WEBVTT - Rivian's Earnings and Zoom Shares Rally 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:16.520 I'm Caroline Hyde of Rumberg's World headquarters in New York, 0:00:17.079 --> 0:00:19.880 and I made Lovelow in San Francisco. This is Bloomberg 0:00:19.920 --> 0:00:23.360 Technology coming up a deep dive into the world of evs. 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:25.759 We break down Rivian's earnings and we push your head 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:29.680 to Tesla's and yesterday class. We'll speak to the CFO 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:32.760 of Zoom as the pandemic, Darling rallies on a strong 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:36.800 earnings forecast, and Bain Ventures it's raising nearly two billion 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:40.960 dollars in two new venture funds targeting startups of all sizes. 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:44.160 We sit down exclusively with Matt Harris, Bain Ventures partner 0:00:44.240 --> 0:00:46.600 for more. But before we go into the private side 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:48.920 of the market, let's talk so much more about the 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:51.680 world of earnings we've done Rivian. Let's push your head 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:54.080 to what was really on the move today in trading, 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:55.840 and it was Zoom. You must have seen it, of 0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:58.240 course after the bell yesterday released its fourth quarter earnings 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:02.280 and they be shares rallied therefore as they reported better 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:05.800 than expected results, in particular a strong outlook for adjusted earnings. 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:09.640 Let's bring in the CFO, Kelly seckelberb for more. Kelly 0:01:09.680 --> 0:01:12.039 always great to have you on the show. Just tell 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:15.320 us about the focus on profitability this new environment, how 0:01:15.360 --> 0:01:18.560 are you able to boost them so swiftly? Yeah, thanks 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:22.240 for having me. So, we are always focusing on opportunities 0:01:22.280 --> 0:01:24.720 to drive top line growth, but we want to be 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:29.040 very thoughtful about our investments, and in Q four we 0:01:29.080 --> 0:01:32.679 took a very concerted effort of looking at our expenses 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:36.319 in that period and being very thoughtful about prioritizing how 0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:40.320 we were spending those dollars. And then, unfortunately, we announced 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:43.360 a few weeks ago that we were doing a reduction 0:01:43.640 --> 0:01:47.440 and that that would comprise about fifteen percent of our workforce, 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:49.720 which some of that has already been impacted here in 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:52.440 the United States, and then the rest of it will 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:55.360 happen over time. And what that does is it sets 0:01:55.440 --> 0:01:59.240 us up very nicely for profitability for FY twenty four, 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:02.720 which is what we gave guidance on yesterday, and we 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:05.880 guided to profitability for the full year of FY twenty 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:08.760 four of around thirty six percent, which was about twenty 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:13.720 percent ahead of where consensus was. And we will certainly 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:17.720 keep our eye on you making that profitability, but also 0:02:17.800 --> 0:02:20.520 looking for opportunities to reinvest if there are areas to 0:02:20.560 --> 0:02:24.320 innovate for our opportunities to add capacity in our sales organizations. 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:27.000 So tell us why that innovation, why that investment comes from. 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:29.520 Because I'm looking at Pipisona the analyst there, you say, look, 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:33.239 you need to look beyond meetings and invest fast. You're 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:35.480 already doing it in AI. Where else are you looking? 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:39.480 So we are really excited about the continued growth of 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:42.600 our platform. We certainly have already moved beyond meetings. We 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:46.120 have Zoom Phone, which is our cloud PBF solution, and 0:02:46.120 --> 0:02:49.080 we announced on the call yesterday we've sold over five 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:51.760 and a half million seats of that product, so really 0:02:51.760 --> 0:02:55.880 excited there. We also have Zoom Contact Center, which is 0:02:56.120 --> 0:03:00.320 also our natively built cloud based contact center, is our 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:04.520 largest call, our largest customer to date on that platform yesterday. 