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MARK: MORNING, EVERYONE. WE HAVE THE PARTY PANEL HERE, BEFORE LUNCH. THIS IS A FASCINATING GROUP OF LEADERS AND INNOVATORS HERE TO TALK ABOUT AI. I THOUGHT, ON THIS BEAUTIFUL ENGLISH DAY, WE WOULD START WITH ALL OF US IMAGINING TAKING A TRIP TO WARMER CLIMATES. LET'S FIRE UP GETYOURGUIDE. JOHANNES, I AM COMING IN AS A CONSUMER. HOW WILL I ENCOUNTER AI, AND HOW WILL IT WELCOME OR EXPERIENCE?
JOHANNES: GETYOURGUIDE IS THE LARGEST CONSUMER PLATFORM FOR BOOKING EXPERIENCES WORLDWIDE. WE JUST BROKE THE NEWS THIS MORNING THAT WE ARE ON THE CUSP OF ONE BILLION EUROS IN REVENUE, SO THAT IS COMMISSION REVENUE FROM US, CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLY PARTNERS, WORLDWIDE. WE HAVE MORE THAN 10 MILLION EXPERIENCES BOOKED IN Q3, WHICH IS A 30% YEAR-OVER-YEAR GROWTH UPLIFT. AND WE HAVE BEEN PROFITABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN COMPANY HISTORY OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS, SO PRODUCING CASH FLOWS, BEING FULLY EVEN THE -- EBITA PROFITABLE. AND THAT IS HELPED AND ACCELERATED BY AI. THE BUSINESS, AS YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IS CUMBERSOME. YOU HAVE 35,000 LOCAL SUPPLIER PARTNERS, EVERYTHING FROM THE LOUVRE TO THE EIFFEL TOWER, MADAME TUSSAUD'S, TO THE LOCAL STREET FOOD ARTISAN IN ITALY. GETTING ALL THAT CONTENT ONLINE, AGGREGATING IT, HELPING MERCHANTS DESCRIBE IT PROPERLY IN 40 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, MAKING SURE CONSUMERS UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ALL THESE EXPERIENCES, AND DOING THAT IN A SCALABLE WAY WAS NOT POSSIBLE BEFORE AI. SO AI IS A GROWTH ACCELERATED FOR US, AND IT IS GREATLY ENHANCING OUR MARGINS.
MARK: DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF, DIFFERENT APIS YOU ARE USING OR HOW MANY DIFFERENT AI COMPANIES?
JOHANNES: YEAH, TOTALLY. THERE IS A MULTI PRONG APPROACH. WE ENHANCE OUR INTERNAL PRODUCTIVITY, BUT MOST OF OUR INVESTMENT OF OURWN DEVELOPMENT GOES TO OUR SUPPLY PARTNERS AND ALSO MAKING SURE, FOR CONSUMERS, IT IS AN EASIER EXPERIENCE TO FIND THE RIGHT TRAVEL EXPERIENCE WHEREVER THEY GO. THERE IS A ARE BASICALLY ALONG THE ENTIRE VALUE CHAIN.
MARK: SO A LOT OF YOUR EXPERIENCED MANAGERS, SOMEONE BEING A TOUR GUIDE, THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT THEIR FINANCES. MAYBE THEY WILL TURN TO PIGMENT. ELÉONORE, ON THE ENTERPRISE SIDE, HOW ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT -- I AM CURIOUS HOW YOU THINK WHAT IS WORTH IMPLEMENTING AND WHAT IS NOT? WHAT ARE THE COST BENEFITS OF USING IT?
ELÉONORE: I WOULD SAY, FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE SEEN MOST COMPANIES HAVE AI -- EVERY BUSINESS LEADER WANTS TO IMPLEMENT AI. BUT THEY DO NOT ADOPT IT FOR EVERY BASE CONSUMER. THE WAY WE HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IT IS AS PART OF THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS. THE WAY WE CAN INSERT OURSELVES INTO THEIR DAY-TO-DAY WORKFLOW. SO SINCE WE WORK WITH SUPPLY CHAIN TEAMS, WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS UNDERSTAND, EVERY DAY, WHAT IS A PAINFUL WORK THROUGH THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH, AND TRY TO AUTOMATE THAT AND MAKE THEM FULLY PRODUCTIVE ON THESE THINGS. IT IS ABOUT BEING SEAMLESS AND HELPING INTEGRATE AND NOT ADDING PAIN TO IT AT ALL. YESTERDAY, I WAS ONE WITH -- I WAS WITH ONE OF THE BERKELEY LEADERS, AND HE WAS TELLING ME, FOR THEM, THAT IS WHERE THEY SEE VALUE, ONLY WHEN THEY ARE ABLE TO TRULY INTEGRATE INTO THEIR DAY-TO-DAY WORKFLOW.
