SpaceX Tender Offer and AMD Takes On Nvidia | Bloomberg Technology
>> FROM THE HEART OF WHERE INNOVATION, MONEY, AND POWER COLLIDE IN SILICON VALLEY AND BEYOND, THIS IS BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY WITH CAROLINE HYDE AND ED LUDLOW. CAROLINE: I AM CAROLINE HYDE AT BLOOMBERG'S WORLD HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK. ED: I AM ED LUDLOW IN SAN FRANCISCO. CAROLINE: SPACEX TARGETS A 170 $5 BILLION VALUATION OR MORE AS THE MOST VALUABLE U.S. STARTUP DISCUSSES A TENDER OFFER INSIDE SALES. ED:
AMD TAKES ON NVIDIA INTRODUCING AI ACCELERATORS. OUR CONVERSATION WITH THE AMD CEO. CAROLINE: AFTER TALKS ON AI RULES, EU NEGOTIATORS REMAIN DIVIDED ON A PLAN TO ADOPT THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE REGULATION FOR THE TECHNOLOGY IN THE WESTERN WORLD. THE LATEST OUT OF BRUSSELS. LET'S GET YOU UP TO SPEED ON THE MARKETS. AI EXUBERANCE IS BACK. WE WILL DIG INTO WHY ALPHABET
IS RISING ON THE BACK OF THE GEMINI LAUNCH. WE SEE THE NASDAQ UP 1.25%. HAVE WE BAKE INTO MUCH DOVISHNESS AROUND THE WORLD WHEN IT COMES TO CENTRAL BANKS? THE DOJ PERHAPS REALIGNING OUR VIEWPOINTS. THAT IS WHY WE ARE SEEING THE DOLLAR FALLING VERSUS THE JAPANESE YEN. MOVING ON IN THE U.S.
DOLLAR, THESE ARE OTHER KEY CURRENCIES ARE ASSETS. IN THE WORLD OF CRYPT THOUGH, BITCOIN OVERALL, WE HAVE SEEN 43,006 UNDER 48 VERSUS THE U.S. DOLLAR, DOWN BY .4%. NO BIG SHAKES IN THE WORLD OF CRYPTO EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SHAKING FROM THE JAMIE DIMON COMMENTS YESTERDAY WHERE HE SAID THAT IF HE HAD THE CONTROL HE WOULD SHUT IT DOWN. YOU HAVE BIG THOUGHTS ON
PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES? ED: WE DON'T OFTEN START WITH A PRIVATE MARKET PIECE OF NEWS, BUT SPACEX IS DOING ANOTHER TENDER OFFER ACCORDING TO SOURCES. BASED ON THE VOLUME OF SHARES THAT ARE CURRENTLY ON THE TABLE, EMPLOYEE SHARES THAT ARE BEING SOLD TO OUTSIDE INVESTORS, NOT SPACEX RAISING MONEY OR ISSUING NEW EQUITY, THE VALUATION JUMP FROM $150 BILLION TO 170 $5 BILLION. THE TRAJECTORY OF THE COMPANY IS ASTONISHING. I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE A CHART THAT SHOWS HOW INCREMENTALLY BUT RAPIDLY THE VALUATION HAS JUMPED FROM 2020 THE CURRENT. WE REPORT ON THIS SO FREQUENTLY. A RATIONALE BEHIND THE TENDER
OFFER IS TO GIVE LONG SURVEYING OR SUFFERING STAFF TO MAKE MONEY FOR THEIR WORK. KATIE RUTH, YOU AND I HAVE BEEN REPORTING ON SO MANY OF THESE ROUNDS, PRIMARY AND SECONDARY, SECONDARY IN THIS CASE, FOR A WHILE. WHAT ARE THE NUMBERS BEHIND THIS LATEST TENDER? KATIE: THEY EXPECT A PRICE THE TENDER AT $95 A SHARE THAT WOULD VALUE THE COMPANY AT APPROXIMATELY $175 BILLION, MAKING IT THE LARGEST PRIVATE COMPANY IN THE U.S., UP FROM $150 BILLION EARLIER THIS YEAR THAT WE REPORTED.
AT THE VERY BEGINNING IT WAS $137 BILLION. IT IS DEFYING THE ODDS AND THE MARKET AT A TIME WHEN SO MANY COMPANIES ARE HAVING TROUBLE MAINTAINING THEIR UNICORN STATUS. THIS IS A CENTACORN THAT KEEPS GROWING. CAROLINE: WHEN YOU HAVE THAT VIS-A-VIS THE REST OF THE MARKETS, NIKE FOR EXAMPLE, BOEING, I'M INTERESTED IN WHAT INVESTORS WANT IN ON WHEN IT COMES TO SPACEX. IT'S DOMINATION IN THE FIELD?
IS IT STILL WANTING A LITTLE OF ELON MUSK AS THE FOUNDER EVEN THOUGH HE HAS SPARKED CONCERNS WITH OTHER PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES OF HIS BECAUSE OF HIS USE OF X? KATIE: HE IS ABSOLUTELY CONTROVERSIAL, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT INVESTORS ARE EXCITED ABOUT STAR LINK, THE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET THAT CAN BE AVAILABLE IN NORMALLY HARD-TO-REACH PLACES. THERE ARE INVESTORS THAT HAVE SPOKEN TO ME WITH SUCH ENTHUSIASM FOR STAR LINK THAT THEY ARE DREAMING WILL SOMEDAY BE A TRILLION DOLLAR COMPANY. TIME WILL SEE IF IT BECOMES THAT, BUT THAT IS WHAT MUCH OF THE HYPE IS AROUND SPACEX.WE HAVE REPORTED THAT THE COMPANY EVENTUALLY PLANS TO SPIN OFF STAR LINK AND DO A SEPARATE IPO WITH STAR LINK. INVESTORS ARE TRYING TO GET IN ON THAT. CAROLINE: WE KEEP OUR EYES ON ALL OF
THESE PRIVATE MARKET VALUATIONS. IT WAS BRILLIANT WHAT CAME OUT YESTERDAY, AND I KNOW WE WILL STILL HAVE ALL EYES ON THE BUSINESS MODEL OF SPACEX AND A CONVERSATION WITH SPACE MORE BROADLY, BECAUSE THERE HAS BEEN GREAT REPORTING FROM TIME AND TIME AGAIN FROM LAUREN AT BLOOMBERG WITH THE FOCUS BEING ON HOW SPACEX COULD EAT EVERYONE'S LUNCH WHEN IT COMES TO THE ABILITY ON AN ECONOMIC BASIS TO GET SATELLITES AND OTHER OPTIONS INTO LOW ORBIT EARTH. HOW ARE WE SEEING THEM MAKE STRIDES AT THE MOMENT? LAUREN: THE OPEN QUESTION IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN THEIR AMBITIOUS STARSHIP COLOSSAL ROCKET COMES ONLINE BECAUSE IT CAN CARRY MORE CAPACITY TO SPACE THAN PRETTY MUCH ANYONE HAS THE CAPABILITY RIGHT NOW. THE CURRENT LAUNCH MARKET IS A CAPACITY CONSTRAINED MARKET. THE ONLY OPTION FOR SATELLITE OPERATORS IS SPACEX'S WORKHORSE ROCKET THE FALCON 9.