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:07.480 And then we have Zoom Mikeeper sales. And I should 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:10.800 mention that both Zoom Contact Center and Zoomkeeper Sales are 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:15.959 highly leveraging AI in their solutions to bring intelligent answers 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:20.760 to our customers and our prospects. Kelly JP Morgan Similarly, 0:03:20.960 --> 0:03:23.520 you know they're talking about the new products when those 0:03:23.600 --> 0:03:27.880 gain traction balancing against execution risk, but they also want 0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:30.560 to know about when the macro picture improves and helps 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:33.239 your top line is the CFO, what are you seeing 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:35.520 in your end markets? What are you hearing about the 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:39.840 health of your customers and the global economy right now? Yeah, 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:43.880 certainly the economy has been a headwind for us on 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:48.400 a global basis. We are facing currency pressures just like 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:52.280 everyone else is as well as you know, customers just 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:56.400 being very thoughtful about every dollar that they're investing, and 0:03:56.880 --> 0:04:01.200 that was lesilting in elongate sales cycles and more deal scrutiny. However, 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:03.920 you know, a Zoom is very well positioned even in 0:04:03.960 --> 0:04:07.880 this market because we are highly priced competitive, and what 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:10.760 we offer is the opportunity for our customers to consolidate 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:14.360 more on this platform that they already know and love, 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:18.359 and the change management is easy if they already deployed 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:21.839 the Zoom client. And so what we see is that 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:24.599 we have an opportunity to really bring more value to 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:28.400 our customers and potentially upsell them even in an environment 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:32.080 where they might be looking for cost savings themselves. Kelly, 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:35.839 Zoom went there just like every other technology company. This week, 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:39.800 Artificial intelligence took us through the strategy behind AI. Are 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:44.040 you acting a bit opportunistically talking about AI this week. No, 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:47.760 so AI is not new to the Zoom platform. We 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:51.080 have had aspects of AI embedded in our solution for 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:54.240 a very long time. We have things like transcription, so 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:56.520 if you record a Zoom meeting, you can get an 0:04:56.520 --> 0:05:01.880 automated transcription, you know result after that. We also have translation, 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:05.520 which is very valuable when you're working with multinationals. And 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:07.720 then we do have some new products that we're announced 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:10.440 in Q four. We have Zoom Virtual Agent, which is 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:13.880 part of our contact center solution. It's our conversational AI 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:17.479 solution that was accelerated by our acquisition of Salving, which 0:05:17.520 --> 0:05:20.279 was done a few quarters ago. We also have Zoom 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:25.040 Iq for Sales, which uses AI to analyze meetings and 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:28.960 help make them as effective as possible. So we have 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:31.719 been leveraging AI. What I think you've heard of a 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:34.880 call yesterday is Eric is really excited about continuing to 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:37.200 do more and partnering with open AI. But it's not 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:41.560 new for us Catty anything new in terms of acquisitions planned, 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:47.000 So we are always looking for opportunities. You know. In 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:49.640 the call yesterday, we highlighted a few areas that you 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:52.200 could see potential growth from US in FY twenty four. 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:56.559 That includes continued expansion of the platform, so I think, 0:05:56.800 --> 0:06:00.640 you know, expanding into products, extending our products. What we've 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:04.080 done to date has been acquisitions that have accelerated our development. 