Menu
Sign In Search Podcasts Libraries Charts People & Topics Add Podcast API Blog Pricing
Podcast Image

Prof G Markets

The AI Divide: Who Wins and Who Gets Replaced — ft. Bill Gurley

27 Mar 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.892 - 19.717 Scott Galloway

Support for the show comes from VCX, the public ticker for private tech. The U.S. stock market started history's greatest wave of wealth creation. From factory workers in Detroit to farmers in Omaha, anyone could own a piece of the great American companies. But today, our most innovative companies are staying private longer, which means everyday Americans are missing out. Until now.

0

20.397 - 40.095 Scott Galloway

Introducing VCX, a public ticker for private tech. Visit GetVCX.com for more info. That's GetVCX.com. Carefully consider the investment materials before investing, including objectives, risk charges, and expenses. This and other information can be found in the funds prospectus at GetVCX.com. This is a paid sponsorship.

0

43.332 - 66.583 Unknown

Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start? Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin? Or what that clunking sound from your dryer is? With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews all on the app.

0

66.603 - 67.244 Unknown

Download today.

0

68.025 - 94.404 Scott Galloway

Today's number, 100,000. I'm already laughing. Today's number, $100,000. That's how much a German terrorist sued New York City chain Los Tacos. Number one, two physical injuries from spicy salsa. Ed, how did Hitler rise to power? How? He brat out the worst in people. I don't know why I find that so funny. Get it? Bratwurst? He brat out the worst in people.

94.424 - 99.793 Ed Elson

You probably got to say he brat out the worst in people to sort of get it. Bratwurst? Bratwurst?

104.781 - 113.755 Unknown

Listen to me. Markets are bigger than us. What you have here is a structural change in the world distribution. Cash is trash. Stocks look pretty attractive. Something's going to break. Forget about it.

114.19 - 131.034 Scott Galloway

Okay, true story. I just told a very funny but very dirty joke, and the team wouldn't let me do it because we have Bill Gurley, a famous venture capitalist, on. So fucking VCs continue to ruin my life. Anyways, what are you up to?

131.074 - 149.156 Ed Elson

Just got back from Vegas. Oh, how was that? Guy's weekend. Guy's weekend, bachelor party. It was awesome. We did a lot of gambling, played a lot of blackjack, played a lot of craps, lost a lot of money. did what we're supposed to do. We stayed at the Wynn. We stayed at the Encore. We had dinner at Zuma.

Chapter 2: How can young people position themselves for success in the age of AI?

1097.914 - 1124.749 Bill Gurley

And so we've really had a fall off in the number of companies that are actually public. Partially, you could blame that on just a bureaucratic creep, and I would say kind of a legal creep, right? The number of weird derivative lawsuits that are allowed are part of what causes it to be expensive to be public. There was another thing that happened.

0

1124.769 - 1151.635 Bill Gurley

There used to be a shareholder threshold that would force you to go public, and there were a number of companies that that literally had to file as a result of that mechanism. That has been whittled away and taken down. And then I'd say more, if you're going to point the finger more directly, I would say the late-stage funds have come up with a pretty clever premise, which is if they can...

0

1151.615 - 1173.741 Bill Gurley

intercept those growth years that used to be in the public markets and keep it for themselves in an oligarchic kind of way there there's there's only a handful of these really really big funds then um then they get that growth they they get to steal that that economic upside maybe steals a strong word but but

0

1173.721 - 1196.165 Bill Gurley

And simultaneously with telling the founder you don't ever need to go public, they'll go around to the LP community, the endowments and foundations, and say, look, these companies are no longer going public. If you want exposure to those growth years, guess who you need to give money to? you know, me. And so it becomes self-reinforcing and that's what's been happening.

0

1196.866 - 1219.48 Bill Gurley

I also, one other thing that I think, the venture industry used to go through these periods and cycles where it would get reset and people would learn that you're taking too much risk and you'd get wiped out. From like 01 to 08, the number of venture capitalists got cut in half. I think we were headed towards a correction like that coming off the ZERP years, the zero interest rate period.

1220.421 - 1248.953 Bill Gurley

And right when it was about to be a correction, this AI wave took off and the money just flowed back in. So it's almost like I felt like we missed a bit of a correction and there's just risk seeking dollars everywhere. The thing that would cause it to stop is if somehow the money ran out. There was fear of a endowment tax causing a liquidity crisis at some of the foundations, Harvard and

1250.435 - 1274.518 Bill Gurley

Yale, I think, got into the secondary market last year. And so there was a sign that, oh, wait, this could cause a liquidity crunch. And I think there's a reasonable argument, by the way, that both the commercial real estate, the venture capital, and the PE marks are all too high at all of those endowments and foundations. But that's a whole other story.

