Corporate chieftains tend to agree that AI will create enormous gains. But are those best reaped in public or in private? On Tuesday, Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong said his listed crypto exchange would cull 14 per cent of its workforce, shifting over to AI-driven processes. Its shares fell 2 per cent. Others have enjoyed a more enthusiastic response. Shares in Block rose by a fifth in February when the fintech, run by former Twitter boss Jack Dorsey, said that it was letting go of 40 per cent of its staff.
Meanwhile, in the private sphere, Long Lake said on Monday that it was buying the Global Business Travel Group, a listed business travel agency affiliated with American Express, for $6.3bn, in a bet that more automation will produce outsize returns. Long Lake is an acquisition vehicle backed by the Silicon Valley venture capital firm General Catalyst that is rolling up service-based companies ripe for the AI treatment. GBTG’s shareholders include Amex, Qatar Investment Authority, Expedia and Apollo Global Management.