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:07.920 We also talked about departmental applications, which I think lend 0:06:08.000 --> 0:06:12.320 themselves nicely to potential acquisitions. So we're constantly looking for 0:06:12.360 --> 0:06:16.200 those opportunities, and you know, it's a big part of 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:18.240 how we think about our growth strategy and our capital 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:22.760 allocation strategy as well. Zoom CFO Kelly Steckelberg, thank you 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:24.880 so much for your time. Zoom shares closing up a 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:36.600 little more than one percent following that court's earnings. Tesla 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:40.040 has just announced a new plant in northern Mexico. It's 0:06:40.080 --> 0:06:43.200 it's fifth factory so far, but it's first south of 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:46.520 the US border. This as the electric vehicle makers trying 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:48.720 to beef up its capacity, which already stands at one 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:53.000 point nine million cars per year. It's also as Mexico 0:06:53.000 --> 0:06:56.320 in particular is lorn in more EV makers, the likes 0:06:56.320 --> 0:07:00.800 of BMWGM announcing investments recently. It's already a real hub 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:04.080 for the making of combustion engines. It's a success for 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:07.320 the President of Mexico Amlo, although his exact wish for 0:07:07.680 --> 0:07:10.160 the plant had been to be built in a southern 0:07:10.160 --> 0:07:13.320 state of Mexico, which is more economics and deprived, although 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:16.760 he did manage to ring out some significant environmental commitments 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:20.360 from Elon Musk, in particular the use of reusable water 0:07:20.440 --> 0:07:24.000 throughout the manufacturing process, because water is scarce in that 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.040 part of the country and water is very heavily needed 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:32.880 in the manufacturing of vehicles. And they're painting. Now, let's 0:07:32.880 --> 0:07:34.960 get on for time for talking tech, and we're going 0:07:35.040 --> 0:07:37.240 to start with Uber, which wrapped up at one point 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:40.720 seven five billion dollars leverage loansale on Tuesday, becoming one 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:43.600 of the latest companies to tap into demand four riskier debt. 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:45.840 It will use proceeds from the seven year offering to 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:48.840 refinance loans that mature in twenty twenty five s according 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:51.720 to a person with knowledge of the matter. Meanwhile, Dish 0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:53.920 says some of its data has been stolen in a 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:58.240 recent ransomware attack, including potentially personal information. The announcement sent 0:07:58.320 --> 0:08:00.520 shares slumping to their lowest level and more than a 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:03.239 decade since. Of course, Table two thousand and nine in fact, 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:07.000 that's while dish, sling, whiless and data networks remain operational. 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:10.480 The company says in a filing that its internal communications 0:08:10.520 --> 0:08:14.360 customer call centers, internet sites they have been affected, and 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:18.800 Apple supplies rushing to move production out of China far 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:22.239 faster than observers anticipation. That's according to one of Apple's 0:08:22.240 --> 0:08:25.920 most important partners, Airport's maker, go a Tech, is one 0:08:25.920 --> 0:08:29.920 of many manufacturers actually exploring locations beyond its native China. 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:34.439 It's trying to avoid fallout from escalating tensions between Washington 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:36.800 and Beijing and ed. This is why I think it's 0:08:36.800 --> 0:08:39.960 really interesting because we know the expanding issues between the 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:42.840 US between China. They began with the trade war, but 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:46.079 it's really ramped up according of course, not only around 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:48.959 the world of technology, but also chips and look, it's 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:51.800 spurring the rethink of electronics industries that have had decades 0:08:51.840 --> 0:08:54.640 all supply chain. We went, of course to our audience, 0:08:54.720 --> 0:08:58.720 didn't We ask mickey question, Yeah, whether or not China 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:01.680 needs to take backseat when it comes to supply chain? 0:09:01.720 --> 0:09:04.360 Should there be a shift? Eighty two percent of respondent 0:09:04.480 --> 0:09:08.000 saying yes, need to diversify. What's so interesting for me 0:09:08.120 --> 0:09:10.200 Kara is how quickly this is pivoted to the long 0:09:10.320 --> 0:09:12.480 term story. Remember, in the short term this was all 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:15.360 about COVID and the disruption in Jong Joe and de 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:19.160 risking from COVID. Now it's political, And isn't it interesting 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:21.480 that we've sort of come off that discussion about Tesla 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:24.720 trying to put another manufacturing unit in Mexico. So many 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:27.160 people trying to enshore that little bit and make sure 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:29.520 that it's a little bit closer to home. And we 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:33.080 see perhaps in many ways the cost identification with China 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:34.920 all used to be about the bottom line, and in 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:37.319 an era where we are talking about companies having to 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:39.920 think about profitability, they also have to think