The AI Edge Podcast: CRE & AI

Recent Episodes

1. Zillow Doesn’t Own Homeownership. He Wants To

   Jul 21, 2026

   Bobby Bryant, founder and CEO of HomeHub AI, discusses his vision to build an AI-native real estate operating system that consolidates the fragmented homeownership journey into a single platform. Unlike traditional listing portals (Zillow, Realtor.com) that serve only the transaction, HomeHub addresses the entire lifecycle of homeownership—buying, selling, renting, financing, services, and post-purchase support—while giving consumers and agents greater control and reducing MLS dependency. Bryant shares his 27-year journey from teacher to mortgage broker to real estate entrepreneur, explaining how industry fragmentation and the rise of AI created an opportunity to rebuild real estate infrastructure from the ground up.

2. He Refused to Sell, So She Became His Competition

   Jul 18, 2026

   Cassie Smith, founder and president of KS Global Development, discusses her nearly three-decade career shaping luxury real estate environments including branded residences, resort communities, private clubs, and large-scale master plan developments. The conversation covers how iconic projects are built behind the scenes—from vision and brand alignment through capital structuring, municipal approvals, and operational execution. Smith shares insights on the evolution of luxury real estate, the critical importance of stakeholder communication, the rise of AI in predictive infrastructure management, and the distinction between true private clubs and social clubs.

3. Why Construction Projects Actually Fail (It Isn't What You Think)

   Jul 18, 2026

   Nick Johnson, Director of Business Development at Rizick Building Group and President of Contractors, Closures & Connections (CCC) Nashville, discusses why construction projects fail—not in the field, but upstream in planning, approvals, and stakeholder alignment. He shares insights from managing $30M in annual revenue with 15 employees across food service, retail, and emerging verticals, and explains how relationship-based operations, transparency, and early stakeholder involvement drive project success in a rapidly growing Nashville market.

4. Why Your Kids Still Won't Be Able to Afford a Home

   Jul 18, 2026

   Dave Hewey, founder and CEO of Sound Capital, discusses the residential construction lending business and the national housing affordability crisis. With a background building MLS data aggregation businesses and real estate technology, Hewey explains how Sound Capital connects passive investors with active real estate developers and homebuilders, having funded billions in construction loans. The conversation covers the root causes of housing unaffordability (supply-demand imbalance, regulatory burden, labor costs), why interest rate cuts won't solve the crisis, and how AI is actually being applied in lending versus the hype.

5. The Industrial Revolution Is Happening Again, This Time With AI

   Jul 17, 2026

   GS Panu, co-founder and CEO of Trajan AI, discusses building an AI factory for construction risk that combines technical underwriting, lead generation, and portfolio analysis with a national space-time intelligence database. The conversation covers how Panu transitioned from real estate development and investing into AI-powered insurance and lending infrastructure, the critical difference between AI models and data infrastructure, and how fragmented data and manual workflows plague the construction insurance industry. Panu explains Trajan's three revenue streams (automated underwriting, data calls for underwriters, and lead generation), the misaligned incentives in insurance brokerage, and the importance of proprietary data and accuracy as competitive moats in durable AI companies.

6. Everyone Wants AI. Almost Nobody Is Ready for It.

   Jul 17, 2026

   Fabian Heviger, GP at Studio Alpha Capital, discusses the realities of AI adoption in enterprise organizations and the opportunities in AI-native startups. He explains Studio Alpha's three-stage investment model (100-day production program, promoteur phase, and five-year world tour program) and shares patterns he's observing in successful AI founding teams—typically pairing technical AI expertise with domain-specific insider knowledge. Heviger also addresses the gap between AI hype and sustainable value creation, emphasizing that while the technology is real, the hard work lies in data preparation and integration for traditional enterprises like banks and large corporations.

7. At 26, He Built a $102M Real Estate Platform by Doing What Everyone Else Outsources

   Jul 17, 2026

   Josh Dwug, 26-year-old founder and CEO of Golden Legacy Partners, discusses building a vertically integrated real estate platform rooted in the Notre Dame community. The company operates across investments, development, construction, management, property operations, asset management, and brokerage, with 24 employees and $102M in residential sales in their first significant year. Josh covers the execution of Legacy Landings, a 36-unit condo conversion completed in 28 days, and how discipline, team alignment, and lessons from his Notre Dame football career drive the company's growth and culture.

8. The Property Managers Who Win With AI Won't Replace People. They'll Free Them.

   Jul 15, 2026

   Teresa Weatherberry, president and CEO of Rehuba, a third-generation family-owned property management and real estate investment company in Maryland, discusses how AI can enhance rather than replace human workers in property management. With 700 units across 5 properties and 15 employees, Rehuba is implementing AI tools for service ticket automation, lease renewals, and lead qualification while maintaining the human relationships that define resident experience. The conversation explores balancing technology adoption with team engagement, scaling challenges, and the strategic thinking that AI can free teams to pursue.

9. He Turned $1,500 Into $70 Million by Investing Where Everyone Else Looked Away

   Jul 10, 2026

   Major Hillard, founder of MH Estates, discusses his journey from $1,500 to $70 million in manufactured housing transactions. He explains how MH Estates operates as a vertically integrated fund purchasing, refurbishing, and managing mobile home communities across the Southeast while generating investor returns and creating affordable housing. The conversation covers value-add acquisition strategy, operational scaling, AI implementation, and his philosophy of investing with impact.

10. He Built AI That Underwrites Multifamily Deals in Minutes, Not Hours

    Jul 9, 2026

    Joel Beckel, co-founder and CEO of Zuma Capital Group and founder of DealFlow Pro, discusses building an AI-native multifamily underwriting platform that reduces deal analysis from hours to minutes. Drawing on 35 years of real estate investing experience combined with a background in software development, Beckel explores how workflow automation and AI standardization—not just AI extraction—create competitive advantage in multifamily acquisitions. The conversation covers practical deal underwriting, operational scaling, and where human judgment remains essential.