Axios BFD: All eyes on AI and regulation

NEW YORK — Artificial intelligence and shifting markets were top of mind at the Axios BFD summit on Nov. 18, as was adapting to changing political headwinds.

Why it matters: Rates, regulations and AI are transforming how money moves, with decisions by power players playing an outsized role in determining market stability and economic opportunity in the United States and beyond.

• The event was sponsored by Bayer and the Center for Audit Quality.

Here are seven key takeaways:

1. Sequoia Capital's Roelof Botha told Axios' Dan Primack that SpaceX has a "bigger chance of being the most valuable company" than OpenAI. "SpaceX, by itself, is responsible for 80% of all mass moved into orbit last year. It dominates that particular industry," whereas OpenAI has trade competition.
2. Coinbase President and COO Emilie Choi exclusively told Axios' Dan Primack her company contributed to President Trump's White House ballroom project to "keep good relations with" the administration.
3. Private credit is less susceptible to hidden problems than public markets, Blue Owl Capital's Marc Lipschultz said, and isn't as likely to be spooked by hidden "cockroaches." "Our documents, our covenants, our restrictions on what that company can do are far, far tighter than the public market equivalent," he said.
4. Investors shouldn't worry about sports gambling scandals, said Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners, despite NBA and MLB investigations and arrests involving athletes and games.
5. Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue warned it is large language models, and not AI, that are the bubble waiting to burst in the year ahead.
6. Affirm's Max Levchin shared the company's mindset toward its prospective and existing borrowers: "You behave like an adult, and we'll treat you like one, and if you can't play by the rules, we're not interested in transacting with you."
7. On the heels of Skims' $5 billion valuation, founding partner and entrepreneur Emma Grede reiterated to Axios' Madison Mills that being "an overnight success" is a myth.

Content from sponsored segment:

The Center for Audit Quality CEO Julie Bell Lindsay told Axios publisher Nicholas Johnston that CAQ expects the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue a proposal soon on quarterly reports and whether they will remain mandatory.

• "Auditors are not one-trick ponies," she said. "It's the data analysis. It's the professional skepticism. It's the independence."

Bayer Pharmaceuticals worldwide COO and Bayer U.S. president Sebastian Guth shared that the corporation is focused on cancer, cardiovascular and women's health care because those conditions affect almost everyone.

• "The biopharmaceutical industry is the crown jewel of American industries," Guth said, but "China is catching up."

Go deeper: Watch the full interviews on YouTube.