about the 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:43.560 anxiety the geopolitics that they become consumed with. Yeah, now 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:46.720 de risking and there's opportunity for emerging markets like India 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:49.319 and Vietnam to take some of that supply chain. We'll 0:09:49.360 --> 0:09:52.920 keep tracking that now. Coming up, Luminar Technologies Wow, light 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:56.679 oar maker one to watch exclusive partnership with Scale AI 0:09:56.760 --> 0:10:00.320 for its Luminar AI engine. Another piece they I use. 0:10:00.360 --> 0:10:04.240 We'll discuss next with CEO Austin Russell. This is Bloomberg 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:19.160 LDAR Technology manufacturer Luminar is partnering exclusively with Scale AI 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:22.840 for its Luminar AI engine. The company announced the partnership 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:25.400 at its Luminar Day event and Investor Day, and says 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:29.120 Scales technology will now be available exclusively to Luminar and 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:33.400 no longer accessible to other lidar rivals. Joining us now 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:36.960 is Luminar founder and CEO Austin Russell. Austin, of course, 0:10:37.000 --> 0:10:40.280 you also gave us some financial guidance for this year. 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:44.040 But let's start with that relationship. Why is an AI 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:49.679 partnership relevant for a lidar maker light Luminar. I think 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:53.000 we have some technological issues, as is sometimes the case. 0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:56.280 Ed Hey, yeah, I mean, look, we're still dealing in 0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:59.200 this world where we're going via zoom and we're training 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:02.719 people remote. Look, it's interesting, right, think about the parallels 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:06.920 between Luminar and maker of lidars and Tesla. Tesla uses 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:11.120 artificial intelligence to basically train its system to detect the 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:14.640 world around it. Tesla system does not use lidar, It 0:11:14.720 --> 0:11:18.840 uses camera only based inputs. Luminar is partnering with all 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:22.400 kinds of automakers Mercedes Volvo because they think that actually 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:25.560 lidar is the best input when it comes to autonomous driving, 0:11:26.000 --> 0:11:29.320 and it is interesting ultimately how many relationships they're forging 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:32.680 with other autos. I mean, you saw the share move 0:11:33.000 --> 0:11:35.360 on the upside because of an interview you'd done with 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:38.679 the Mercedes CEO as well. Yeah, so I was at 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:41.480 Mercedes R and D Center in Sunnyvale last week. One 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:44.120 of the announcements was that Luminar is going to be 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:49.360 providing the lidar hardware which goes into their drive pilot system, 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:52.280 part of their sort of level three autonomous system. Not 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:55.080 yet available in US apart from Nevada, but a great 0:11:55.120 --> 0:11:56.880 deal for them. And as you said, the shares really jumped. 0:11:57.240 --> 0:11:58.880 Let's talk about the US from them, and let's talk 0:11:58.880 --> 0:12:01.360 about regulation in the US. Said, while we get, of course, 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:04.679 our Luminarile conversation back on track. Many have been discussing 0:12:05.200 --> 0:12:07.840 regulation of technology, big tech in the US. I've been 0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:10.600 talking about m and a overside hot topic across many, 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:14.040 including founders who are considering, you know, where they should 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:16.560 grow their startups. Is this country the best for culturing 0:12:16.600 --> 0:12:19.920 innovation now? I spoke with Romemo abbe is, founder of 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:24.080 fintech ISSUSU about his focus on scaling that business and if, 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:27.079 as an immigrant from the slums of Lagos in Nigeria, 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:29.640 whether the US remains the best place to do just that. 0:12:29.760 --> 0:12:34.679 Take listen. It's always about this idea of giving people 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:37.360 a fighting chance, because no one wants an hand out. 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:41.760 We all just want a chance to show what capable 0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:46.160 of when this country. Sometimes that's fat fetched, and that's 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:48.520 what gets us up at night. I don't get excited 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:51.079 by thee and thirty million ore and forty five million 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:54.320 dollars with racis and issuss inception. I don't get excited 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:57.880 by the facts that we grew by three per last year. 