MARK: AND THEY ARE A CUSTOMER?
ELÉONORE: THEY ARE NOT YET A CUSTOMER, BUT ARE ABOUT TO BECOME ONE.
MARK: IN THAT CASE, ARE YOU CHARGING PER SEAT?
ELÉONORE: THE WAY IT WORKS FOR US, THE PRICING IS -- EVERY TIME YOU DO A MISSION WITH US, WE WILL CHARGE YOU. AND OVER TIME, WE WOULD LIKE TO MOVE TO MORE ABOUT BASED PRICING, WHICH WE THINK IS RELEVANT, BECAUSE OF WHERE WE MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF OUR PROJECTS IS ADOPTION TO ACCURACY. THIRD, PRODUCTIVITY GAINS. THE FOURTHNE IS BIG BUSINESS OUTCOMES AND BEING ABLE TO MEASURE THAT WITH OUR CUSTOMERS.
MARK: SHOBIE, YOU HAVE AN INTERESTING PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE YOU'RE COMING FROM A DIFFERENT INDUSTRY, BUT YOU SPEND TIME -- TALKING ABOUT YOUR PAST IN SILICON VALLEY -- WHAT WERE YOUR KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE AT APPLE AND SALESFORCE WHEN YOU CAME TO THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY? WHAT HAS WORK AND WHAT HAS NOT WORKED?
SHOBIE: FOR THOSE OF YOU DO NOT KNOW, GSK IS A BIG BUY PHARMA COMPANY. OUR HOPE IS TO UNITE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND TALENT TOGETHER TO GET AHEAD OF DISEASE AND HOPEFULLY IMPACT 2.5 BILLION PEOPLE HEALTH POSITIVELY THROUGH THE -- BEFORE THE END OF 2030. IN TERMS OF THE TRANSITION BETWEEN PHARMA AND TECH, ONE, IN SOME WAYS, TECHNOLOGISTS ARE LIKE CARPENTERS. YOU CONTROL THE MEDIUM YOU WORK ON, YOU CAN BUILD ANYTHING, YOU CAN MOVE IN THE ITERATION CYCLES. AND PHARMACIST, YOU'RE A LITTLE LIKE GARDENERS, YOU HAVE TO WORK WITH WHAT IS IN NATURE. SO THESE CYCLES ARE DEFINITELY DIFFERENT. IT TAKES OVER 10 TO 12 YEARS TO BRING A REALLY BIG MEDICINE TO MARKET. IT TAKES BILLIONS OF DOLLARS. FOR US, R&D PRODUCTIVITY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE CAN INFLUENCE. NINE OUT OF 10 IDEAS FAIL, THAT IS NORMAL. SO BEING ABLE TO DIGITALLY IMAGINE THLIFECYCLE OF DISEASE AND UNDERSTAND THE PROGRESSION OF DISEASE AND INTERVENE IN THE RIGHT STAGES IS MASSIVE IMPACT FOR PATIENTS AND THE INDUSTRY.
MARK: SO IS SHORTENING THAT TIMELINE, THAT IS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY?
SHOBIE: YES, SHORTENING THE TIME LINE. THERE IS AN ELEMENT OF EFFICIENCY I THINK WE ALL CARE ABOUT. ANYONE WHO RUNS A BUSINESS CARES ABOUT THAT. FOR US, EQUALLY EXCITING IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO IDENTIFY NEW SCIENTIFIC HYPOTHESIS ALONGSIDE AI, WHICH CAN SEE AND PROCESS DATA VERY DIFFERENTLY FROM HUMANS. THE MOST IMPORTANT ABILITY WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE AT OUR FINGERTIPS IS THE ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND WHICH PATIENT WILL BENEFIT FROM WHICH MEDICINES. THEREFORE, WE ARE TARGETING OUR CLINICAL TRIALS MUCH MORE EFFECTIVELY TO REACH EVERYONE WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM IT. THIS WAS ALL COMPLETELY NOT POSSIBLE BEFORE AI AND MACHINE LEARNING.
MARK: MATT, YOU HAVE SO WE LOOKED AT YOUR FAIR SHARE OF COMPANIES, PROBABLY THREE OR SO THIS MORNING. BUT LET ME START YOU OFF. WHAT ARE SOME RED FLAGS FOR YOU WHEN A COMPANY IS TRYING TO IMPLEMENT WITH AI?