JUST BECAUSE OF THE ROCKETS HAVE COME OFF-LINE IN RECENT YEARS AND OTHERS ARE TRYING TO BE DEVELOPED RIGHT NOW AND ARE SUFFERING FROM DELAYS, THERE IS REALLY ONE OPTION FOR SATELLITE OPERATORS. TO COMPETE WITH THE FALCON 9, OTHER COMPANIES HAVE PIVOTED TRYING TO BUILD LARGER ROCKETS, BUT IT IS AN OPEN QUESTION ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN STARSHIP STARTS FLYING BECAUSE IT HAS A LOT OF PROMISE. A VERY LOW PRICE TAG AND HIGH FLIGHT RANGE. IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN HOW THAT WILL IMPACT EVERYONE. ED: YOU KNOW I LOVE YOUR WRITING, BUT THE WAY THAT YOU TALK ABOUT STARSHIP THE NEXT GENERATION LAUNCH, STARSHIP'S AUDACIOUS SIZE AND SCALE -- NOT JUST AUDACIOUS BECAUSE IT'S BIGGER THAN ANYTHING BEFORE, THAT TECHNOLOGY IS AT THE CUTTING EDGE. EXPLAIN WHAT YOU OUTLINED IN TODAY'S BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN PIECE.
LOREN: THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT MAKE STARSHIP A GAME CHANGER. IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE FULLY REUSABLE.THE FALCON 9 IS ONLY PARTIALLY REUSABLE. WITH STARSHIP THEY WANT TO BRING BACK EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF THE ROCKET. THERE IS THE PROMISE OF LAUNCHING MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY BECAUSE IT IS REUSABLE. ELON HAS COME UP WITH THE PRICE TAG OF ROUGHLY $10 MILLION PER FLIGHT. OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT OF
SKEPTICISM IF THAT CAN BE ACHIEVED. IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE IT YOU HAVE TO GET THE AMBITIOUS FLIGHT RATES THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. THERE IS A LOT OF PROMISE, A LOT THAT IS BEING ADVERTISED, BUT IF THEY CAN BRING DOWN THE COST LIKE THEY ARE PROMISING IT COULD BE A GAME CHANGER FOR SATELLITE OPERATORS WHO WANT TO GET THEIR SATELLITE INTO SPACE. THEY WILL PACK IT IN WITH MAY BE HUNDREDS OF OTHER SATELLITES ON A STARSHIP LAUNCH AND HAVE THEM TAKEN WHERE THEY NEED TO GO IN ORBIT. ED: WHAT'S NEXT?
YOU AND I GOT REALLY EXCITED ABOUT STARSHIP ATTEMPT NUMBER TWO. IT CAME AND WENT. IN SPACEX'S MIND, A MASSIVE SUCCESS. WHAT IS NEXT? LOREN: THEY NEED TO REACH ORBITAL SPEEDS. WHILE THEY MADE PROGRESS, ABLE TO SHOW STAGE SEPARATION AND HAVE ALL OF THEIR ENGINES OPERATE AS THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO ASH WHICH DIDN'T HAPPEN ON THE FIRST FLIGHT -- THEY NEED TO GET STARSHIP TO NEAR ORBITAL SPEEDS TO PROVE IT CAN REACH ORBIT. THERE IS A VERY LONG LAUNDRY LIST OF ITEMS THAT THEY NEED TO ACHIEVE TO MAKE IT A DEEP SPACE VEHICLE THAT THEY WANTED TO BE. FOR INSTANCE COME THEY WILL
HAVE TO SHOW THAT THEY CAN FUEL STARSHIP IN ORBIT SO THAT IT CAN REACH DEEP SPACE STATIONS LIKE THE MOON. ONCE THEY REACH ORBITAL SPEEDS THEY CAN POTENTIALLY START LAUNCHING SATELLITES, STARTLING LINK SATELLITES AND CUSTOMER SATELLITES LIKE THEY PROMISED. THERE ARE OTHER THINGS TO MAKE IT FULLY REUSABLE. THEY HAVE TO SHOW THAT THEY CAN
LAND IT BACK ON EARTH IN ONE PIECE AND THEN FUEL IT UP AND FLY AGAIN, BUT JUST GETTING TO ORBIT WILL BE A BIT OF A GAME CHANGER FOR STARSHIP AND WE WILL SEE HOW IT IMPACTS THE INDUSTRY. ED: IT HAS BEEN GREAT TO HAVE A DEDICATED SPACE BEAT REPORTER BECAUSE IT IS SUCH A MASSIVE INDUSTRY NOW. ONLY A SMALL PART OF ELON MUSK INC. WHICH IS WHY WE BETTER TALK ABOUT GROK. IF YOU USE X AS A PREMIUM
SUBSCRIBER YOU SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO GROK. I HAVE BEEN TRYING THROUGH THE APP AND I DON'T HAVE IT YET, BUT THIS IS THE AWAITED CHATBOT. CAROLINE: IT IS AND WE KNOW THAT IT IS MEANT TO BE REBELLIOUS AND HUMOROUS. HE HAS BEEN BEEFING UP WELL-KNOWN SCIENTISTS AND ACADEMICS TO BUILD THIS, BASICALLY TAKING ON OPENAI WHICH HE HIMSELF COFOUNDED. IT IS NOTABLE THAT IT COMES THE SAME WEEK THAT THE SEC FILING SHOWS X AI WILL BE RAISING MONEY. ELON SAID WE WON'T BE DOING IT
HERE AND NOW WITH THEY WANT A BILLION DOLLARS BECAUSE THIS IS EXPENSIVE. ED: ONE BILLION DOESN'T EVEN SEEM LIKE THAT MUCH MONEY COMPARED TO WHAT EVERYONE ELSE HAS RAISED. CAROLINE: 20% WILL BE HELD BY OUTSIDE INVESTORS.
DOES THAT MEAN THAT THE REST OF THE MONEY WILL COME FROM IMMEDIATE REVENUE GENERATION, ELON HIMSELF WILL BE FINANCING IT AND ITS GROWTH GOING FORWARD? OPENAI WAS THE NONPROFIT VERSION. HE LEFT IT AND HE HAS CRITICIZED IT SINCE OPENAI HAS BECOME PROFIT FOCUSED. HE HIMSELF I ASSUME WILL BE FOCUSING ON A PROFIT DRIVEN X AI. ED: I AM HEARING THERE IS A BIG PUSH FOR HIGH TALENT AND TALENT IS EXPENSIVE SO THEY NEED MONEY. CAROLINE: AS WE TALK ABOUT ELON INC, WE HAVE TO TURN TO A MORE SENSITIVE ISSUE. HE IS THE TESLA CEO, THE OWNER OF X AND HE IS ESCALATING HIS PUBLIC CRITICISM OF BOB IGER SAYING THAT THE DISNEY CEO SHOULD "BE FIRED IMMEDIATELY." SAYING THAT ON THE PLATFORM X.