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:03.320 I get excited and in my all end score every month, 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:06.880 we talk about the facts that look, someone just picked 0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:09.120 up the keys study at home because we helped them 0:13:09.200 --> 0:13:12.800 establish all beauty our credit scores. Someone just kept We 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:16.280 just kept the roof over tens of thousands of people's heads, 0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:19.360 and they when I evicted during the pandemic, there was 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:22.560 a gentleman called Scott Folk in New York City goes 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:27.080 on the brink of eviction. A plumber lost his job 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:31.200 because there's nothing to do. During COVID reached out to 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:35.320 us hopeless because you heard us on local News. We 0:13:35.440 --> 0:13:38.160 called Scotts and paid for three months of his rent. 0:13:39.600 --> 0:13:42.640 Two months later, Scotts called us my co founder, and 0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:45.480 I see me away crying because Scott said, I don't 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:47.880 know what would have happened to me, but you gave 0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:50.000 me an opportunity, and I have a job that's paying 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:53.160 me over on jo and twenty thousand dollars. Wow, that's 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:56.120 what America is all about. America gives you that chance. 0:13:56.160 --> 0:13:58.440 But I'm starting to talk to normal people about the 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:02.839 worry that certain right relations, certain ways in which M 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:05.960 and A is being pushed back on certain let's even 0:14:06.040 --> 0:14:08.000 say in the world of crypto, Yes, it needs to 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:11.400 have rules of the road, but it's happening inforcement is 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:14.240 the new regulation. Is there a worry that people are 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:18.280 not going to see the US as that I think 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:20.920 there's strength and numbers and their strength and our diversity. 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:25.840 This country just attracts the story this country tells to 0:14:25.920 --> 0:14:28.720 the world of this idea of creating a more perfect union, 0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:31.840 this idea that if you walk I played by the rules, 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:33.720 that you can get at it. But that's not true 0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:36.040 for a lot of people. It's not true for the 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:40.000 African American communities that have built this country. But still 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:43.240 today the average white family has ten times as much 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:46.320 wealth than the average black family. It's not true for 0:14:46.360 --> 0:14:48.760 the Latinos. They have twelve times less worth than the 0:14:48.800 --> 0:14:52.240 average white family. So when we think about what's going on, 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:54.400 what I encourage us to do, and that's what we 0:14:54.440 --> 0:14:57.000 did at issue. So from a pedigree standpoint is we 0:14:57.080 --> 0:15:00.920 went to policy makers and say, look, but we we are doing. 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:04.640 The only thing we're going to plead initially is to 0:15:04.720 --> 0:15:08.160 plead their for credic role. Do no hand when we 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:10.400 report rental data at the SUS, so well report no 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:14.600 negative data. So as you're thinking about innovative ideas, don't 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:17.880 wait for the SEC to struck down your innovative idea. 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:20.840 Don't wait for Congress, you know to say things I'm working. 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:23.160 Don't wait for the FTC to say this M and 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:26.520 A won't work right, Be proactive and just say look, 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:29.120 these are some of the ideas we have, These are 0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:32.160 the pieces we have in mind, and this is how 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:35.200 it's a creative to this country. At the SUSI were 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:38.280 very very clear if people establish their credit scores, they 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:40.400 are forty five million people in this country. They don't 0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:42.320 have a credit score or have a thing for our 0:15:43.200 --> 0:15:46.200 The average debts in America is over ninety two thousand dollars. 0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:48.640 If you do that math and unlock the capital and 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:50.920 people can get access to don in two thousand dollars, 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:53.680 you can unlock close to four trillion dollars in capital. 