MATT: SO THAT IS AN INTERESTING SEGUE TO AN INVESTMENT WE ANNOUNCED THIS MORNING, SO THANK YOU. THIS MORNING, ONE OF THE COMPANIES WE INVESTED IN IS A COMPANY CALLED NEXOS. THE RED FLAG WE SEE IS PEOPLE ARE SO EAGER TO ENABLE THEIR TEAMS WITH AI AND THESE TOOLKITS, THEY ARE NOT TAKING STOCK OF THE INFORMATION. THERE MAY BE LEAVING THE ORGANIZATION AND WORKING WITH THESE TOOLS. AND SECURELY OPTIMIZING WHAT IS SET WHERE, WHAT IS BEING SENT, WHAT COSTS ARE BEING INCURRED, ARE WE DOING THINGS THE MOST EFFICIENTLY? THAT'S WHERE NEXOS COMES IN, A PLATFORM THAT HELPS US EMPOWER THESE COMPANIES TO SECURELY GET AI BUT ALSO TAKE STOCK OF WHAT INFORMATION IS BEING SHARED WHILE USING THESE AI TOOLS. COMPANIES GO ALL IN AND DO NOT TAKE STOCK OF WHAT THEY ARE SHARING. AND WHAT OPEN-AIR HAS SHARED HIS THEY COLLECT ALL THIS INFORMATION AND THEY USE IT TO MAKE RESULTS BETTER. YOU MAY NOT WANT SOME OF THAT INFORMATION LEAVING YOUR ORGANIZATION. WE TALK ABOUT SOVEREIGNTY. THERE'S ALSO ENTERPRISE SOVEREIGNTY. YOU MAY WANT TO KEEP SOME OF THAT INSIDE YOUR WALLS. SO USING TOOLS LIKE NEXOS IS IMPORTANT OR TAKING STOCK AROUND YOUR STRATEGY OF BEING MINDFUL OF WHAT IS LEAVING YOUR ORGANIZATION IS IMPORTANT.
MARK: IS THAT FOMO RELATED, IS THAT PEOPLE ARE MOVING TOO QUICKLY OR NOT HAVING THE PROPER ENTERPRISE --
MATT: WITH ALL NEW TECHNOLOGIES, WE WANT TO RAISE TO ADOPT THEM, AND WE SHOWED. THERE IS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE TO UTILIZING THESE TOOLS TO GET PEOPLE MORE PRODUCTIVITY, TO MOVE FASTER, MAKE BETTER DECISIONS, BUILD BETTER BUSINESSES. WITH ALL NEW WAYS OF TECHNOLOGY, IT IS LIKE MOBILE WILL UP THE WORLD, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN CAME MOBILE SECURITY AND WAYS TO ENABLE PEOPLE TO USE IPHONES AND THE ENTERPRISE IN AN EFFICIENT WAY. NOW WE HAVE THIS HUGE PRODUCTIVITY BOOST, WITH THE ARRIVAL OF AI,ND SIMILARLY, WE NEED TO TAKE A FEW MOMENTS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS WE CAN USE AI SECURELY AND MANAGE IT IN AN EFFICIENT WAY THAT WORKS FOR THE ENTERPRISE? I THINK WE WILL SEE NEXOS AND OTHER COMPANY SUCCEED AS MORE CIOS FOCUS ON THAT IN THE MONTHS AHEAD.
MARK: I THINK, TO EVEN ABANDON THE TITLE OF OUR PANEL HERE, SPECIFICALLY GETTING DOWN TO WHAT ARE THE PRODUCTS, ELÉONORE, STARTING WITH YOU, BECAUSE I BELIEVE YOU START -- OPERATE WI TH MULTI LLM'S. WHAT WAS THAT DECISION LIKE, HOW MANY VIEWS NOW, AND IS THERE A MAXIMUM?
ELÉONORE: A LOT OF IT WAS DRIVEN BY OUR CUSTOMERS WITH DEMAND. WE WORK WITH THE MODELS COME OVERNIGHT, AND PHOBIC, AND WE ALSO STARTED WITH GEMINI. THIS IS -- WE WORK WITH OPENAI, ANTHROPIC, AND WE ALSO STARTED WITH GEMINI. A LOT OF WHAT WE DO IS DEALING WITH NUMBERS, SO A LOT OF THE COMPUTE HAPPENS ON PIGMENT, AND WE USE LLM AS THE INTERFACE, SO IT IS EASY FOR US TO HAVE THIS.
MARK: ARE THERE SOME LLM'S YOUNGSTERS NOT INTEGRATE?