ALSO A LAWSUIT SAYING THAT -- WHY THERE WAS NO ADVERTISER OIL CAUGHT ON THAT SET OF APPS. THE COMMENTS COME AFTER DISNEY AND OTHER COMPANIES SPENDING ON X AFTER ELON MUSK ENDORSED ANTISEMITIC COMMENTS ON THE SITE. THIS IS BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY. ED: AMD IS GOING AFTER THE AI MARKET WITH NEW ACCELERATED CHIPS THAT SAYS IT WILL BE ABLE TO RUN AI SOFTWARE FASTER THAN RIVAL PRODUCTS, INCLUDING NVIDIA. I SAT DOWN WITH THE AMD CEO AT THE LAUNCH EVENT YESTERDAY.
>> YOU LOOK AT TRADING PERFORMANCE, WE ARE VERY COMPETITIVE. IT IS A TOSSUP. WE ARE 1.4 TO 1.6 TIMES BETTER. WHAT THAT MEANS IS IF YOU'RE RUNNING THESE MODELS YOU CAN RUN MORE MODELS OR LARGER MODELS WITH MI 300. RIGHT NOW THE KEY TO AI IS GPU COMPUTE. THAT IS WHAT EVERYONE SAYS. WE ARE HERE TO PROVIDE LOTS OF GPU COMPUTE. ED:
YOU HAVE HAD THE CONFIDENCE TO DRAMATICALLY ALTER YOUR FORECAST FOR THIS MARKET WITH AI ACCELERATORS. YOU SAY THE TOTAL ADDRESSABLE MARKET IS 400 BILLION U.S. DOLLARS AND 2027. IN AUGUST YOU SAID THAT IT WAS $150 BILLION. WHAT HAS CHANGED? LISA:
THE WAY THAT WE LOOK AT THESE THINGS IS WE USUALLY LOOK AT THEM ON AN ANNUAL BASIS. WHEN WE WERE DOING OUR PLAN FOR 2023 AND BEYOND THE LAST YEAR, WE THOUGHT THAT THIS YEAR THERE WOULD BE ABOUT A $30 BILLION MARKET AND THAT IT WOULD GROW 50% COMPOUND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, SO ABOUT $150 BILLION. IN 2027 WHICH FRANKLY WAS VERY LARGE. WE CAN ALL SEE WHAT HAS CHANGED. PEOPLE NEED MORE COMPUTES. THEY ARE STALLING MORE. THE NUMBERS FOR THIS YEAR ARE
PROBABLY CLOSER TO 45 BILLION. WHEN WE TALK TO CUSTOMERS AND I SPENT TIME WITH OUR PARTNERS, WHAT THEY TELL US IS THE TECHNOLOGY REQUIRES MORE COMPUTE. WE NOW BELIEVE THAT THE TOTAL MARKET FOR THIS IS UPWARDS OF 400 BILLION DOLLARS IN 20 27. IT'S HUGE. THERE IS NO ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL. THERE WILL BE MULTIPLE
SOLUTIONS. THERE ARE LOTS OF SOLUTIONS OUT THERE TODAY, BUT WE BELIEVE THE AMD CAPABILITY IS VERY SIGNIFICANT, SO WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT IT. ED: IT WAS INTERESTING TO SEE ON STAGE HOW IT MANIFESTS IN THE REAL WORLD. YOU ALREADY GUIDED US THAT IT
WILL LIKELY BE THE QUICKEST AMD PRODUCT TO $1 BILLION. THERE WERE SECTIONS IN THE MARKET THAT SAID THAT YOU FORECASTED TO BILLION DOLLARS OF SALES IN 2024 AND WAS CONSERVATIVE. YOU'RE SAYING THE TOTAL ADDRESSABLE MARKET BY 2020 SEVEN IS NOW $400 BILLION, IS THAT TO BILLION DOLLAR FORECAST FOR NEXT YEAR IS SPECIFICALLY MI 300 X CONSERVATIVE AS THE MARKET THINKS IT IS? LISA: YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW THE TECHNOLOGY IS EVOLVING. WE DID UPDATE IN OUR LAST CONFERENCE CALL TO AN EXPECTATION OF ABOUT $2 BILLION IN 2020 FOUR FOR OUR DATA CENTER GPU'S. IT'S A VERY EARLY ESTIMATE. I WOULD SAY THAT WE HAVE CLEAR LINE OF SIGHT TO THAT. WHAT PEOPLE ASK ME IS, THERE IS MUCH MORE CUSTOMER DEMAND, DEFINITELY, AND THERE IS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SUPPLY.
WE HAVE HAD TO SUPPLY THE -- PREPARE THE SUPPLY CHAIN. AS WE GO ALONG WE ARE DEFINITELY ON THIS PATH TO RAMP UP MI 300 THE FASTEST THAT ANYTHING HAS EVER RAMPED AT AMD. I VIEW THIS AS A MULTI-YOUR OPPORTUNITY FOR US.
-- MULTI-YEAR OPPORTUNITY FOR US. ED: TESLA HAS HAD A RESHUFFLE ON ITS DOJO PROJECT. THE FORMER DOJO CHIEF HAS LEFT THE COMPANY. SOURCES HAVE TOLD ME THAT HE LEFT TESLA LAST MONTH AND HAS BEEN REPLACED BY PETER BANNON, A FORMER APPLE EXECUTIVE THAT HAS BEEN AT TESLA FOR AROUND SEVEN YEARS AND NOW TAKES OVER LEADERSHIP OF THE DOJO PROJECT. IT IS INTERESTING. HE SET UP THE AI HARDWARE GROUP AT TESLA SEVEN YEARS AGO AND IS THE PERSON BEHIND THE DOJO SUPERCOMPUTER AND ALSO THE D1 CHIP THE PROPRIETARY SILICON POWERING THE DATA FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING SOFTWARE AT TESLA. AN IMPORTANT CHANGE AT THE
COMPANY. CAROLINE: IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT IS ABOUT AI SUPERCOMPUTER FUTURE, THE REASON MANY BELIEVE THAT TESLA'S MARKET A SENT ISN'T WHERE IT SHOULD BE BECAUSE OF THE FOCUS ON AI. WE WANT TO GET ONTO THAT MORE WITH MANDEEP SINGH. YOUR READ OF THE COMPETITIVE SPACE HERE? AN ENORMOUS MARKET OPPORTUNITY, $400 BILLION WE ARE HEARING FROM LISA SU. ARE THEY GOING TO GET ENOUGH OF THE MARKET SHARE? MANDEEP: THEY ARE FOCUSING ON INFERENCING RATHER THAN TRAINING. WE KNOW NOW ALL OF THE GPU CAP -- CAPACITY WAS BEING USED TO TRAIN THESE LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS.