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:57.280 That's not only good for the us GDP, right, it's 0:15:57.320 --> 0:16:01.200 good for you know, the policy makers were by their 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:04.120 constituents who would also have the opportunity to build wealth 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:06.360 and will probably vote for them again. So we got 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:08.080 to go back to what I call the bad A 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:11.400 Kien days Eugene Bader policy. One on one, if you 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:13.960 want to make sure things work, you got to get 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:16.240 a village to get on boarded with it. It's not 0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:19.040 the wild wild West. You don't build it and break 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:22.000 things and come back and ask for forgiveness. You go 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:25.480 to policy makers and say I'm interested in pleading April 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:28.440 credic rule and we're going to do no m to 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:31.800 the best of my abilities and control for that and 0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:34.440 be just as capitalist and say we're going to do good, 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:38.480 make money and we all win. I cannot tell you 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:41.600 how inspiring that conversation was with the usu COO CEO 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:46.200 Bromemo Abbe, who's speaking at a Cornell Bloomberg technology event 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:58.320 last week. Welcome actively med Technology. I'm Caroline hard in 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:02.440 New York and Love in San Francisco. Now, Bain Capital 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:06.080 Ventures CARA raised nearly two billion dollars across two new 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:10.600 venture funds targeting startups of all sizes across technology and software, 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:14.800 including fintech, infrastructure, apps and commerce tech. And I'm delighted 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:17.280 to say joining us now for an exclusive interview is 0:17:17.280 --> 0:17:20.800 Baying Capital Ventures partner Matt Harris. It's a lot of money. 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:22.760 It's a record for the firm. I think I'm right 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:25.879 in saying should we be surprised at the timing of 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:28.760 an announcement of two new funds to this scale, We'll 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:32.600 also we're gratified by it so well. It's a nice 0:17:32.640 --> 0:17:36.120 vote of confidence from our investors and some new investors 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:39.119 who joined us, and I think it should be a boost, 0:17:39.160 --> 0:17:41.800 frankly for the ecosystem. I think there is not, in 0:17:41.800 --> 0:17:44.920 my view, or retreat from technology investing. I think technology 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:48.000 is moving very quickly, and I think what we found 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:51.640 is that investors are still very interested and this may 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:54.880 be in fact that buying opportunity versus anything else. There's 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:58.520 a wide remit. So it's all stages early through growth. 0:17:59.119 --> 0:18:02.400 You know software broadly, but you're really more focused on 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:07.000 the end markets. What's the thesis behind that strategy? Sure, 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:08.800 well the thesis is broadley B to B, so I'll 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:10.720 start there, Okay, you know, that's what we think we're 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:12.840 best at. Where bank capital we manage one hundred and 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:16.399 sixty billion dollars, We have ownership positions and hundreds of 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:18.679 multibillion dollar companies, and so what we bring it to 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.719 the table often is those first B to B customers 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:26.000 and that can range across commerce, financial services, application software 0:18:26.040 --> 0:18:29.280 and infrastructure software. And then in terms of stage, you know, 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:32.040 we build our expertise in these domains and that allows 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:35.160 us to range widely in terms of from seed straight 0:18:35.200 --> 0:18:38.679 through to the later stages of venture. What's so fascinating, 0:18:38.720 --> 0:18:41.280 course is your own background, and in particular you've got 0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:43.560 a background in fintech. I'm looking at some portfolios and 0:18:43.600 --> 0:18:46.200 then thinking go Cardless is definitely one that used to 0:18:46.280 --> 0:18:49.399 report on back in the UK. What was notable in 0:18:49.400 --> 0:18:53.160 your statement was how people have recently been questioning due 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:56.800 diligence being done on some companies and the ability to 0:18:56.880 --> 0:19:00.280 really help your portfolio companies. Is that a slight dig 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:02.840 of what's been occurring largely in the world of crypto. 