ELÉONORE: NOT YET. WE WILL SEE OVER TIME. BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE MORE ON THE LIST. WE JUST WANT TO BE MINDFUL ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING WE ARE BUILDING, THE AGENTS WE ARE BUILDING, ARE ACTUALLY WORKING. WE DO NOT WANT TO GO TOO FAST. IT IS THE SAME WITH THE MULTI-CLOUD STRATEGY. WE WANT TO BE MINDFUL OF HOW WE GET THE END PRODUCT.
MARK: SHOBIE, YOU MUST BE GETTING SOANY PITCHES FROM AI AGENT COMPANIES NOW. HOW DO YOU SEPARATE SOMETHNG THAT IS VALUABLE VERSUS SOMETHING THAT IS NOT?
SHOBIE: I REMEMBER, AS WE JUST STARTED OUT THIS SCALING PROCESS, WE HAVE BEEN DOING AI FOR A LONG TIME. MY TEAM USED TO TELL ME WE CAN ENABLE 11,005 HUNDRED MODELS ON OUR PLATFORM. BUT THE POINT IS THAT IT IS DEFINITELY -- THERE ARE ALL THREE HORSES IN THE GAME, AND WE ARE NOT PARTICULARLY ATTACHED TO ANY ONE MODEL. WE WANT THE ABILITY TO FIND THE RIGHT MODEL FOR THE RIGHT PROBLEM AND APPLY IT, SO OUR DEVELOPERS ARE SAVVY TO KNOW WHEN TO USE WHAT MODEL. ALSO, WE ARE MOVING TOWARDS A LOT OF AGENT BUILDING. I WAS WITH THAT DATA BRICKS TEAM LAST WEEK, AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT AGENT BUILDING PLATFORMS WILL GIVE PERFORMERS THE ABILITY TO SAY, WHAT IS THE QUALITY AND COST? SO THIS IS EVOLVING RAPIDLY. I WOULD SPLY SAY I AM NOT THAT INTERESTED -- I AM SUPER CURIOUS AS A TECHNOLOGIST IN LLM INNOVATION, BUT I AM HERE TO CREATE VACCINES AND MEDICINES, SO FROM THE APPLICATION STANDPOINT, I AM CONFIDENT IN THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT THING FOR THE RATE PROBLEM. OPENAI AND GEMINI.
MARK: NONE OF THOSE ARE DEVELOPED HERE OR IN EUROPE. DID YOU LOOK AT ANY MODELS OUT OF EUROPE OR CHINA?
SHOBIE: WE GAVE MISTRAL AAIR RUN. THEY JUST DID NOT STAND OUT AS DIFFERENTIATED IN ANYTHING WE NEEDED TO DO IN OUR COMPANY FEAR THAT DOES NOT MEAN IT IS NOT USEFUL.
MARK: AND LAST POINT HERE, IS THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY TAILORED TO YOUR INDUSTRY?
SHOBIE: IT COULD BE. IT IS NOT SO MUCH THE INDUSTRY AS IS IT TAILORED TO THE SPECIFIC PROBLEMS WE WERE TRYING TO SOLVE? WE PUT IT IN THE HANDS OF DEVELOPERS TO CHOOSE. WE GIVE THEM A FAIR SHOT.
MARK: JOHANNES, YOUR COMPANY WAS STARTED IN 2009, A LITTLE BEFORE CHATGPT. TELL ME ABOUT WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT MACHINE LEARNING AND AI BEFORE THREE YEARS AGO? AND THEN WAS THAT A CHATGPT MOMENT?
JOHANNES: OH, YEAH. LITERALLY, WHEN THAT THING CAME OUT, I BASICALLY -- THREE DAYS LATER, I SAID TO THE COMPANY THIS WILL BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE LAUNCH OF THE IPHONE FOR OUR COMPANY. AND THE IPHONE BASICALLY CREATED GETYOURGUIDE, BECAUSE SO MANY TOURISTS WERE GOING AROUND EUROPE, ROAMING CHARGES WERE COMING DOWN, AND THEY WERE LOOKING FOR EXPERIENCES, SO THAT REALLY DROVE OUR GROWTH. BUT I BELIEVE THE CHATGPT MOMENT WILL BE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT FOR THE TECH INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE. AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT WE TALK ABOUT TODAY IS STILL VERY MUCH THE EARLY INNINGS OF HOW DOES PRODUCTIVITY INCREASE, HOW CAN WE GO FROM A TO B? THE REALITY IS, WHEN WE HAVE COMPANIONS AND AGENTS WITH US -- TAKE THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY. WHAT THAT MEANS FOR PERSONALIZATION AND BEING ABLE TO SELECT OFFERINGS ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU HAVE TODAY. TODAY, YOU ARE SCROLLING THROUGH VERY LONG LISTS OF VERY UNDIFFERENTIATED INVENTORY. WE ARE IN THIS MODE OF CONTINUOUS OPTIMIZATION BASED OFF OF GOOGLE TRAFFIC AND THAT LONGER FINAL. I THINK ALL OF THAT WILL GO AWAY IN THE NEXT 10 TO 20 YEARS. WHAT MAKES ME SO EXCITED AS THE CEO OF GETYOURGUIDE IS THAT CREATES A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO GET THESE COMPANIONS FOR CONSUMERS BECAUSE WE HAVE THAT CATALOG DATA.
