The Exchanges

Q I mean, I, I mean, to a degree, you can argue you have an unfair advantage, uh, relative to your financial counterparts, uh, just by virtue of the relationship with the corporation. Uh, Ryan, it would be great if we could take a moment to step back. I'd love to know your career progression leading up to Accenture, and what, what's formed your, your view of the investing world today?

A Absolutely. So Christian, I am very much a product of the Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. I grew up in the area. Both my parents worked in tech. My dad has been the CEO of small companies, worked in big tech. Um, I remember, you know, going to high school in Mountain View, and so I was, you know, a stone's throw away from the Google office and others. And so, you know, Christian, you grow up in an area like that really influences you. And, you know, I kind of had that passion and interest in emerging technology for a long time. I went to Stanford University for undergrad, so it really, you know, took a long commute, all three, four miles to go to school. Um, and they're studying the intersection of policy, business and tech. And while I was at Stanford, I did two internships at Accenture. Um, the first was in a design thinking innovation strategy type role. The second was in more of a sales strategy type role. And I just love the different kinds of experiences I could have. I mean, the two summers were wildly different. And that's what led me to join full time was like, Hey, I can have almost 15 different careers at this one company, you know, and I don't need to change companies and I can still have this diversity of experience. And so that's what I decided to do. I graduated in twenty-twenty-one. I spent a year on the strategy and consulting side, did five different projects…

AI assessment note: “I went to Stanford University for undergrad... while I was at Stanford, I did two internships at Accenture”

Q Do you see this as a, as a, one of many themes or a main theme as, as, as, uh, the technology matures?

A I'll frame it a little bit differently in that I think physical AI is a main theme, which is to say shifting from the first users of AI were primarily digital in nature, software engineering, marketing, contact centers, lawyers, you know, all of these are primarily people interacting with their computer. We're now moving beyond that, right? So how will AI transform the manufacturing floor? How will it transform the retail store? How will it transform the home with home devices and smart devices and things like that? Um, that is the next big opportunity, and we are seeing that tech stack emerge called an edge AI tech stack in some cases of edge specific models, edge data lakes, edge data capabilities, edge AI applications. Similarly in robotics, you know, you have the robotics tech stack emerging, robotic specific models, robotics testing and eval, robotics orchestration, things like that, right? And obviously the hardware component as well. At Accenture Ventures, as an example, we invested in Sanctuary AI, which is one of those companies that is building towards humanoid robots. Um, so we, you know, we certainly see this broader category of moving AI from the laptop To the manufacturing floor, to the store as being one of the core themes for the next 12 to 24 to 36 months.

AI assessment note: “I think physical AI is a main theme”

Q Got it. Uh, so, um, Accenture's expertise, uh, is broad. It runs I presume almost every single industry in the country. Do you find, though, that there are enterprise application themes that, that Accenture gravitates towards, or at least maybe in the last year or two?

A You know, these days, Christian, everything is about data and AI, which is, uh, perhaps unsurprising. Um, and specifically, you know, we have found that our clients are looking for capabilities that allow them to accelerate their journey on the Gen.ai productivity scale. I think you have seen this as well as I have, which is to say many of the fortune 500 global 2000 are still in that experimentation and POC type phase when it comes to Gen.ai. And they're looking to actually deliver real business ROI. Vis-a-vis are Gen AI. And we feel like emerging tech companies play a critical role in accelerating that journey by increasing trust, by providing a vertical workflow, by providing a capability they might not otherwise have. There will be opportunities where Accenture brings services to the table. There will be capabilities that the hyperscalers and platform players bring to the table, but there will be some capabilities that only startups can do. And by marrying all those things together, by being the village leader of storage that can bring together everyone in the ecosystem, that's when we deliver value to our clients.

AI assessment note: “these days, Christian, everything is about data and AI”

Q So what are, what are some of the rate limiting steps Oh, let me, what are some of the problems, i.e. rate limiting steps that you see today where, uh, an entrepreneur, uh, can roll up their sleeves and build a company, um, to solve some, some problems that you find are just top of line within Accenture?

A I think the most exciting thing, Christian, is that AI has unlocked a set of use cases that we thought were largely untouchable through technology, right? So again, some of those core use cases were pretty well standard and well understood. But in a pre-AI era, it was a little bit harder to imagine, as an example, AI supporting insurance underwriting and claims management. It was a little bit harder to see technology disrupting the government procurement process or drug discovery, right? And I think AI represents a step change where those workflows that we thought were going to be harder to crack are now actually achievable. So the, the number one category that I would be building in if I was a founder is vertical AI, which is to say, what is the area and the problem statement and the workflow that you are deeply passionate about? Um, what is the problem that only you can solve? Even if you are a non-technical founder, but you are a scientist with 10 years of research experience, or you are someone who's been in and around fintech and financial services and tier one banks for 1020 years, you know, the, the door is suddenly open to you to build hundred million dollar, billion dollar companies in these vertical spaces and to find differentiation from some of the platform players and the hyperscalers. So I think vertical AI, and specifically in these legacy industries, these hard …

AI assessment note: “the number one category that I would be building in if I was a founder is vertical AI”

Q I love it. Founders take heed, you know, um, Ryan, you know, a whole host of great insights, uh, before we wrap up, uh, enjoy asking a retrospective, uh, and, uh, you know, it's, it's basically, if you had an opportunity to go back, have a conversation with your younger self, you pick the, what would you share?