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:04.960 I think of the FTX fallout. I know that you 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:08.959 have exposure previous funds to TCG. How are you thinking 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:12.359 about really doing the diligence long companies in this new world, 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:15.879 this new environment. I don't think there's anything new about 0:19:15.880 --> 0:19:18.000 the way we do due diligence now. I think, you know, 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:21.439 being capital as a long legacy, I would say of 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:24.600 being very careful, very analytical, and we didn't change anything 0:19:24.600 --> 0:19:28.600 about that. I think this market environment is better for us. 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:32.520 We can do more due diligence in the way that 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:35.320 we've always been accustomed to, because we have more time 0:19:35.560 --> 0:19:38.040 to make deals, more time to get to know founders. 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:41.040 What was disorienting about twenty twenty one was frankly, how 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:43.600 quickly everyone had to move, and that didn't play to 0:19:43.640 --> 0:19:45.920 our strengths. You know, we are known for taking our 0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:49.000 time and doing our work, and so this market environment 0:19:49.040 --> 0:19:51.240 is frankly much more comfortable for us in our style 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:54.080 of investment. And where will you be doing the investment 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:56.640 as well? I mean, are you looking at all geographies 0:19:56.720 --> 0:20:00.160 as well as all size as of companies we're Our 0:20:00.200 --> 0:20:04.280 team is split between New York and San Francisco. Probably 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:06.520 seventy percent of our work in terms of investing is 0:20:06.520 --> 0:20:08.639 done in the US and the balance is done in Europe, 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:11.879 and that percentage has been increasing we frankly, you know, 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:15.800 I've been doing this twenty seven years, and a couple 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:19.360 of decades ago, European venture capital was not that robust 0:20:19.359 --> 0:20:22.399 an area. And increasingly though in the UK, as you 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:25.399 mentioned with Go Carlis and around continental Europe, we're seeing 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:29.800 really interesting opportunities with fantastic multi time founders. So that's 0:20:29.840 --> 0:20:32.719 an increasing amount of our attention. Now. I don't know, 0:20:32.880 --> 0:20:35.240 I'm looking for your reactions to whether you roll your 0:20:35.240 --> 0:20:39.200 eyes to this question, but I'll just say, artificial intelligence, 0:20:39.240 --> 0:20:43.040 I've heard about that. What is your vehicle and all 0:20:43.080 --> 0:20:46.520 official intelligence right now? And where do you see the opportunities? 0:20:47.320 --> 0:20:49.080 I mean, it's been a big part of our investing 0:20:49.080 --> 0:20:51.320 for the last ten years. That's the thing. I think 0:20:51.359 --> 0:20:55.280 generative artificial intelligence to be brand new. Yeah, but I 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:58.600 think that's relevant because we have deep expertise in that. 0:20:58.680 --> 0:21:02.240 You know, Samanta Machines was we think the leading linguistic 0:21:02.320 --> 0:21:05.159 artificial intelligent artificial intelligence company that we were the largest 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:08.919 Investeran sold to Microsoft, and we've gone on to invest 0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:11.600 in the modern data stack, you know, to this day, 0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:15.400 most recently a company called Unstructured, a company called high Touch. 0:21:15.800 --> 0:21:19.399 So to us, generative AI is the latest in a 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:24.959 series of advancements in modern data analytics and strikingly useful. 0:21:25.040 --> 0:21:28.040 You know, we already see it in use in our verticals, 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:31.520 in financial services, very much in commerce and in marketing 0:21:31.520 --> 0:21:35.399 and sales technology. So we're excited. Caroline touched on it earlier. 0:21:35.520 --> 0:21:38.760 But you know, the firm, you know, last April launched 0:21:38.760 --> 0:21:42.960 a crypto only fund, and I wondered what your assessment 0:21:43.040 --> 0:21:45.879 is around the hype with generative AI versus what we 0:21:45.920 --> 0:21:50.120 saw in crypto related companies in twenty twenty one through 0:21:50.160 --> 0:21:52.640 twenty twenty two. Are they analogous or are these two 0:21:52.680 --> 0:21:56.919 separate things entirely? Well, you know, human beings are prone 0:21:56.960 --> 0:22:01.000 to boom and bust cycles in their excitement, and we 0:22:01.040 --> 0:22:04.880 saw that in crypto. In fact, you know, we've seen 0:22:04.920 --> 0:22:07.040 it three or four times in the last decade. In crypto, 0:22:07.320 --> 0:22:11.280 things get overheated, things break, and so far they've always 0:22:11.280 --> 0:22:14.440 come back, and frankly, AI itself, which is a term 0:22:14.480 --> 0:22:16.440 that's been around for thirty years, has seen its own 0:22:16.480 --> 0:22:19.080 boom and bust cycles along the way. I have no 0:22:19.200 --> 0:22:22.680 doubt things will get overheated in AI, and there will 0:22:22.720 --> 0:22:26.399 be articles in nine months about the letdown and the 0:22:26.960 --> 0:22:30.360 unfilled promise, but we think the promise is quite durable 0:22:30.400 --> 0:22:32.399 as it relates to AI, and we also think that 0:22:32.400 --> 0:22:35.119 way about decentralization, and we're sticking to our guns on 0:22:35.119 --> 0:22:37.520