MARK: WOULD YOU BUILD THAT COMPANY?
JOHANNES: TOTALLY. WE ARE VERY MUCH OBSESSED WITH LLM'S AND ALL OF THAT. MY OPINION IS THAT WILL MOSTLY BE A COMMODITY YOU PLUG INTO. BUT WHERE YOU WILL DIFFERENTIATE IS YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION TOWARDS THE CUSTOMER, REGARDLESS THE INDUSTRY. AND IF YOU HAVE SUPERIOR DATA SETS OF SUPPLY AND CUSTOMER PREFERENCES, YOU COULD COME UP WITH BETTER RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PEOPLE, THEN ULTIMATELY, YOU WILL BE THE BRAND AND THE GO TO DESTINATION. MAYBE SOMETHING A LITTLE LIKE INTERESTING TO NOTE IS GETYOURGUIDE NOT ONLY HAS GROWN SUBSTANTIALLY, BUT ALSO OUR BRAND AND APP TRAFFIC HAS EXPLODED THE LAST TWO TO THREE YEARS.
MARK: CAN YOU GIVE ME A NUMBER TO THAT?
JOHANNES: WE ARE CLOSE TO 50%. IT USED TO BE A SIGNIFICANTLY SMALLER NUMBER TWO OR THREE YEARS AGO IN TERMS OF TRANSACTION VOLUMES COMING THROUGH THE APP. SO PEOPLE ARE COMING TO OUR OWN SEARCH BAR.
MARK: SO YOU'RE STILL GIVING, LIGHT, 30% APPLE, RIGHT?
JOHANNES: NO, WE DO NOT HAVE THAT PAIR THAT IS ONLY FOR SUBSCRIPTION BUSINESSES, UBER, DELIVERY. GETYOURGUIDE, WE DO NOT HAVE THAT KIND OF ARRANGEMENT WITH APPLE. SO PEOPLE TRANSACT ON OUR SERVICE. THE POINT IS IT IS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD A BETTER SEARCH AND RELEVANCE FOR THE CONSUMERS.
MARK: YOU MENTIONED THE COMMODITIZED METHOD --MATT, I WILL TURN TO YOU. DO YOU THINK ALUMS WILL BECOME MODERNIZED -- DO YOU THINK LLM'S WILL BECOME COMMODITIZ NOW?
MATT: I THINK IT IS LIKE CLOUD. THE BASIC CORE COPY OF CLOUT COME UP ALL THE CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE COMPANIES BUILD APPLICATIONS ON TOP THAT HAVE US ALL HOOKED IN AND BUYING THEM TO FUEL OUR DIFFERENT SERVICES AND COMPANIES. SIMILARLY, I THINK THE SUCCESSFUL AI COMPANIES, CHATGPT BEING THE ULTIMATE EXAMPLE, ARE BUILDING THESE APPLICATIONS ON TOP OF LLM'S AND SO I THINK YES, THERE WILL BE LLM'S AVAILABLE TO THE WORLD AND THEY WILL BE A COMMODITY, BUT THE BUSINESS IS BEING BUILT IN THE LLM PROVIDERS WILL BE HUGELY VALUABLE COMPANIES. SO LIKE AWS, OPENAI AND ANTHROPIC ARE SITTING ON A TREASURE TROVE OF DATA. IN USING THEM TO MAKE GREAT APPLICATIONS.
MARK: SO IT COULD BE LIKE YESTERDAY, WHERE AWS GOES DOWN AND TAKE STAND HALF THE INTERNET WITH IT.
MATT: THERE WILL BE THAT RISK, OBVIOUSLY. WHEN COMPANIES GET LARGE LIKE THIS, WHN THEY HAVE FAILURES AND CHALLENGES, THE IMPACT THE WHOLE WORLD.
MARK: AND YOU HAVE NOT DONE ANY FOUNDATION MODEL INVESTMENTS, CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG?