IT IS A SIGN THAT YOU WILL PROBABLY SEE MORE COPILOTS AND MORE CHATBOTS BEING DEPLOYED. WE HAVEN'T SEEN THAT YET. LOOK AT THE MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS FOR THE GET HUB COPILOT OR THE BARD CHATBOT. REALLY IT IS A BIG BET ON INFERENCING TAKING OFF. RIGHT NOW THE MARKET IS
CONCENTRATED ON TRAINING. THAT IS WHERE NVIDIA STILL HAS THE UPPER HAND. CAROLINE: THE EXUBERANCE IS THEY OF THESE THINGS BEING DEPLOYED. LOOK AT GEMINI AND THE IMPACT IT IS HAVING ON APP FOR THAT -- HAVING ON ALPHABET'S SHARE PRICE. ALWAYS ON THE MONEY WHEN IT COMES TO ANALYSIS FROM BLOOMBERG INTELLIGENCE. ED:
COMING UP, WE WILL BE JOINED BY THE CEO TO DISCUSS E-COMMERCE AND DIRECT TO CONSUMER. ED: IT IS TIME FOR TALKING TECH. MONTENEGRO PLANS TO EXTRADITE THE DISGRACED TYCOON DO KWON TO FACE CHARGES IN THE U.S..
HE HAS BEEN JAILED IN THE BALKAN COUNTRY SINCE MARCH AND DENIED -- AND HAS DENIED COMMITTING FRAUD FOLLOWING THE COLLAPSE OF TERRAUSD. TOUCHSCREEN TECHNOLOGY HEALTH CENTERS AND THEIR FACE ID INTERFACE LEAVING THE COMPANY ACCORDING TO BLOOMBERG SOURCES. FINALLY, NOVEMBER WAS A BANNER MONTH FOR ONLINE MARKETPLACE TEMU FOLLOWING BLACK FRIDAY.
SALES JUMPED 29% FROM A MONTH AGO TO A NEW RECORD, ALMOST TRIPLE OBSERVED SALES. CAROLINE: WE HAVE TO STICK ON THE RESILIENCE OF THE CONSUMER WHEN IT COMES TO NOT JUST RETAIL AND FASHION BUT MAKE UP AS WELL. THE GLOSSIER CEO IS WITH US. ONE YEAR INTO THE JOB AND THE BRAND IS NOT PERHAPS JUST MAKEUP. IT IS FRAGRANCE AND CANDLES, YOU ARE BROADENING. YOU HAVE NOT GONE DIRECT TO CONSUMER ANYMORE, YOU ARE NOW IN SEPHORA. KYLE: THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. IT IS NICE TO BE HERE.
GLOSSIER IS SUCH AN INCREDIBLE BRAND. BEYOND JUST BEAUTY, WE ARE MULTI-CATEGORY, SKINCARE, FRAGRANCE, BODY, MARCH. WE -- BODY, MERCH. WE CONNECT WITH A MULTIGENERATIONAL CONSUMER. WE HAVE BEEN BUILDING THE FOUNDATION AND SCALE TO BUILD THE BUSINESS THAT MATCHES THE POWER OF THIS BRAND. WE HAVE 51% RANDOM AWARENESS AND LESS THAN 1% MARKET SHARE SO IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT THE SIZE AND SCALE OF OUR BUSINESS WITH THE SIZE AND SCALE OF OUR BRAND AND WE ARE SEEING THAT COMING TO LIFE AND RECORD REVENUE LEVELS FOR GLOSSIER AND TWO YEARS OF CONSECUTIVE GROWTH. OUR LONG -- OUR LAUNCH AT SEPHORA HAS BEEN HUGELY SUCCESSFUL AND DISTILLED A LARGER PIECE OF OUR BUSINESS.
WE DO MOST OF OUR BUSINESS ON OUR OWN CHANNELS. IT IS AN OMNI-CHANNEL STRATEGY. CAROLINE: HOW DO YOU FEEL OF ANY CANNIBALIZATION WHATSOEVER OR HAVE YOU SEEN RISE ACROSS THE BOARD? KYLE: IT IS HOW DO YOU TAKE THIS AMAZING BRAND THAT CONNECTS EMOTIONALLY WITH CONSUMERS THROUGH PRODUCTS AND EXPERIENCE AND THEN BRING IT TO LIFE ACROSS AN OMNI-CHANNEL STRATEGY WHICH IS ABOUT BRINGING MORE GLOSSIER TO MORE PEOPLE? THAT'S ABOUT BRINGING THE CUSTOMER AT THE CENTER AND CELEBRATING THE ECOSYSTEM WHERE SHE CAN SHOP. FOR US, IT WAS LEANING INTO DTC, WHICH WAS OUR FOUNDING. WE WERE A PIONEER. DTC CONTINUES TO BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR BUSINESS BUT THE CONSUMER IN THE MARKETPLACE EVOLVED SO THE MARKET NEEDED TO EVOLVE.
AS THE CHANNEL EVOLVED OUR MARKET CHANNEL COULD EVOLVE. WE WERE ON SHOPIFY SO WE COULD LEAD WITH THE DIRECT TO CONSUMER AND SOCIAL COMMERCE WE HAVE ALSO OPENED OUR OWN STORES. 11 IN THE U.S. AND ONE IN LONDON .
THEY ARE EXPERIENCE CENTERS FOR US AND PROFITABLE. WE LAUNCHED IN SEPHORA AS THE THIRD LEG OF THE STOOL. CUSTOMERS SAID THAT THEY WANTED US THERE. WE WERE THE NUMBER ONE BRAND SEARCHED ON SEPHORA.COM BEFORE
WE JOINED AS A STRATEGIC PARTNER AND HAVE NOW LAUNCHED ACROSS NORTH AMERICA AND ARE SEEING EXCITING SUCCESS ACROSS CATEGORIES, FRAGRANCE, OUR PERFUME IS THE NUMBER ONE AT SEPHORA. THE POWER OF THIS BRAND FROM A MULTICATEGORY STANDPOINT. CAROLINE: THE POWER OF THE BRAND WAS BUILT THROUGH SOCIAL. HOW DO YOU NAVIGATE AS A LEADER
SOME OF THE POLITICIZATION WITHIN THE SOCIAL WORLD. YOU HAVE A PRESENCE ON X. ARE YOU ADVERTISING ON X? DO YOU THINK ABOUT ALLOCATING DOLLARS TO SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES THAT ARE GETTING MORE CONCERNS BUILT AROUND THEM? KYLE: AT OUR HEART WE ARE A COMMUNITY DRIVEN BRAND AND GLOSSIER WAS A PIONEER OF BRINGING THE SOCIAL, COMMUNITY COMMERCE ONLINE AND REALLY FORAY INTO HOW WE THINK ABOUT BRANDS INTEGRATING SOCIALLY. WE REMAIN CONNECTED TO OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH SOCIAL LISTENING ON TIKTOK AND INSTAGRAM WHERE WE SEE INCREDIBLE RESIDENTS. THEN WE DO GLOSSIER LABS WILL RE-BRING IN CUSTOMERS AND WE HAVE A DEEP CONNECTION WITH SOCIAL GROUPS OVER HOW WE CAN STAY CONNECTED TO OUR CUSTOMER AND THEIR INSIGHTS AND BE FUELED BY OUR COMMUNITY AND STAY CUSTOMER FOCUSED AND CUSTOMER EMPATHETIC. CAROLINE: YOU REMAIN ADVERTISING ON X OR NOT? KYLE: WE DO NOT ADVERTISE ON X. CAROLINE:
THE GROWTH STORY AND CONTINUING TO GROW INTERNATIONALLY. WE WISH THAT WE HAD MORE TIME. ED: EU TALKS ON AI STALLING. DEBATES GOING NOWHERE. WE HAD TO BRUSSELS NEXT.
