Many of us in the private markets are curious about how public markets view AI’s impact and the approach that public market investors take to investing in companies. This episode uncovers that from one of the top public software investors in my opinion.
Glen Kacher is Chief Investment Officer at Light Street Capital. He founded Light Street 13 years ago after stints at Integral Capital Partners and Tiger Global. In this episode, we cover a long term successful public market investor’s view on how AI will impact the software industry and other industries as well. We talk through where value seems likely to accrue in the interim and over the long term. We also cover how Glen and his team deep dive into new areas and form theses through deep research. Glen has nearly 30 years of public market software investing experience so needless to say this episode captures many of those earned insights.
Where to Find Glen:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kacher/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlenKacher
Where to Find Shomik:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shomikghosh21
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shomik-ghosh-a5a71319/
Newsletter: https://www.shomik.substack.com
Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google.
In this episode, we cover:
(00:49) - Learnings from Julian Robertson, Founder of Tiger Global
(03:59) - Founding Light Street Capital
(05:51) - First Investment in the Fund & Adjusting Theses Through Business Model Changes
(10:06) - Learnings from the Dot Com Bubble
(12:06) - Technical Debt and Iterating with Customers Over Long Term
(15:35) - Research Process Behind Diving into AI
(18:13) - Is AI a Platform Shift, Enablement Shift, or Something Else
(21:06) - AI’s Impact on Software Margins and Efficiency
(26:09) - Software Moats in the Age of AI
(28:42) - Platform Companies Enduring Advantages
(30:32) - How AI Will Change Public Investing Workflows
(32:47) - Balancing the Micro & Macro and Optimism for the Future
How to Subscribe:
Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google.
#24 - Glen Kacher (Chief Investment Officer, Light Street Capital) - AI's Potential Impact on Public Software Companies, How to Conduct Rigorous Research, Lessons learned from Julian Robertson