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Zachary Smith is CEO and co-founder of Datum, and previously founded Packet (acquired by Equinix for $335M) and Voxel (acquired for $35M). His background is unusual for infrastructure. He trained as a classical bassist at Juilliard before moving into building internet and cloud companies.

Here, Zac talks about why he thinks the internet is heading toward its biggest shift since the rise of the cloud. As AI agents and a growing number of applications put new strain on the open web, Zac makes the case that the public internet model may not hold — and that private networks, closer in structure to something like the Visa network, could become the norm.

Also available on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

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