A Jump in, dive in. You know, I, I felt, you know, when I first really started breaking into venture capital, 23, 24 years old, something like that, right? Um, you know, and you're in the room with CEOs and managing partners at Ventures Funds, and it can be a little bit overwhelming at times, you know, and so there were times I was a little bit hesitant to ask the question or to jump into the conversation, and, you know, if I could buy myself anything, it's that the sooner you just jump into the deep end, um, the better off you're going to be, In driving success in future, right? Um, so I would encourage my, my previous self, as well as anyone who's interested in breaking into venture capital, go to events, go to conferences, go to talks, talk to as many people as you can, try to become a subject matter expert as quickly as possible, because it is a positive flywheel that will benefit you for the rest of your career.

AI assessment note: “the sooner you just jump into the deep end, um, the better off you're going to be”

Q I'm curious is, do you find, uh, that that's a conversation topic when, when you're making investments that maybe you're paying up? Um,

A Not especially. You know, I, I think more than ever, venture capital is flat. Uh, you know, I think COVID was an accelerate at that, but, you know, these days with virtual mediums, it's not hard to get in touch anywhere. And at Accenture Ventures, we've invested in over 15 different countries. So we do have that global mandate. We look around the world, around the country. Um, you know, certainly there are pros and cons to building in any one given area. As an example, I was talking with one of our portfolio companies that was based in San Francisco and decided to move to New York. And the rationale is they wanted to be closer to their customers, and they felt like a lot of their customers in the entertainment spaces and fashion and retail, et cetera, were going to be more New York based versus in San Francisco, they'd be more tech based. So I think every company has to follow their own journey from the investor perspective. Um, I haven't seen much concern as far as where the company is located as much as how well they're performing and how their geographic location might influence that. Interesting.

AI assessment note: “Not especially. You know, I, I think more than ever, venture capital is flat.”

Q And then how much discretion does Accenture give the managers for purposes of, uh, cutting checks?

A We are fairly tightly tied to Accenture as a company, and the reason for that, it goes to the core principle that every CBC has to ask themselves, which is, why do we exist? What is our value into the company? For Accenture Ventures, our number one KPI is strategic impact. So our goal is to drive strategic impact for Accenture as a customer and for our clients. And because of that, as an example, for every investment we do, the head of that business group, so whoever is supporting that at a global management committee level, agrees to sponsor that investment. So they are committing time, dollars, energies, resources, et cetera, to building and executing a joint strategy with that emerging company. So we are very closely tied, and it's very intentional, because that's how we achieve our KPIs.

AI assessment note: “for every investment we do, the head of that business group... agrees to sponsor”

Q I'm curious though, you know, it's not often that we have, um, guests on the podcasts who are in the heart of Silicon Valley. Um, you know, sitcoms devoted, uh, to the culture. Uh, can you give us an insider's view? Is there any truth to maybe some, a lot of perceptions?

A I love, I love that question. You know, I, I will say, Christian, and I'm a little bit biased having been, you know, essentially raised and spend most of my life in this area, that I do think the Silicon Valley is a special place, you know, and I do think that unique confluence of the, the diversity of thought and people, the university access with UC Berkeley and Stanford and other great schools in the area, and the history of technology companies that have turned over over the last several decades, And that constant cycle of innovation does make the Silicon Valley a little bit of a special place. The example I often point to is, you know, the Sun Microsystems office was this huge office right out over out in the mental park area that became the meta office, right? And so you see over time how this kind of creative destruction, right? And I do think the Silicon Valley embraces that. And so when you go to coffee shops, and you go to happy hours, and you go to events, You know, the talk of the town is generally tech-oriented, especially these days it is generally AI-oriented, but that all is to say, by no means do you have to be in the Silicon Valley to build a great company, to build a great fund, to invest in awesome companies. Um, I'm really interested in the Silicon Dallies around the world, um, places like Paris, places like New York, places like Singapore that are becoming…

AI assessment note: “when you go to coffee shops, and you go to happy hours... the talk of the town is generally tech-oriented”

Q Interesting. Um, I, you know, if, if you can give us any insight or scoop, what's, what's it like when you start to leave the U S culture and work with founders, uh, in different nations?

A It's a good question. You know, from our standpoint, it's all about that tight execution. Right. And so as much as it's great to have a wide TAM, really the focus is on building great companies and then executing on your technology and product roadmap to make that happen. So as an example, if you are based in the APAC region and you are selling an APAC clients, it's a completely different environment as it relates to the sales cycles and the cultural differences and things like that. And so it's important to have that local influence and that local perspective when you're selling into those markets. Similarly, from a tech stack perspective, you know, we've certainly seen moments in time where localizing your technology, localizing your models, localizing your data, your data centers, few specific geographies might give you an advantage on your journey, right? So it's all for us about that execution, and if that geographic location allows you to execute in a way, um, that makes your company the most successful they can be.

AI assessment note: “it's a completely different environment as it relates to the sales cycles and the cultural differences”