CAROLINE: WELCOME BACK TO BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY. ED: THERE IS SO MUCH BREAKING NEWS THAT'S HAPPENING THIS MORNING IT'S DRIVING MARKETS. AI IS A BIG PART OF THAT. WE HAVE NOT DISCUSSED C3 AI. THAT STOCK IS DOWN 11% AS A CONSEQUENCE.
WE HEARD FROM THE AMD LISA SU ABOUT THE MI 300 X, DURING THE EVENT THE STOCK WAS LOWER. SO WAS NVIDIA. TODAY AMD IS UP 8.4%. THE FIGHTING TALK IS THERE. THE BIT THAT THE ANALYSTS LIKE
IS DURING THE PRESENTATION AMD TOLD US TO THEIR CUSTOMERS ARE. AZURE, META IN ITS DATA CENTERS. THAT IS WHAT IS DRIVING THE STOCK TODAY.
AMD SAID THAT THIS MARKET WILL ABSOLUTELY BLOOM TO $400 BILLION IN 2027 JUST FOR AI ACCELERATORS. FOR CONTEXT, THE ENTIRE GLOBAL SEMI INDUSTRY LAST YEAR WAS $500 BILLION. CAROLINE: BOY, IS AI GOING TO DISRUPT THE WORLD OF WORK AND HOW WE WORK. LET'S TALK ABOUT IF YOU ARE DOING HYBRID WORK OR NOT AND WORK SPACE PROVIDER IWG. IWG HAS SPACES AND HAS BEEN HOLDING ITS INVESTOR DAY.
THEY WILL RESUME REGULAR DIVIDENDS. WE WELCOME THE IWG CEO. WHAT IS DEMAND FOR HYBRID WORK FOR THOSE SPACES THAT YOU HAVE AT THE MOMENT. A FEW COMPANIES WANT THEIR PEOPLE BACK IN PERSON. >> FOR US, THE DEMAND IS VERY HIGH BECAUSE WE ARE PROVIDING WORKPLACES NOT ONLY IN LARGE CITIES AND METROPOLISES AROUND THE WORLD, BUT IN SMALLER TOWNS. ABOUT 85% OF GROWTH THESE DAYS
IN THE U.S., ABOUT A 50% GROWTH RATE, IS IN RURAL LOCATIONS WHERE WORKERS ARE MIGRATING TO. THE WORLD OF WORK IS CHANGING RAPIDLY. CAROLINE: YOUR INVESTOR BASE IS GRAVITATING TO AMERICA AS WELL? IF YOU HAVE SUCH A GROWTH RATE IN AMERICA, WHAT IS THAT COMPARED TO THE U.K. WHERE YOU COME FROM AND WHAT DOES THE INVESTOR BASE BREAKDOWN AS? MARK: U.S. INVESTORS ARE 50% OF OUR SHAREHOLDER BASE AT THE MOMENT, BUT WE EXPECT IT TO GROW MORE SIGNIFICANTLY. WE HAVE TALKED TO INVESTORS
THIS WEEK ABOUT CHANGING TO DOLLARS. THAT WILL HAPPEN IN JANUARY. WE ARE REVIEWING A MOVE TO U.S. GAP THAT WE THINK WILL CLARIFY NUMBERS AND WE ARE FOCUSING ON INVESTOR DAYS AND ROADSHOWS IN THE U.S.. 65% OF THAT BUSINESS, PROFITS, ARE COMING FROM THE U.S. TODAY. THE MOST GROWTH. IT MAKES SENSE TO BE HERE. ED: MARKET, THERE IS AN AI STORY
HERE. I KNOW, BECAUSE I'VE SEEN IT. IN SAN FRANCISCO IN PARTICULAR, SHARED OFFICE SPACE AND HYBRID WORKING IS SEEING LOTS OF LITTLE STARTUPS, TWO OR THREE FOUNDERS, TAKE SOME SPACE. ONE MEETING ROOM. TO TRY TO GET THEIR COMPANY OFF THE GROUND. I WONDER IF IT IS HAPPENING
OUTSIDE OF SAN FRANCISCO? IF THERE IS A TANGIBLE IMPACT ON YOUR BUSINESS FROM AI AROUND THE WORLD? MARK: THERE IS A TANGIBLE IMPACT FROM TWO DIRECTIONS. FIRST, THERE IS A CHANGE IN WORKPLACES BEING DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGY. BASIC TECHNOLOGY, THE INTERNET TEAMS, ZOOM, ETC., BUT ALSO INCREASINGLY AI SUPPLEMENTED AND DRIVEN PLATFORMS THAT ALLOW COMPANIES TO BETTER MANAGE PRODUCTIVITY IN THEIR WORKFORCE. WE ARE SEEING THAT COME INTO THE WORKPLACE NOW. WE ARE ALSO SEEING LARGE
AMOUNTS OF STARTUPS. ALONGSIDE LAYOFFS AND REDUNDANCIES AROUND THE WORLD AND SOME PARTS OF AMERICA, YOU ARE SEEING MORE STARTUPS. WE ARE SEEING THOSE COME THROUGH NOT NECESSARILY IN DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO, BUT ACROSS THE BAY AND IN THE SUBURBS ALL OVER CALIFORNIA. ED: I WENT TO EXPLAIN TO OUR AUDIENCE THAT IT WAS A REGIS SPACE THAT I VISITED AS PART OF A DOCUMENTARY THAT I AM MAKING WHERE I WITNESSED THIS PHENOMENON. I HAVE SEEN IT. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST DRIVER TECHNOLOGICALLY SPEAKING OF PEOPLE NOT TO TAKE OFFICE SPACE? IN OTHER WORDS, YOU'RE SEEING PEOPLE RELY ON ZOOM TECHNOLOGIES TO WORK AT HOME AND HOW MUCH DOES THAT WORRY YOU STILL? MARK: IT IS QUITE GOOD FOR US. WE HAVE ABOUT 700,000 CUSTOMERS
TODAY, INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE WORKING FROM HOME. IT IS A BIG PART OF OUR BUSINESS. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE WORKING FROM HOME USING ZOOM OR TEAMS ARE DROPPING INTO AN OFFICE SOME TIMES SO THAT IS BECOMING AN INCREASINGLY GOOD PART OF THE BUSINESS. HYBRID WORKING IS BECOMING THE NORM. IT WILL BE A VERY SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS IN THE FUTURE.
