New VC job: Chief AI Officer
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B Capital co-CEO Eduardo Saverin, chief AI officer Andrew Jackson, and co-CEO Raj Ganguly. Photo: Courtesy of B Capital
B Capital has named Andrew Jackson chief AI officer, a newly created position at the venture capital firm, the firm tells Axios exclusively.
Why it matters: Jackson, who is joing from G42, will help B Capital develop AI tools, with plans to spin them out to other investors.
- That will build on Bee Hive, the firm's internal investing system that now uses AI to builds most of the firm's investment committee memos, takes notes, and can form pro and cons for potential deals.
- A spinout won't include the firm's data or context from partners, just the underlying model and tools.
- Venture firms have largely kept their AI investing systems inside of their walls.
State of play: Eventually, AI may progress to the point that it has a seat at B Capital's investing committee — giving it more decision-making power.
- But today, Jackson and co-CEO Raj Ganguly see AI's capabilities roughly equal to that of an intern — "it is a very smart, eager to please, and ambitious ... but we wouldn't turn decision-making on investments to that summer intern."
- Today, few firms put decision-making in the hands of AI: QuantumLight Capital puts the final call entirely in the hands of AI, and General Atlantic has a non-voting AI member in its investment committee.
Zoom in: Eclipse named its first chief AI officer earlier this year, while Felicis and Thrive Capital each have their own heads of AI.
What they're saying: B Capital's AI work so far has been championed by co-CEO and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.
- Jackson will be involved in everything from "our investing, our diligence, our investing in AI to how we're building our own AI tools and actually building our own AI businesses," says Ganguly.
What's next: Jackson believes there a major opportunity to sharpen decision-making by tracking investor choices that are historically poorly recorded. For example, when a deal is passed on, or a winner missed.
- "90% of the decisions that an investment professional makes is what not to pursue. You tend to capture [data on] what to pursue," says Jackson.
- AI can prompt investors when it notices an email hasn't been answered, and ask why a deal was passed. Beehive can also continue to track that passed deal over its lifetime.
- "I think every investor has one that got away," he says.
Context: It's not the first "first" for B Capital in recent years. In concert with CalPERS, B Capital made its first acquisition earlier this month — agreeing to buy Russell Investments for about $2.8 billion. AI is expected to play a significant role in that tieup.
- It also set up a Middle East office in Doha last year, where Jackson is expected to split part of his time.
- B Capital raised $500 million for its third early stage fund in June.
