- The World Economic Forum in Davos began in earnest Tuesday.
- Trump’s return to the White House is on everyone’s minds but AI is still dominating conversations.
- This is what BI reporters are hearing and seeing on the ground.
As the rich and powerful gather for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Business Insider journalists are chairing panels, interviewing agenda setters, and speaking to people in the wings and at parties.
This is what is happening there today.
Who will fly over from DC?
Monday was officially day one of Davos, but things went up a notch Tuesday. One question people at the parties are asking: which of the CEOs who showed up to Trump’s inauguration will make the trip to snowy Switzerland?
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is set to make an appearance, but will Sam Altman also make a return? If Sergey Brin can make the time for Trump’s inauguration, might he also make a trip over in a private jet? — Hugh Langley
2 CEOs tell BI they expect Trump’s administration to be good for business
Elon Musk’s DOGE might be in the business of cutting, but several tech companies we spoke to also see dollar signs. President Trump on Monday signed an executive order creating Doge, which describes its goal as “modernizing Federal technology and software.”
Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Antonio Neri says the new administration wants “more business, not less” from a tech perspective. “I consider the government a large enterprise,” he told BI. Meanwhile, Eric Clark, CEO of NTT Data Americas, said, “I think we’ll see opportunities for expansion very quickly.”
He said NTT works with the federal government, that it did well under Trump 1.0, and that they expect the new administration to be “pro-technology and pro-business.” — Hugh Langley and Jamie Heller
David Beckham made an appearance
Amid the whirlwind of meetings, dinners, and cocktails, there’s been some celebrity spotting too. Ever heard of a guy named David Beckham? Well, I met him. The former soccer player and UNICEF goodwill ambassador received a Crystal Award for his philanthropic work.
That’s the magic of Davos. One moment you’re refilling your coffee at the Congress Centre’s central lounge, and the next, you’re rubbing shoulders with some of the world’s most interesting figures. — Spriha Srivastava
People are feeling upbeat about Trump and his impact on the economy
Trump’s return has brought mixed feelings to Davos, but in conversations I’m having with folks — some on the record, some behind closed doors — there’s an emerging upbeat feeling about the economy and potential for growth.
“CEOs and management teams seem to be much more optimistic about the macro environment,” said Neil Dhar, global managing partner at IBM Consulting. “I think some of that is probably that the world has gone through a massive election cycle, and I think now that people know the direction of travel.” — Hugh Langley
Expect a ‘David’ AI startup to emerge in the AI space, a tech leader says
AI — especially agentic AI — is dominating conversations. One tech leader summed up the current trend, saying, “Small is the new big.” During a discussion on Big Tech and AI, Abhishek Shankar, president of Tech Mahindra, emphasized the need to keep an eye on smaller players in the space.
“I’m always reminded of the David and Goliath story, and there are many, many Davids out there today. OpenAI is, of course, one of the known Davids. But if you really watch closely, then you have Anthropic, Mistral, etc.”
Shankar said that the coming years will reveal who the next “David” will be. “The next few years are about watching some of these new-age players. They are going to scale up, and the velocity at which they do so will be different from the past. I’m pretty sure a new David will emerge to take that space open.” — Spriha Srivastava
Ever struggled to get a chatbot to help you with your canceled flight? A travel firm might have the answer.
AI has a problem right now: it’s forgetful. If you’ve ever had a long back-and-forth with a chatbot you may have noticed it sometimes can’t recall information from earlier in your chat.
Travel booking firm Navan might not be the company you’d think would solve this problem, but its CTO, Ilan Twig, told BI he’s created a new framework for AI that more closely mimics the human brain.
Think of it like different topic experts that are all talking to one another and passing information back and forth — one knows airline seating, another knows everything about your loyalty program — but for the user, it’s as if they’re just chatting to one person. If you’ve ever felt the frustration of dealing with a chatbot when your flight got delayed, or being passed through countless service agents, this could be a positive.
Twig said its travel agent is already dealing with 7,000 chats a day and nearly 60% of inbound requests are solved without having to go through to a human. — Hugh Langley and Dan DeFrancesco
A software CEO had a funny answer when asked how AI would hurt his business
Nacho De Marco had a funny remark when we asked him whether AI would hurt his business, BairesDev, which provides software engineering support to companies on an outsourcing/staff augmentation basis.
“I heard some people say that about journalists,” he said. Touche! This said, he predicted that in the next five to 10 years, “software is going to become just a lot better” with the new technologies. “In 20 years, I don’t know.” — Jamie Heller
KPMG talks about its legal venture
When a firm the size of KPMG looks to move into a new business, it tends to turn heads, but the Big Four professional-services firm’s effort to set up a US law firm isn’t about upending the industry, according to one of its leaders. Paul Knopp, chair and CEO at KPMG US, told me the strategy is rounding out the type of services they’re already doing. He mentioned things like addressing the legal issues that come with contract management or performing due diligence on a deal.
“We don’t see it as a threat to the traditional law firms that are out there today,” Knopp said. “It’s looking more for complimentary or adjacent services that fit well with what we’re already doing that can add value to the particular service we’re already providing.”
As for how KPMG plans to staff the new group, Knopp said the firm will lean on the relationships it already has established recruiting directly out of universities. It’ll also make what Knopp called “direct entry talent,” meaning the firm would hire people currently working in the market.
Again, Knopp doesn’t see that as a massive threat to mid-size and large law firms since the focus won’t be on the type of litigation or regulatory work that those firms excel at.
“It’s the very reason we’re getting into that space. We think there’s a bit of an unfilled need where we can serve in that capacity. Where there’s some legal services that can be performed by us more efficiently because we know the other service already,” Knopp added. — Dan DeFrancesco
Shrinkflation hits the Davos freebies
It appears shrinkflation has come for the Davos freebies. The popular blue Davos bobblehats that have been a staple of the conference for years have returned, albeit in a slightly different form.
This year’s bobble is noticeably smaller than in years past. Even in an event for the world’s elite, signs of changes in the economy are being felt. — Dan DeFrancesco
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