WE HAVE SAID THIS WEEK TO INVESTORS ABOUT 2 TRILLION AND GROWING EVERY DAY. AS A RESULT OF TECHNOLOGY AND OF COMPANIES LIKE OURS THAT PUT A TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM TOGETHER WITH A REAL ESTATE PLATFORM AND MAKE IT AVAILABLE WITH SIMPLE AND EASY TO BUY PRODUCTS, THAT IS WHAT IS DRIVING GROWTH. CAROLINE: ARE YOU GOING TO LIST? MARK: MAYBE, BUT AT THE MOMENT WE ARE SO FOCUSED ON GROWTH. WE PUT OUT A MEDIUM-TERM TARGET OF $1 BILLION AND OUR CASH FLOW IS VERY CLOSE. WE ARE FOCUSED ON THAT.
THE MOVEMENT OF THE LISTING FROM LONDON TO ANOTHER MARKET IS A CONSIDERATION. WE ARE ALWAYS FOCUSED ON WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR INVESTORS. A LARGER INVESTOR BASE IN THE UNITED STATES, IT MAY BE EXPEDIENT TO MOVE THE LISTING.
CAROLINE: MARK DIXON, COME BACK WHEN YOU TALK TO YOUR AMERICAN INVESTORS. LOVE HAVING YOU HERE. A VERY WELL-KNOWN ENTREPRENEUR IN THE U.K. TALKING MORE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. ED: THE TOP STORY IN EUROPE AND BRUSSELS IN PARTICULAR IS EU NEGOTIATORS REMAIN DIVIDED ON A PLAN TO ADOPT THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE REGULATION FOR AI TECHNOLOGY IN THE WESTERN WORLD. THEY DEBATED IT FOR NEARLY 24 HOURS.
SITTING THROUGH IT, JULIE JOINS US FROM BRUSSELS. THE STAKES ARE HIGH AND THEY HAVEN'T MADE PROGRESS ON A CODIFIED EU-WIDE AI POSITION? >> IT HAS BEEN INTERESTING. LAST NIGHT I WAS TALKING THAT IT WOULD BE A LATE ONE, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW THAT IT WOULD BE NEGOTIATIONS OVER 24 HOURS AND WE STILL DON'T HAVE A FINAL DEAL.
BY 1:00 P.M. WE EVEN HAD OFFICIALS FALLING ASLEEP AT THEIR DESKS. IT WAS TIME TO TAKE A BREAK AND GET SLEEP. THEY ARE COMING BACK TOMORROW AT 9:00 A.M. BRUSSELS TIME. CAROLINE: LET'S TALK ABOUT THE STUMBLING BLOCKS.
I WAS INTERESTED TO SEE THAT GENERATIVE AI AND THE REGULATION OF THAT SEEMS TO HAVE PERHAPS BEEN AN AREA WHERE THEY CAN AGREE. IT SEEMS TO BE OTHER AREAS THEY ARE STUMBLING OVER? JILLIAN: THEY CLEARED ONE MAJOR HURDLE AROUND 2:00 A.M. THIS MORNING. THAT WAS GENERATIVE AI CONTROLS. THEY DECIDED THAT THERE WILL BE SOME BASIC TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEVELOPERS OF THESE AI SYSTEMS. THOSE THAT
OPPOSE A SYSTEMIC RISK WILL SIGN CODES OF CONDUCT. WHEN THEY CLEARED THAT CONTROVERSIAL DEBATE THEY MOVED ON TO WARN THAT IS MORE CONTENTIOUS AND BRUSSELS. BEFORE THE GENERATIVE AI DEBATE KICKED OFF THERE WAS A DEBATE OVER HOW GOVERNMENTS AND POLICE USE AI AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AND NATIONAL SECURITY. ED: WE FORGET SOMETIMES THAT THE
EU'S 450 MILLION PEOPLE, A BIG CHUNK OF OUR BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY AUDIENCE IS THERE. THAT IS WHY WE FRAME IT AS A CRITICAL PIECE OF GLOBAL REGULATION. WHAT IS THE PROCEDURE? WHO ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY DECIDE THE FATE OF THOSE 450 MILLION IN TERMS OF HOW AI IS REGULATED ON THEIR BEHALF? JILLIAN: IT IS A COMPLICATED SYSTEM, BUT YOU HAVE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTS WHERE YOU HAVE AT LEAST TWO LEAD AUTHORS AND THEN YOU HAVE DIFFERENT PARTIES. YOU HAVE SPANIARDS WHO ARE
MEETING ALL 27 MEMBER STATES. I WANT TO REMIND EVERYONE THAT EVERYONE HAS DIFFERENT VIEWS ON THIS TOPIC.THE PARLIAMENT IN SPRING VOTED TO BAN THE LIVE SOCIAL SCANNING TECHNOLOGY SO YOU COULDN'T HAVE THE GOVERNMENTS OR POLICE USING CTV CAMERAS TO SCAN CROWDS TO FIND POSSIBLE CRIMINALS.THAT IS A REDLINE FOR EU COUNTRIES. IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE TOMORROW WHEN THEY RECRUIT, EVEN MEMBERS WITHIN THE SAME PARLIAMENT GROUP DON'T ALWAYS AGREE ON THIS TOPIC.