MATT: NO, WE HAVE NOT HERE BUT THAT IS NOT BECAUSE OF --
MARK: WOULD YOU?
MATT: ABSOLUTELY. WE ARE LOOKING AT A COUPLE RIGHT NOW.
MARK: IN EUROPE OR?
MATT: IN THE U.S.. HALF OF OUR INVESTMENTS ARE IN EUROPE, HALF ARE IN U.S. BECAUSE LONDON IS AN INCREDIBLE PLACE TO BUILD A VENTURE CAPITAL FIRMOME UP I WANT US TO BE GLOBAL IN NATURE. FROM THE BEGINNING, WE WILL INVEST ANYWHERE FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO TEL AVIV. IN THIS CASE, THE ONES I AM LOOKING AT ARE IN CALIFORNIA, BUT WE HAVE LOOKED AT THEM IN EUROPE, TOO.
MARK: IF YOU WANT TO ANNOUNCE IT, FEEL FREE.
SHOBIE: THERE WAS AN INTERESTING TERM ONE OF YOUR COLLEAGUES TOLD ME HE TO SAY INTERNALLY IS "DON'T DO TECH FOR TECH'S SAKE." THAT IS REALLY FASCINATING TO ME. WHAT HAS THAT HAPPENED?
SHOBIE: WELL, I THINKT IS VERY EASY, WITH POWERFUL TECHNOLOGIES LIKE THIS, TO GET A BIT OBSESSED WITH, IS GSK AN AI COMPANY, DATA COMPANY, SIGNS COMPANY? IT IS ALL OF THOSE THINGS. BUT ULTIMATELY, OUR CORE PURPOSE, IF ULTIMATELY WE HAVE TO INTEGRATE THESE PENOMENAL TECHNOLOGIES INTO OUR CORE WORKFLOWS, WHETHER IT IS THE DISCOVERY WORKFLOW, THE DRUG DEVELOPMENT WORKFLOW, MANUFACTURING WORKFLOWS, IF YOU DON'T REALLY REIMAGINE WORK IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW COOL BTECH IS -- THE TECH IS. FOR ME, WE GO DOWN THIS PATH OF THINKING ABOUT FLYING CARS AND ALL THESE AMAZING THING, BUT, TODAY, THERE ARE PATIENTS WAITING FOR A MEDICINE TO COME THROUGH. AND SOME MEASURE SUCCESS BY WHETHER THEY LIVE SIX MONTHS LONGER THAN WHETHER THEY HAVE CANCER. IT IS ENORMOUSLY GROUNDING, IN A SIGNAL -- INDUSTRY LIKE OURS, OF WHAT DOES THIS TECHNOLOGY SERVE? TWO REALLY REIMAGINE WORK --WE HAVE TO REIMAGINE PLANNING WITH AI. WHO IS DOING THAT? WHEN YOU SEE A COURAGE DEFICIT, I CAN DO IT, BUT I DO NOT KNOW IF I CAN GO ON THAT JOURNEY. OR YOU RUN INTO A CAPABILITY DEFICIT. YOU HAVE TO RUN THROUGH ALL THESE THINGS IN ORDER TO MAKE TECHNOLOGY ABLE TO DO THINGS FOR ENTERPRISES LIKE OURS. SO I AM FASCINATED BY THAT JOURNEY OF INTEGRATING THE TECH INTO THE COMPANY AS MUCH AS I AM ABOUT THE TECH ITSELF, SO THAT IS WHERE I COME FROM WHEN I SAY I DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE TECH FOR TECH'S SAKE.
MARK: HOW MANY OF YOUR ENGINEERS ARE USING WHAT YOU WOULD CALL AT IHS RIGHT NOW -- AI ASSISTANTS?
SHOBIE: ALL OF THE ENGINEERS IN TECH USE AI ASSISTANTS FOR CODING. 10,000 OF OUR SCIENTISTS USE LLM'S --ALL OF THE EMPLOYEES HAVE ACCESS TO LLM'S --
MARK: IS IT A PAID ACCOUNT?
SHOBIE: WELL, WE BUILT APPLICATIONS WITH GEMINI OR OPENAI, BUT MAINLY ON AZURE. WE ARE USING IT RIGHT NOW. 10,000 SCIENTISTS ARE USING IT, CREATING HYPOTHESES NOT ONLY BASED ON OUR DATA BUT ALSO EXTERNAL DATA AND PROPRIETARY DATA WE BUY, ETC.
MARK: AI SCIENTIST, IS THAT SOMEONE WHO REPORTS TO YOU?
