Business and AI: Lessons from Entrepreneurs, Executives, and Investors

There is no denying that we are in the AI-era: around 90% of tech executives today embrace AI and want to expand its use. Firms will be newly created to focus on AI products, or large firms will find new capabilities in AI products or processes. How will AI be used to create a sustainable competitive advantage for these firms? For this course, you do not need any prior experience or in-depth technical knowledge of AI; you will learn it along the way. This course invites guest speakers who run businesses at the forefront of AI to tell their stories and develop students¿ understanding of the business value of AI. Our speakers range from serial entrepreneurs to executives at well-known companies, all helpful in offering valuable insights from a myriad of industries and perspectives. Some key questions are the following. Should a company adopt AI, given that many but not all of its competitors are? Should they develop their own AI tools, or would it be easier to acquire a startup outright? And for startups, what are the ways they market themselves? Why, and how, did particular startups succeed? And, in cases when there is a winner-take-all market, why did early investors believe in them? This class utilizes interactions with guest speakers and some Role Plays and lectures. The course requirements are three 800-word memos, one consulting-like group project, and class participation