IT WILL BE -- I WILL BE VERY SURPRISED IF WE WALK IN TOMORROW AND NEGOTIATORS COME IN AND AGREE TO A COMPROMISE AT 9:00 A.M. CAROLINE: IT HAS BEEN A LONG WAIT FOR YOU BUT WE APPRECIATE YOU STAYING UP LATE AND BRUSSELS. GREAT EXPERTISE ACROSS THE SPECTRUM. COMING UP, A GREAT
CONVERSATION. WE WILL BE DISCUSSING WHAT JENNIFER FLEISS BRINGS TO THE COMPANY. FROM HERE IN NEW YORK, THIS IS BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY. CAROLINE: WELL-KNOWN VC INITIALIZE CAPITAL HAS A NEW TEAM MEMBER. SHE IS JOINING AS A PARTNER. HERE AS A NEW YORKER MAKING THE MOVE INTO SEED INVESTING TO START UP INVESTING. WHAT WAS ATTRACTIVE ABOUT INITIALIZE IN PARTICULAR? JENNIFER: THIS IS AN EXCITING TIME TO BE A SEED WITH SO MUCH EVOLVING WITH AI ACCELERATING THE PACE OF INNOVATION AND TO WORK HAND-IN-HAND THE WAY THAT INITIALIZED DOES WITH THE FOUNDERS IS TRUE TO MY OPERATIONAL AND ENTREPRENEURIAL NATURE. CAROLINE: THAT'S TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE
BACKGROUND THAT YOU'VE ALREADY HAD IN TERMS OF MENTOR AND PUTTING MONEY INTO STARTUPS. HOW MUCH IS OCCURRING IN NEW YORK, WHERE WILL YOUR SWEET SPOT LIVE WHEN IT COMES TO E-COMMERCE AND BROADLY YOUR BOX TO PUT TO WORK -- BUCKS TO PUT TO WORK? JENNIFER: I AM THRILLED THAT IT HAS AN OFFICE AND PART OF ITS TEAM HERE. THAT WAS A PLUS FOR ME. WHEN I THINK ABOUT COFOUNDING RENT THE RUNWAY, THERE WERE FEW STARTUPS IN NEW YORK. IF I THINK OF MY ROSTER AT ANGEL INVESTMENTS AND I LOOK AT THE INITIALIZED PORTFOLIOS, THERE IS A GREAT GROUP YOU'RE ORGANICALLY THAT IS DRIVING INNOVATION IN NEW YORK. I AM GLAD TO COMPLEMENT THAT WITH THE NYC-SAN FRAN ECOSYSTEM. I THINK THAT OUR NETWORKS PULLED TOGETHER AS WELL AS THE DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS OF THE EXISTING INVESTING TEAM, AND MY BACKGROUND, WILL LET US WORK WITH SO MANY GREAT FOUNDERS AND COMPANIES. ED:
I'M OBSESSED WITH THIS IDEA THAT NOT ALL VCS ARE THE SAME. YOU GET DIFFERENT TYPES. SOME OF BEEN FOUNDERS AND SOME HAVE NOT. SOME COME FROM LEGACY FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS. SOME HAVE BEEN ENGINEERS AT SOFTWARE COMPANIES. YOU WERE A FOUNDER. I WONDER HOW THAT MAY HELPS YOU MAKE INVESTMENT DECISIONS? JENNIFER: IT IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF HOW I MAKE INVESTMENT DECISIONS. MY LANDS AS AN ENTREPRENEUR LET ME SEE -- LENS AS AN ENTREPRENEUR LET ME SEE HOW TO WORK WITH INVESTORS THAT FELT HELPFUL AND ORGANIC AND I WAS LIKE YOU TO HAVE A TEAM OF FORMER FOUNDERS AND OPERATORS LIKE MYSELF WHICH HELPED ME RELATE TO THE ASPECTS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A FOUNDER THAT I THINK OUR GAME CHANGING FOR PICKING WINNING INVESTMENTS. UNIQUE TO INITIALIZED IS THE HOLD INVESTMENT TEAM'S FORMER FOUNDERS, OPERATORS, AND BUILDERS FROM LOTS OF DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES. THAT IS SPECIAL AND UNIQUE AND IT IS WHAT MADE ME FEEL AT HOME WHEN I GOT TO KNOW THE TEAM.
I HAVE MET HUNDREDS OF VCS OVER THE COURSE OF MY CAREER/ THEIR APPROACH THAT INITIALIZED IS UNIQUE. NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED IN HOW VENTURE IS DONE, AND YET THE WORLD AROUND US HAS CHANGED SO MUCH. FOR INITIALIZED THERE IS NOT A PLAYBOOK. THEY ARE CREATING THEIR OWN PLAYBOOK OF WHAT WORKS BASED ON THEIR EXPERIENCE AS ENTREPRENEURS, FOUNDERS, AND OPERATORS AND THAT IS EXCITING TO ME.
IT FEELS COMFORTABLE TO ME. ED: EVEN WITH A PLAYBOOK THERE IS A LOT OF CHOICE. YOU ARE DOING SEED BUT SEED ACROSS SUCH A BROAD RANGE OF CATEGORIES. IS THERE ONE PARTICULAR AREA YOU ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE MEDICALLY THAT YOU THINK -- THAT YOU ARE EXCITED ABOUT THEMATICALLY THAT YOU THINK YOU WILL WRITE A LOT OF CHECKS TO? JENNIFER: I LOVE THAT INITIALIZED IS A GENERALIZED FUND AND I WILL HAVE ROOM TO PLAY. THE CALL OUT THINGS I AM
EXCITED ABOUT, AI ACCESSIBILITY. AI HAS CHANGED OUR WORLD AND IS EVOLVING QUICKLY EACH DAY, BUT WE ARE GETTING TO A PLACE WHERE IT IS BECOMING MORE ACCESSIBLE TO CONSUMERS AND LARGER COMPANIES AS WE THINK OF PLUG-INS AND SOLUTIONS THAT COMBINE AI AND AGENTS AND HIT THE SWEET SPOT OF ACT FOR THIS -- SWEET SPOT OF EFFICACY, EFFICIENCY, AND TRUST. WAYS THAT PERSONALIZATION ARE EVOLVING, ONE-TO-ONE PERSONALIZATION WITH THE HELP OF AI. I CONTINUED TO BE A FAN OF ASSET UTILIZATION. RENT THE RUNWAY IS ONE EXAMPLE, BUT BRANDS ARE FINDING MORE CREATIVE WAYS TO USE THEIR ASSETS AND SERVE CUSTOMERS AND SMARTER WAYS. I THINK THAT CHANGING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IS WHAT IS ABOUT -- WHAT IT IS ABOUT WHAT GETS CAROLINE: THE RUNWAY WAS THE DAY THAT THE BELL WAS RUNG AND THE LEADERSHIP BEING WOMEN.
WHAT STOOD OUT IN THE INITIALIZED ANNOUNCEMENT WAS HOW MUCH DIVERSITY THAT THERE IS AT ABC LIKE THAT. 18% OF PARTNERS BEING WOMEN. I'M INTERESTED IF THAT HAS TO BE SOMETHING THAT'S ORGANIC CHOOSING THE BEST TALENT, OR IF IT IS A DRIVEN AND MOTIVATING FORCE THAT YOU LOOK TO WHEN YOU ARE ALLOCATING TO DIVERSE FOUNDERS? JENNIFER: I AM PROUD THAT I'M WITH A COMPANY THAT HAS 80% OF OUR INVESTMENT TEAM FEMALE. IT WAS NOT A REQUIREMENT OF MINE, NOR DO I BELIEVE THAT IT WAS A REQUIREMENT FOR INITIALIZED.THEY OPTIMIZE FOR THE BEST TALENT, FOR FOUNDERS AND THE RIGHT FIT TO COMPLEMENT THEIR TEAM.
