AI is framed as the latest major technological wave, comparable in significance to the PC, internet, cloud, and mobile eras. This cycle is unique because it builds on the infrastructure of all previous cycles, enabling unprecedented speed of adoption and global reach.
The "walled garden" concept is a key investment thesis, positing that companies with exclusive access to valuable, proprietary data can create highly defensible businesses. By applying AI to this data, they can offer unique, high-value "finished products" that general-purpose models cannot replicate.
The most significant impact of AI is not just improving efficiency but creating entirely new software categories. AI can automate complex cognitive tasks that were previously too expensive or impractical for humans to perform at scale, thereby unlocking new markets and value propositions.
AI is rendering outdated business models, like the per-seat-per-month SaaS model or the billable hour in law, obsolete. AI's ability to deliver non-linear value and automate labor creates a need for new pricing strategies and exposes incumbents with misaligned incentives to disruption.
Keep pulling the thread on David Haber, Anish Acharya & Jen Kha.