, why manufacturing drugs in space could transform healthcare, and why Samir believes much of today's venture capital industry is chasing the wrong opportunities. He also shares what separates exceptional founders from the rest and where he sees the biggest opportunities emerging.
But the most revealing moments are personal. Samir opens up about losing significant money during the cleantech crash, questioning his abilities and how Vinod's response changed his perspective on failure. He also reflects on the insecurity of working in Vinod's shadow, his relationships with some of Silicon Valley's most influential figures, and the family sacrifices and lessons that have shaped his life.
Please enjoy exploring your curiosity.
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About us
The High Flyers Podcast features in-depth interviews with the world’s most relatable role models in business, tech, finance, government and sport in the US, Australia, Singapore, India and New Zealand.
Launched over 6.5+ years ago - our 275+ guests come from various industries around the world including:
Investing and Finance (VC, PE, Pension Funds, Family Offices)
Our guests across venture capital, growth investing, institutional capital, banking, pension funds and family offices include: Keith Rabois (MD, Khosla Ventures), Jason Collins (CEO, BlackRock Asia Pacific), Ryan Beiermeister (Partner, Founders Fund), David Haber (General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz), Kevin Hartz (Managing Partner, A*), Mike Vernal (Partner, Conviction; Ex-Sequoia), David Schneider (Growth Fund Co-Lead Partner, Coatue), Venky Ganesan (Managing Partner, Menlo Ventures), Mark Suster (Managing Partner, Upfront Ventures), Kelland Reilly (Partner, Airtree; Ex General Atlantic, D1), Niki Scevak (Managing Partner, Blackbird), Paul Bassat (Managing Partner, Square Peg), David Neal (CEO, IFM Investors), Sam Sicilia (CIO, Hostplus), Michael Kim (Partner, Cendana Capital), Beezer Clarkson (Partner, Sapphire), Gautam Chari (Head of Capital Commitments, Bank of America), David Shein (Managing Partner, OIF), Vivek Bhatia (CEO, MUFG), Rowan Simpson (Founder, Hoku) and more.
Technology, AI and software (Startups, Big Tech, Publicly Listed)
Our technology, AI and software guests include Jodie Auster (Uber’s Global Head of Travel), Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (CEO, Xero), Rob Giglio (CCO, Canva), Mel Silva (MD, Google), Jean-Michel Lemieux (former CTO, Shopify and Atlassian), Anil Sabharwal (Global VP, Google Chrome, Photos and Drive), Shiv Rao (CEO, Abridge), Jesse Zhang (CEO, Decagon), Dylan Babbs (Co-Founder & CTO, Profound), John Willett (Co-Founder & COO, Rogo), David Eckstein (CFO, Legora), John Haddock (CBO, Harvey), Stevie Case (CRO, Vanta), Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (COO, Vercel), Cristina Cordova (COO, Linear), Elena Verna (Head of Growth, Lovable), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Tim Doyle (CEO, Eucalyptus), Justin Lopas (COO & Co-Founder, Base Power), Andrew Fraser (President, Halter), Bowen Pan (creator of Facebook Marketplace) and more.
CEOs, Boards and Major Company Senior Executives
Our guests leading some of the world's largest and most recognisable organisations include Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths Group), Aleks Spaseska (CEO, Kmart), Alan Joyce (CEO, Qantas), Michael Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Paul Grosmann (CEO, R.M.Williams), Andrew Penn (CEO, Telstra), Vandita Pant (CFO, BHP), Sanjeev Gandhi (CEO, Orica), Craig Tiley (CEO, Tennis USA), Brendan Hargreaves (CFO, Officeworks), Andrew Fraser (Board Chair, Bank of Queensland), Jaddan Cummerford (CEO, Unified Music), Ed McManus (CEO, Deliveroo) and more.
Government and Policy Makers
Our government, diplomatic and public-policy guests include Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Amit Singh (Managing Partner, Mandala), Peter Varghese (Secretary of Australia's Foreign Service), Philip Green (Australia’s High Commissioner to India), Brendan Dowling (Deputy Secretary, Australia's Department of Home Affairs), Mukund Narayanamurti (General Manager for South Asia, Austrade) and Ryan Neelam (CEO, Centre for Australia-India Relations, Australian Government).
Professional Athletes
Steve Solomon (400m Olympic Sprinter), Ed Cowan (Former Test Cricketer), Trent Cotchin (3x Premiership Winning Captain, Richmond FC), Lisa Stahelakar (World Cup Winning Captain, Australian Womens Cricket Team).
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