Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman stated that many AI investors were motivated by the fear of losing out: “When it comes to AI, they’re just afraid they’ll be left behind again.”
According to Cisco’s CEO, certain private companies’ valuations are “going nuts again,” reaching levels not seen since the Covid-19 outbreak.
Chuck Robbins told CNBC on Tuesday that businesses concentrating on new technologies such as artificial intelligence were charging prices comparable to those seen during the low-interest rate era.
“When you get into gen [generative] AI and some of these other things, we are seeing some of the private valuations going nuts again,” he remarked during a CNBC-moderated panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Robbins said it was “ironic” that the cycle had reoccurred so quickly after increased interest rates ended the period of easy money and appeared to rectify sometimes overinflated prices.
“It is ironic to me that we’re so quickly doing this after what we experienced 48 months ago. It’s just incredible.”
Chuck Robbins, CEO, Cisco
Robbins was joined on the panel by Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, who stated that investors are currently extremely interested on AI developments, with many motivated by a fear of losing out.
“When it comes to AI, they’re just afraid they’re going to be left behind again.”
“They are going to get wrapped up in what’s the next wave, what’s the next potential. They don’t want to get left behind, they want to be early.”
Adena Friedman, Nasdaq CEO
Friedman pointed out, however, that investors must now balance their exuberance with a higher interest rate environment, in which such bets come at a higher cost.