NATURALLY, THAT IS WHAT ORGANICALLY CAME ABOUT. OVER THE COURSE OF MY CAREER LIKEWISE IT HAS BEEN THAT WAY. THE TEAMS THAT I WORK WITH WERE ALWAYS LARGELY WOMEN. I THINK THAT THE PERSPECTIVE THAT YOU CAN BRING AND THE VANTAGE POINT WHEN YOU CONNECT TO DIFFERENT GROUPS OF CONSUMERS IS SO POWERFUL. AT INITIALIZED THERE IS
DIVERSITY IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS LIKE IN AGE, MALE, FEMALE, DIFFERENT ETHNICITIES AND THAT MAKES US BEST EQUIPPED TO THINK OF INDUSTRY DISRUPTION AND WAYS TO CONNECT TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOUNDERS. CAROLINE: WHEN WE THINK OF DISRUPTION, WE THINK THAT THE PRESSURE THAT RENT THE RUNWAY IS STILL UNDER FROM A MARKET CAPITALIZATION PERSPECTIVE. E-COMMERCE MORE BROADLY, I'VE TALKED TO MANY VCS THAT SAID THEY WERE NOT TOUCHING CONSUMER STUFF WITH A BARGE POLE AT THE MOMENT. YOU STILL SEE THE OPPORTUNITY AND A CONSUMER THAT IS STILL PRETTY RESILIENT IN THE U.S.? JENNIFER: I THINK IT IS AN EXCITING MOMENT TO BE CONTRARIAN IN THAT CATEGORY SO I'M STILL EXCITED ABOUT INNOVATION IN THE CONSUMER LANDSCAPE.
VALUATIONS FOR A WHILE WERE EXAGGERATED AND I THINK IT'S COME BACK TO A PLACE THAT IS MORE HEALTHY. THERE HAVE BEEN MACRO FACTORS THAT HAVE MADE IT EASIER FOR COMPANIES TO LAUNCH VARIOUS BRANDS. THERE IS MORE CLUTTER AND BREAKING THROUGH THE NOISE WAS HARDER AND CUSTOMER ACQUISITION WENT UP.
NOW YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME COMPANIES BREAKTHROUGH THAT. OF COURSE, CUSTOMER STILL WANT EXCITING BRANDS TO ENGAGE WITH. WHAT GETS ME EXCITED IS BRANDS THAT SPARK EXPERIENTIAL COMPONENTS, THAT PULLED ON OUR HEARTSTRINGS AND TOUCH ON DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES IN OUR LIFE. THE INTERNET HAS MADE THINGS SO COMMODITIZED, WE CAN FIND ALMOST ANYTHING. INJECTING THAT PERSONALIZATION AND ESSENCE OF EXPERIENTIAL THOUGHTFULNESS TO ME IS WHERE IT IS AT FOR THIS NEXT GENERATION OF CONSUMER BRANDS. ED: ONE MISTAKE THAT YOU MADE OR LESSON THAT YOU LEARNED THROUGH THE RENT RUNWAY EXPERIENCE? WHAT IS A PIECE OF ADVICE THAT YOU GIVE BASED ON THAT? JENNIFER: I FEEL LUCKY TO HAVE MADE LOTS OF MISTAKES OVER THE COURSE OF MY CAREER, BECAUSE THAT IS HOW WE LEARN. ESPECIALLY AS
ENTREPRENEURS. ONE THING THAT STICKS IN MY MIND IS WHEN WE WERE FIRST STARTING WE DID NOT HAVE A FASHION OR TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND. WITH REGARDS TO FASHION WE QUICKLY SCALED THAT LEARNING CURVE AND WE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS AND MET PEOPLE IN ALL PARTS OF THE INDUSTRY. RELATED TO TECHNOLOGY WE WERE MORE INTIMIDATED THAT WE WEREN'T ENGINEERS AND WE THOUGHT THAT WE COULD OUTSOURCE THAT PART OF THE BUSINESS. ANYTHING MISSION CRITICAL OF THE COMPANY YOU CANNOT OUTSOURCE AND NEED TO FIND WAYS TO PROBE AND ASK QUESTIONS OR HAVE OUR ON WHAT IS HAPPENING DAY TO DAY.
WE LEARNED THAT LESSON PRETTY QUICKLY AND I DON'T THINK THAT IT TOOK US TOO FAR OFF COURSE. IT IS PART OF WHAT MADE ME EXCITED TO BE AT INITIALIZED BECAUSE THERE ARE FORMER ENGINEERS THAT ARE INVESTORS AT THIS COMPANY, SO THEIR ABILITY TO CONNECT WITH FOUNDERS AT DIFFERENT COMPANIES THAT ARE SO FAR AFIELD FROM MY NATURAL SKILL SET AND COMFORT ZONE IS ALLOWS ME TO DEVELOP A NICE COMPLEMENTARY SKILL SET AND COMPANIES. ED: THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THIS IS BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY.
CAROLINE: AFTER A CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON ANTI-SEMITISM, SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BEEN TALKING NONSTOP ABOUT THE PRESIDENTS OF HARVARD, PENNSYLVANIA, AND M.I.T.. NOW MANY ARE HAVING TO ISSUE STATEMENTS CLARIFYING THEIR RESPONSES. ULTIMATELY THIS IS A BACKLASH ABOUT THE WAY WHICH THEY ANSWERED CERTAIN QUESTIONS. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? THERE ARE A LOT OF ECHO CHAMBERS ON THE INTERNET SAYING THEY WILL HAVE TO HAND IN THEIR RESIGNATIONS. JANET" UNIVERSITIES DO NOT MOVE AS FAST AS A PUBLIC COMPANY.
IF THAT HAPPENED TO A PUBLIC COMPANY'S CEO YOU WOULD'VE HAD AN IMMEDIATE INDICATION STOCK PRICE. THE BOARDS ARE DEFINITELY HEARING FROM ALUMNI AND POLITICIANS, INCLUDING PENNSYLVANIA'S GOVERNOR WHO WEIGHED IN, AS WELL AS THE GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS, HARVARD ALUMS, REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS. BOTH SIDES WERE NOT THRILLED WITH WHAT HAPPENED AT THIS HEARING. WHAT ABOUT THE SUPPORT WITH THE FACULTY? WE ARE NOT SURE WHAT WILL HAPPEN GOING FORWARD. THERE IS A REGULARLY SCHEDULED PENN LUNCHEON GOING ON NOW. IT MAY BE PRESIDENTS OR BOARDS OF TRUSTEES, BUT WE WILL HAVE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS. WE KNOW THAT HEARING FROM THE
STUDENTS IN WASHINGTON THAT THEY DON'T FEEL SAFE, THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE THERE IS A SAFE ENVIRONMENT. CLASSES ARE BEING DISRUPTED AND THERE ARE MARCHES GOING ON. THERE IS AN IMPETUS FOR LEADERSHIP TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES. IS IT ACCEPTABLE FOR CAMPUS CLASSROOMS TO BE DISRUPTED? WHAT DOES THE WORD MEAN? IN OTHER CONTEXT, WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE STUDENTS? CAROLINE: IT IS A QUESTION BEING ASKED LOUDLY BY MANY ALUM WHO WORK IN THE TECHNOLOGY FIELD. WE WILL INVITE YOU BACK AS THE
STORY UNFOLDS. AMAZING REPORTING GOING ON ON THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THAT CONGRESSIONAL HEARING. THAT DOES IT FOR THIS ADDITIONAL BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY. ED:
ANOTHER JAMPACKED THURSDAY AND SO MUCH TO RECAP ON OUR PODCAST. WE ARE ON APPLE,
2023-12-09 03:27