1277.063 - 1283.547 Ed Elson

We'll be right back after the break. And if you're enjoying the show so far, please send it to a friend and follow us if you haven't already.

1292.909 - 1317.313 Unknown

to automatically receive new episodes every Thursday.

Chapter 3: What career advice does Bill Gurley offer to young professionals?

1327.527 - 1359.045 Scott Galloway

You need to be proactive about where every dollar is going. And part of that is having a bank that actually works for you. Enter SoFi. SoFi Plus is a premium membership, a smart way to get more for your money. SoFi Plus is packed with benefits and unlock a thousand or more in annual value with qualifying activities. Thank you so much for having me.

0

1359.025 - 1376.376 Scott Galloway

SoFi is also giving 20 individuals $1,000 in cash prizes and 50 winners free SoFi Plus memberships for a year. Head to SoFi.com slash ScottG to enter. Terms and conditions apply. To learn more about SoFi Plus, head to SoFi.com slash SoFi hyphen plus.

0

1382.077 - 1403.284 Unknown

AI has reached the point where it's in every industry you can think of. And CFOs and CIOs are feeling the pressure, not only to justify their AI spend, but to incorporate it safely, because the real challenge isn't adopting AI. It's understanding how it's being used and how to maximize its value. That's exactly what Laridon focuses on.

0

1403.785 - 1427.68 Unknown

Laridon is the AI impact intelligence platform designed to help organizations understand how AI tools are used, Laridon explains the opportunities to get more out of AI and the value AI initiatives deliver. Instead of just counting logins or installations, Laridon tracks real utilization, proficiency, governance, and impact. Metrics that matter when enterprises scale their AI.

0

1428.181 - 1447.556 Unknown

Plus, Laridon identifies the best opportunities to generate more value from AI across all your teams. So if you're a business leader who wants clear insight into AI adoption and outcomes, instead of guesswork, you should check out Laridon. If AI is already part of your organization, now's the moment to get control of it.

1448.158 - 1452.887 Unknown

Head to laridon.com today and book a demo to start maximizing impact from AI.

1462.199 - 1484.192 Ed Elson

We're back with ProfgMarkets. What do you think would happen? I mean, how would a correction play out? Are you worried that we are maybe about to face one in this market? I know there are concerns in the private credit markets. There were seemingly concerns about AI that there was a bubble. Now that's slightly dissipated. We're seeing the value. We're seeing these incredible tools.

1485.114 - 1488.679 Ed Elson

What are your thoughts on the possibility of a correction? What would it look like?

1488.76 - 1513.453 Bill Gurley

I mean, I always give credit to Carletta Perez, who wrote this book that says that bubbles follow waves that are real. So I disagree with this idea that, oh, it's either a bubble or it's real. Because when you say, oh, there's a bubble, people go, oh, you don't believe in AI. No, the fact that it's real... causes people to get rich quick.

Chapter 4: How does AI impact the job market and career paths?

2883.205 - 2919.052 Bill Gurley

And so the difference from peak to trough every day is about 4x. And so it's pretty easy for a Waymo to compete in the first 25% of a market. As you try and go up, you'd have to ask yourself questions about how active you want and utilization rates that you want because you can't really build a fleet to peak, if you understand what I'm saying. And so, you know, we'll see.

0

2919.072 - 2948.551 Bill Gurley

I mean, obviously, what DAR is doing is running out and partnering with every AV vendor possible he can. The approach that I had been pushing for, which didn't play out, but was one where you would actually embrace open source ideals around the autonomous stack is in as many places as you can. Because if If that piece of the stack is more of a commodity, then the network will win.

0

2948.851 - 2950.554 Bill Gurley

There's just no doubt about it.

0

2951.035 - 2965.798 Scott Galloway

So distinctive professional advice around what industry to go into. What advice would you have for a lot of young people listening to the show, especially young men? What advice, maybe on a more personal level, would you offer to your 25-year-old self?

0

2965.998 - 2999.588 Bill Gurley

Well, I have a hard time not reflecting on the book that I've been talking so much about in this window. And I've come to believe that if you were pointed at something that you just have a remarkable obsession with—and other people have made that statement. Paul Graham has this statement about disinterested obsession— You're going to have all this energy to excel yourself past everyone else.

3000.129 - 3028.478 Bill Gurley

And it may be that that's impossible for some, like they just don't have that thing that they're most obsessed with. But I think your job security... is higher being differentiated and being a constant learner in almost any field than you are picking a field because you think the field is safe if you enter that field and you're ambivalent about whether you're making yourself better or not.

3028.838 - 3029.519 Scott Galloway

Bill, do you have children?

3029.92 - 3030.14 Bill Gurley

Yes.

3031.261 - 3033.805 Scott Galloway

Any thoughts or any advice to young dads?

Comments

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.