Tech Titans Take Over Davos: A New Era of AI Leadership

The Impact of AI Dominance at the World Economic Forum’s Davos Meeting

The atmosphere at this year’s World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos was noticeably different, with Meta and Salesforce making their presence known on the main promenade. However, what truly set the tone for the event was the overwhelming focus on artificial intelligence (AI), which took center stage over traditional topics like climate change and global poverty. CEOs didn’t shy away from expressing their opinions, with public criticism of trade policy, warnings about AI bubbles, and discussions about the future of the industry.

Meanwhile, in Silicon Valley, the AI startup Humans& secured an impressive $480 million seed round without a product in the market. Their vision for “social intelligence” AI, coupled with a team of former employees from Anthropic, Google, and xAI, caught the attention of investors.

On TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane delve into the trend of raising substantial funding before product development, the key discussions at Davos, and more.

During the episode, listeners can expect insights on:

• Meta’s recent 10% layoffs at Reality Labs and the potential implications for the metaverse, as well as discussions on who is advocating for Meta’s VR investments.

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