AI investment will unleash innovation, but people need permission to fail: PwC boss
The current wave of experimentation and investment could lead to more companies capable of seeking IPOs, he said.
The significant investment flowing into artificial intelligence (AI) will spawn a new generation of businesses and public listings, according to Mohamed Kande, the global chairman of professional services firm PwC. Kande believes that the greatest breakthroughs will likely arise in places that foster experimentation, failure, and perseverance.
While AI investment is generating excitement, Kande warned that success is not guaranteed. He emphasized that innovation often emerges after numerous attempts and that societies must be tolerant of failure to encourage risk-taking. He highlighted the United States as a prime example of a society that embraces risk-taking and provides a conducive environment for experimentation.
Kande pointed out that as AI moves beyond the initial frontier models developed by technology giants like OpenAI and Anthropic, it will transition into the inference phase, where trained models are applied to various business operations. This transition will see the emergence of a new wave of companies that leverage existing AI models to solve industry-specific problems. These applications could range from AI-driven factory operations and drug discovery to enhanced hospital management and improved customer service.
Kande noted that this new generation of businesses will not be the creators of new frontier models but rather the users of AI technology to address industry-specific challenges. He emphasized that the IPO market may appear dominated by a small group of large technology companies, but this is a misconception. Many smaller AI-driven businesses could eventually go public, contributing to the growth of the AI ecosystem.
While the massive influx of capital into AI has raised concerns about a potential bubble and the possibility of another global financial crisis, Kande emphasized that he cannot predict such outcomes. He also highlighted that the AI ecosystem's influence spans multiple industries, making it different from the 2008 financial crisis, which primarily affected financial services.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
