#15 HYSKY Pod: Val Miftakhov | Why I Stepped Down as ZeroAvia CEO

See Val Miftakhov live at FlyingHY https://www.hysky.org/flying-hy Huge thanks to our sponsor, Unither Bioelectronics https://unither.aero/en/ What happens when one of hydrogen aviation's most influential pioneers steps down from the company he founded? In Episode #15 of HYSKY Pod, Danielle McLean sits down with Val Miftakhov, founder of ZeroAvia, to discuss his departure as CEO, the realities of certifying hydrogen aircraft, the impact of changing political landscapes on climate technology, and his next stealth AI energy venture. But this conversation quickly goes far beyond aviation. Val shares stories from his childhood in Siberia, the physics teacher who changed his life, his thoughts on AI, consciousness, digital immortality, mind uploading, the future of humanity, entrepreneurship, and why he believes the most transformative technologies of our lifetime are still ahead of us. This is one of the most philosophical, futuristic, and thought-provoking episodes of HYSKY Pod yet. Watch, subscribe, and join the conversation shaping the future of energy, aviation, AI, and humanity. KEY POINTS FOR QUICK NAVIGATION: 01:25 Welcome & ZeroAvia leadership transition 02:30 Why Val stepped down as CEO of ZeroAvia 04:22 Funding challenges, politics & the new administration 05:45 Val's stealth AI and energy startup revealed 09:08 Growing up in Belarus and Siberia 10:56 The physics teacher who changed his life forever 16:38 Digital immortality, mind uploading & living forever 20:13 Home labs, AI models & building local LLMs 38:14 God, consciousness & the origins of the universe 48:06 Favorite physicists, Oppenheimer & scientific leadership 58:32 Building startups, failures & creating new industries 01:02:08 Hydrogen aviation, certification & government regulation 01:10:34 The UK's Hydrogen Sandbox explained 01:11:02 The future of transportation & autonomous mobility 01:12:37 A future of abundance, AI & humanity's purpose TOPICS DISCUSSED \* ZeroAvia \* Hydrogen aviation \* Sustainable aviation \* Fuel cell aircraft \* AI energy systems \* Grid balancing \* Digital immortality \* Consciousness \* Mind uploading \* Artificial intelligence \* Large language models \* Entrepreneurship \* Startup leadership \* Physics \* Future technology \* Autonomous transportation \* Climate technology \* Aviation certification FOLLOW HYSKY Subscribe for conversations with the pioneers building the future of hydrogen, aviation, energy, AI, and advanced technology. #HYSKYPod #ZeroAvia #ValMiftakhov #HydrogenAviation #Hydrogen #FuelCells #SustainableAviation #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureTech #ClimateTech #EnergyTransition #Aviation #CleanEnergy #Podcast