SHOBIE: NO, THE AI SCIENTIST IS AVAILABLE TO EVERY SCIENTIST TO USE AS A COWORKER, TO BE ABLE TO DO THEIR JOBS BETTER. TYPICAL MILESTONES IN A SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY PROCESS IS THE TIME FROM AN IDEA TO AN EXPERIMENT, THEN EXPERIMENT TO THE FIRST TIME IN HUMANS. WE WANT TO SHORTEN THAT LIFESTYLE BY UP TO 50% THROUGH THE USE OF AI CONVENIENCE.
MARK: ELÉONORE, ONE TOPIC THAT HAS BEEN TRENDY RECENTLY IS VIBE CODING. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE DOING THAT IN PIGMENT NOW?
ELÉONORE: PRETTY MUCH ALL OF OUR ENGINEERS ARE USING IT. WE ARE ALWAYS EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW TECHNOLOGIES. BUT IT GOES PRETTY -- BEYOND OUR ENGINEERS. IT IS AT EVERY TEAM AT PIGMENT THAT WE ENCOURAGED TO TRY AS MANY NEW TECHNOLOGIES AS EMERGE. AND WE DO OUR OWN VERSION WITHIN THE PIGMENT PLATFORM. WHAT WE ENABLE PEOPLE TO DO IS VIBE MODELING, TO HELP PEOPLE MODEL FASTER ON PIGMENT. AT WHAT THEY DO IS THEY WANT TO MAKE IT FASTER AND THEY WANT TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR BUSINESS SO THE FASTER THEY CAN BE ON THE PLATFORMS THE BETTER IT IS SO WE ARE ALSO WORKING WITH AGES THAT HELP YOU BUILD THE MODELS.
MARK: IS THIS A TRY OLD FOR SOME OF THOSE OR WOULD YOU RECOGNIZE THEIR ACTUAL CUSTOMERS.
ELEONORE: SOME PEOPLE REALLY CANNOT WORK ANYMORE WITHOUT IT AND IT'S NOT ONLY USING AUGMENTED ETC. BUT IT'S ABOUT USING ISSUING THROUGH PROTOTYPES. THAT'S THE APPROACH WE HAVE WITH PIGMENT WHICH IS MOST OF THE PLATFORMS OUT THERE ON THAT MANAGEMENT PLATFORM IT USUALLY TAKES WAY TOO LONG AND YOU GET TO THE RESULT ONLY AT THE END AND WHAT WE WANT TO DO AND ARE STARTING TO DO WITH PIGMENT IS SHOW PROTOTYPES VERY EARLY WITH THE CUSTOMER AND WHAT THINGS LOOK LIKE RUNNING VERY EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS WHICH IS VERY NEW AND I THINK IT BRINGS A TON OF VALUE BECAUSE YOU CAN REALLY UNDERSTAND BETTER. WE -- WHEN YOU'RE BUYING YOUR HOUSE AND HIRE AN ARCHITECT YOU WANT TO SEE THE HOUSE DONE BEFORE THEY START TO WORK. THE PROBLEM WITH SOFTWARE AND TECHNOLOGY IS USUALLY YOU START BY DOING THE WORK BEFORE YOU FINISH THE HOUSE AND THIS IS THE MAGIC OF THE COMPANY'S IS REALLY NOW YOU CAN SEE THE RESULT MUCH EARLIER.
MARK: I LOVE THE ARCHITECT CARPENTER METAPHOR.
SHOBIE: WE GAVE OUT AI COMPANIONS AND WE DIDN'T DO ANY MARKETING ON IT, WE PUT IT OUT AND WE LET PEOPLE USE IT. 52,000 PEOPLE LOGIN EVERY MONTH BECAUSE IT MAKES THEIR LIVES BETTER.
MARK: WHAT TOOL ARE THEY USING?
SHOBIE: OUR AI ASSISTANT BUT THEY USE IT FOR ALL KINDS OF PERSONAL TASKS. WHAT'S INTERESTING IS THE OPPORTUNITY IS VISIBLE TO THE BOARD THE LEADERSHIP, LIKE I SAID 80% OF THE PEOPLE LOVE THE TOOLS AND THEY WANT TO USE IT. IT'S ABOUT METABOLIZING IT INTO THE PROCESSES OF THE COMPANY.
MARK: WHAT'S THE METRIC THEN HOW ARE YOU MEASURING SUCCESS? IS IT JUST ADOPTION INTERNALLY OR SOMETHING ABOUT COST SAVINGS, ABOUT IMPROVEMENT THE CASH FLOW.
