In this episode of Open the Pod Bay Doors, Ian Gardiner sits down with Ella Greer, AI Customer Engineer at Google Cloud, for a deep dive into how AI is actually being built, deployed, and scaled inside real businesses today.

Ella works hands-on with some of Australia’s leading companies — from startups to enterprise — helping them design and implement AI roadmaps. This conversation cuts through the hype and focuses on what’s really happening on the ground: from early experimentation to production-scale AI systems.

They cover:
The shift from AI experimentation to real-world deployment and scale
What an “AI Customer Engineer” actually does inside Google
Why startups are still the most exciting (and fastest-moving) AI adopters
What “agents” and “agentic systems” really mean — explained simply
 How companies are moving from proof-of-concept to real business outcomes
Why the SaaS model is under pressure — and what replaces it
Where the new “moats” are in an AI-first world (data, verticalisation, expertise)
The rise of usage-based pricing and token-driven business models
How AI is reshaping product development, engineering, and startup costs
Why great engineers still matter — and what skills actually endure
How founders should think about AI today (and why it’s no longer optional)

They also explore:
The future of AI pricing — why intelligence gets cheaper, but better models cost more
Whether AGI is close (and why definitions matter)
The role of DeepMind as Google’s research engine
Why AI adoption is still uneven — and why most people aren’t using it deeply (yet)
How founders and investors should evaluate AI companies in a noisy market

Ella brings a practical, engineering-first perspective with clear takeaways for founders, operators, and investors navigating the AI shift.

Quick Fire Round
📚 Book recommendation – Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
🎧 Podcast recommendation – Latent Space (AI engineering deep dives)
🗞️ News source – Alpha Signal (AI research + repo summaries)
👩‍💼 Favourite leader – Lila Ibrahim (COO, DeepMind / Chief AI Readiness Officer)
🛠️ Productivity tool – Gemini CLI (with strong context engineering)
📺 TV / entertainment – Married at First Sight (pure brain-off viewing)

A sharp, grounded conversation on where AI is actually delivering value — and what to do about it.

In this episode of Open the Pod Bay Doors, Ian Gardiner sits down with Ella Greer, AI Customer Engineer at Google Cloud, for a deep dive into how AI is actually being built, deployed, and scaled inside real businesses today.
Ella works hands-on with some of Australia&rsquo;s leading companies &mdash; from startups to enterprise &mdash; helping them design and implement AI roadmaps. This conversation cuts through the hype and focuses on what&rsquo;s really happening on the ground: from early experimentation to production-scale AI systems.
They cover:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">The shift from AI experimentation to real-world deployment and scale</li>
<li aria-level="1">What an &ldquo;AI Customer Engineer&rdquo; actually does inside Google</li>
<li aria-level="1">Why startups are still the most exciting (and fastest-moving) AI adopters</li>
<li aria-level="1">What &ldquo;agents&rdquo; and &ldquo;agentic systems&rdquo; really mean &mdash; explained simply</li>
<li aria-level="1">&nbsp;How companies are moving from proof-of-concept to real business outcomes</li>
<li aria-level="1">Why the SaaS model is under pressure &mdash; and what replaces it</li>
<li aria-level="1">Where the new &ldquo;moats&rdquo; are in an AI-first world (data, verticalisation, expertise)</li>
<li aria-level="1">The rise of usage-based pricing and token-driven business models</li>
<li aria-level="1">How AI is reshaping product development, engineering, and startup costs</li>
<li aria-level="1">Why great engineers still matter &mdash; and what skills actually endure</li>
<li aria-level="1">How founders should think about AI today (and why it&rsquo;s no longer optional)</li>
</ul>
They also explore:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">The future of AI pricing &mdash; why intelligence gets cheaper, but better models cost more</li>
<li aria-level="1">Whether AGI is close (and why definitions matter)</li>
<li aria-level="1">The role of DeepMind as Google&rsquo;s research engine</li>
<li aria-level="1">Why AI adoption is still uneven &mdash; and why most people aren&rsquo;t using it deeply (yet)</li>
<li aria-level="1">How founders and investors should evaluate AI companies in a noisy market</li>
</ul>
Ella brings a practical, engineering-first perspective with clear takeaways for founders, operators, and investors navigating the AI shift.
Quick Fire Round 📚 Book recommendation &ndash; Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 🎧 Podcast recommendation &ndash; Latent Space (AI engineering deep dives) 🗞️ News source &ndash; Alpha Signal (AI research + repo summaries) 👩&zwj;💼 Favourite leader &ndash; Lila Ibrahim (COO, DeepMind / Chief AI Readiness Officer) 🛠️ Productivity tool &ndash; Gemini CLI (with strong context engineering) 📺 TV / entertainment &ndash; Married at First Sight (pure brain-off viewing)
A sharp, grounded conversation on where AI is actually delivering value &mdash; and what to do about it.

There is a lot of activity in the Australian startup ecosystem. Ideas, talent, and money are all flowing into this sector at an unprecedented rate. 

This weekly podcast brings in-depth interviews with the best people making the biggest difference.

It's brought to you by Ian Gardiner and Phaedon Stough, technology entrepreneurs helping to grow the startup sector in Australia and New Zealand. Ian and Phaedon co-founded Innovation Bay with a clear mission to help technology entrepreneurs succeed.

A weekly deep dive into Australia's tech and startup ecosystem. Brought to you by Innovation Bay

Open the Pod Bay Doors

The Australian and New Zealand startup ecosystem is burgeoning, exciting and filled with some of the most fascinating minds on the planet, all driven by a passion to make a positive and lasting impact. Open The Pod Bay Doors invites some of the brightest minds in the industry for deep conversations and awe-inspiring insights from their captivating journeys. Lend us your ears to gain some fresh knowledge and broaden your insights. Brought to you weekly by Innovation Bay. 

The Australian and New Zealand startup ecosystem is burgeoning, exciting and filled with some of the most fascinating minds on the planet, all driven by a passion to make a positive and lasting impact. Open The Pod Bay Doors invites some of the brightest minds in the industry for deep conversations and awe-inspiring insights from their captivating journeys. Lend us your ears to gain some fresh knowledge and broaden your insights. Brought to you weekly by Innovation Bay.