“I don't think Silicon Valley knows anything about networking anymore.” — Anil Varanasi
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Anil Varanasi, co-founder and CEO of Meter, is building a new kind of networking company for the AI era. Alongside his brother Sunil, he has helped raise more than $250 million to challenge incumbents like Cisco with a vertically integrated approach spanning hardware, software, deployment, and ongoing operations, all delivered through a utility-style model. His view is that networking has remained largely unchanged for decades, even as it has become foundational to everything from AI workloads to real-world infrastructure. Meter’s ambition is not just to improve existing networks, but to make them autonomous over time. Before starting the company, Anil and Sunil were deeply involved in filmmaking, a background that still shapes their philosophy of building with cathedral-level craft across every layer of the stack.
Together we explore:
The “burden of knowledge” and why progress is getting harder across fields
Why most companies over-index on technology and ignore business model innovation
The three ways companies create advantage: technology, delivery, and business model
How Meter’s trade-in model borrows from the automotive industry
Why networking should function like electricity or water—not hardware
Lessons from Japanese vending machine logistics for infrastructure deployment
The hidden coordination problem behind vertically integrated companies
Why Anil believes “common knowledge” is often wrong
How COVID forced Meter to abandon geographic constraints and scale nationally
The case for fully autonomous networks in a world of exploding demand
Thank you to the partners who make this possible
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Brex: The intelligent finance platform.
Explore the episode
Timestamps
(00:00) Introduction to Anil Varanasi and Meter
(03:52) The burden of knowledge and slowing innovation
(08:18) Losing creativity vs gaining expertise
(10:25) What Meter actually does
(13:26) Early life, immigration, and upbringing
(15:47) Parental influence
(20:03) Film, storytelling, and creative influence
(22:55) Why Anil didn’t pursue filmmaking
(25:44) Parallels between company building and filmmaking
(27:00) Early programming and building
(28:05) George Mason and understanding systems
(29:59) The dynamic of working with his brother as a co-founder
(34:03) His first business and lessons learned (or lack thereof)
(35:15) Lessons from successful companies
(38:16) Japanese vending machines and logistics insight
(41:10) Scrapping 18 months of work
(42:40) Conviction and long-term company building
(46:02) COVID shock and near-death moment
(49:59) Building hardware like a cathedral
(52:25) Rethinking the networking business model
(57:06) Build vs buy and transaction costs
(59:39) Networking as infrastructure and utility
(01:01:30) The case for autonomous networks
(01:03:25) Hiring, talent, and what actually matters
(01:06:15) Big unanswered questions (sleep, science)
(01:07:28) Rethinking education
(01:09:02) Infinite games and long-term thinking
Follow Anil Varanasi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anilcv
Website: https://anilv.com
Resources and episode mentions
Books
The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All The Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Stagnation-Low-Hanging-Eventually-eSpecial-ebook/dp/B004H0M8QS
Finite and Infinite Games: https://www.amazon.com/Finite-Infinite-Games-James-Carse/dp/1476731713
People
Matt Clancy’s blog: https://www.newthingsunderthesun.com
Warren Buffett: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett
Charlie Munger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Munger
Orson Welles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles
Ronald Reagan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan
Arnold Schwarzenegger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schwarzenegger
P.C. Sreeram: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0820269
Satyajit Ray: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyajit_Ray
Mani Ratnam: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mani_Ratnam
Elon Musk on X: https://x.com/elonmusk
Ashlee Vance: https://www.ashleevance.com
Dwarkesh Patel’s podcast: https://www.dwarkesh.com
Other resources
Meter: https://www.meter.com
Coefficient Giving: https://coefficientgiving.org
George Mason University: https://www.gmu.edu
You Are Not Late: https://medium.com/message/you-are-not-late-b3d76f963142
The End of Asymmetric Information: https://www.cato-unbound.org/2015/04/06/alex-tabarrok-tyler-cowen/end-asymmetric-information
Sam Altman on Trust, Persuasion, and the Future of Intelligence - Live at the Progress Conference (Ep. 259): https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/sam-altman-2
P. C. Sreeram (Babu Export Company): https://babuexportcompany.com/9381/
The Apu Trilogy: https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/1145-the-apu-trilogy?srsltid=AfmBOor2rfr6GalePfNZXS7QiljZiehumuoJXvu4TyL2szofL16qrAIp
Nayakan: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093603
Marty Supreme: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32916440
Ford: https://www.ford.com
Toyota: https://www.toyota.com
Intel: https://www.intel.com
Adobe: https://www.adobe.com
Cisco: https://www.cisco.com
NVIDIA: https://www.nvidia.com
Things we don’t understand: https://anilv.com/understand#
Waldorf education: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_education
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