What does it take to turn a personal challenge into a groundbreaking company? In this episode of The Innovators Playbook Podcast, host Seth Narayanan speaks with Akshita Iyer, Founder & CEO of Ome Kitchen. From her neuroscience background to building a connected device featured on Shark Tank, Akshita shares the behind-the-scenes reality of scaling hardware, navigating supply chain chaos, and pushing through doubt with grit and vision. Whether you’re an innovator, entrepreneur, or simply curious about the future of smart living, this conversation will inspire and inform

Lesley Jordan, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Clinicom, joins Seth Narayanan to share how AI is transforming the landscape of mental and behavioral healthcare. From adaptive assessments and longitudinal patient tracking to LLM-generated SOAP notes and robust HIPAA/CFR compliance—this episode uncovers the building blocks of a tech-first healthcare platform.

Key discussion points:

• The difference between augmented and artificial intelligence in healthcare
• How Clinicom uses IBM Watson for clinical narrative generation
• Secure patient data handling and global compliance strategies
• Balancing product vs. tech leadership in a startup environment
• Using AI for population health insights and future innovation

If you're building in healthtech or curious about how AI can support clinicians and patients, this episode is a must-listen.

In this episode of The Innovators Playbook, host Seth Narayanan sits down with Chris Mallinson, Director of Software Engineering at Nanotronics, to explore the high-stakes world where robotics, AI, and precision manufacturing converge.

Chris shares how his teams build cutting-edge inspection tools for the semiconductor industry, the challenges of integrating hardware and software, and why one small mistake can cost up to $30,000.

You’ll hear about:

• The shift from monolithic systems to modular, scalable software
• How AI is used (and avoided) in robotics to balance innovation and risk
• Why hardware constraints still slow down automation
• Where the next breakthroughs in semiconductor inspection may come from
• Advice for students and engineers looking to break into robotics

Whether you’re in tech, manufacturing, or just curious about the future of automation, this conversation offers rare insight into one of the most advanced engineering fields today.