SHOVBIE: DOES IT HELP US MAKE MONEY OR MOVE THE MEDICINE FASTER THROUGH THE PIPELINE WE ARE RELENTLESS IN CHASING THE OUTCOME METRICS. THE SECOND IS LEARNING LOOPS GETTING TO FORM BETWEEN AI AND HUMANS BECAUSE WITHOUT THAT YOU CAN'T REALLY SAY YOU'VE GOT TO FUSION GOING ON AND THEHIRD IS FLUENCY METRICS WHICH IS HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE LEARNING TO USE IT.
MARK: WHAT ARE THE MAIN METRICS YOU USE.
JOHANNES: WE RATHER LOOK AT WHAT OF THE BUSINESS OUTCOME METRICS AND THEN AI IS A TOOL TO GET THERE.
MARK: WHAT'S THE MAIN METRIC YOU USE.
MAC: REVENUE GROWTH. [LAUGHTER] I LIKE TO SEE REVENUE GROWTH. LOSING TRACTION IN THE BUSINESS. YOU WANT TO SEE DIRECT HIM TO THE TOOLS IMPLEMENTING. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE AI COMPANY ARE THEY HAVING TROUBLE SHOOTING WITH THEIR USERS. BECAUSE THEY'RE DELIGHTING THEM IN SOME WAY. SO ONE OF THESE COMPANIES WE TALKED ABOUT WHICH IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD ALL BE PROUD OF AS PEOPLE WE HAVE A COMPANY WITH THAT GROWTH AND HOW IT'S REINVENTING THE WAY PEOPLE ACCESS AND DEVELOP SOFTWARE. BUT NOBODY SEEN REVENUE GROWTH LIKE THEY HAVE IN EUROPE THUS FAR. AT THE RATE THEY ARE SEEING IT AND IT'S BECAUSE THEY ARE OPENING AI TO A WHOLE NEW SET OF USERS IN THEIR OPENING TO SOFTWARE CREATION AND IMAGINATION TOOLS AND SO I THINK WHEN YOU SEE THAT THERE'S REVENUE AS AN INVESTOR WE LIKE REVENUE GROWTH. LOOSING A LOT OF CUSTOMERS IN THE PRODUCTIVITY LUKE. THAT ARE REALLY LOOKING AT HOW CAN THEY PUT THE PRODUCTIVITY ON THEIR STRUCTURE. WE HAVE CUSTOMERS TO START LOOKING AT BINESS OUTCOMES AND START THINKING THE USERS FOLLOW THE PLANNING AND DIDN'T GET AS MUCH MORE. WHAT IS THE ROI ON THESE BIGGER COMPANIES. AND THEN WE HAVE COMPANIES LIKE AN TROPIC THAT ARE LOOKING DEEPLY AT ADOPTION AND MAKING SURE AS MANY PEOPLE ARE USING THESE AS POSSIBLE. WE HAVE THESE BROAD SETS OF METRICS THAT ARE ALL IMPORTANT FOR US. ACCURACY WE DIDN'T TALK ENOUGH ABOUT. THE IMPORTANCE OF GOVERNANCE, ACCURACY, SO I THINK COMPANIES HAVE TO TRY VERY CAREFULLY WITH A COMPANY LIKE PIGMENT THAT ARE DEALING WITH STRATEGIC NUMBERS. OVERALL CLEARLY EVERYBODY WILL GO TO BUSINESS OUTCOMES NOT ONLY TO HOW MUCH HOW MUCH -- CAN I REALLY ACCESS GROWTH WHICH IS WHAT JOHANNES TALKED ABOUT.
MARK: A REAL QUICK YES OR NO RAPIDFIRE. WOULD YOU BUY AN AI COMPANY JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE EUROPEAN? WOULD YOU BUY AND USE THEM AS A CUSTOMER.
ELEONORE: JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE YOU -- EUROPEAN, I WOULD BUY THE BEST TECHNOLOGY?
MATT: BEST TECHNOLOGY.
MARK: ARE WE IN AN AI BUBBLE?
YES. I THINK PARTLY YES BUT IT WILL EVENTUALLY BE LIKELY BURST. THERE WILL BE SOME DESTRUCTION AND ULTIMATELY VALUATION. NO. I THINK IT'S A REVOLUTION. AND REVOLUTION HAS TO GO WITH LARGER FUNNG. WE SEE THAT AGAIN WE HAVEN'T EVEN SCRATCHED THE SURFACE. AND SO PROBABLY YES THERE WILL BE A LOT OF COMPANIES WE WILL HAVE WASTED A LOT OF MONEY BUT THAT'S OK BECAUSE A GREATNESS WILL COME OUT OF THAT.
MARK: THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF YOU.