CJ Desai, CEO of MongoDB, discusses why platforms, not products, are the key to long-term success in the software industry, especially in the age of AI. He explores the shifting landscape of enterprise software, the reality of AI adoption in Fortune 500 companies, and what truly constitutes a "moat" when software can be generated on demand.
OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar and investor Vinod Khosla discuss the immense demand for AI compute, debunking the 'bubble' narrative by highlighting real-world productivity gains. They explore the future of agents, AI in healthcare, enterprise adoption, and the transformative potential of robotics on the global economy.
A viral MIT report claimed 95% of enterprise AI projects fail. This isn't because AI doesn't work, but because large companies are ill-equipped to build it. This creates a massive opportunity for startups that can deliver functional, integrated AI solutions where enterprises and established vendors fall short.
Ben Lorica and Evangelos Simoudis discuss signals of an AI bubble, including runaway valuations and circular financing. They explore why many enterprise AI pilots fail and what separates successful adopters—namely, a focus on measurable use cases and organizational transformation—and offer a nuanced perspective on the US-China tech race, cautioning against underestimating China's progress in AI, robotics, and semiconductors.
Grant Miller uses a surfing analogy to explore the challenges and strategies of AI adoption. He discusses the historical waves of technological innovation, the current surge in AI—from generative models to agentic systems—and offers practical lessons on navigating this rapid change by being prepared, patient, and adaptable.
Elias Torres, co-founder of Drift and Agency, discusses the prevalent expectation mismatch in AI adoption, where businesses demand AI but reject it due to "imperfection anxiety." Drawing from his experiences scaling HubSpot and Drift, he explains why human-led customer experience is fundamentally unscalable and details how his new venture, Agency, is building autonomous, AI-first solutions to solve deep, back-end customer challenges. His goal is to "deprogram the entire business world" from inefficient, human-dependent processes.