Mark Zuckerberg’s financial advisor, Michael Anders, discusses the firm’s approach to investing in A.I. startups and its selective strategy for identifying businesses with real-world applications.
Iconiq Capital, which manages wealth for tech billionaires, has a rigorous approach when it comes to investing in A.I. startups.
Michael Anders, a founding partner at Iconiq Capital, was caught off guard by the sudden arrival of Chinese A.I. company DeepSeek earlier this year. ‘I think everybody was surprised,’ Anders said during an interview at the Bloomberg Invest conference in New York on March 5.
Iconiq Capital is a multi-family office that manages wealth for prominent tech founders, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The firm has more than $80 billion worth of assets under management and has made a name for itself through its elite client roster, which includes major tech players like Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Mark Zuckerberg is an American technology entrepreneur and philanthropist.
He was born on May 14, 1984, in White Plains, New York.
Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook in 2004 while attending Harvard University.
The social media platform quickly gained popularity, and by 2012, Facebook had over 1 billion users.
In addition to Facebook, Zuckerberg has also founded other companies, including Instagram and WhatsApp.
He is known for his leadership style and commitment to innovation.
Investing in A.I. Startups: A Selective Approach
Iconiq Capital is picky when it comes to investing in A.I. startups. Despite having looked at over 2,000 companies in the last two years, the firm has only written 12 checks to native A.I. companies. Anders explained that Iconiq Capital focuses on application layer opportunities rather than language model developers like DeepSeek.
The AI startup landscape has witnessed significant growth in recent years, with a focus on developing innovative solutions for various industries.
According to a report by CB Insights, 'AI startups have secured over $20 billion in funding since 2013.'
The healthcare and finance sectors are among the top recipients of AI investments, with applications ranging from medical diagnosis to credit scoring.
As AI technology continues to advance, its potential impact on traditional businesses is substantial.
‘We’re looking at businesses that are actually creating product that’s going to allow business to be more efficient, to optimize, to create revenue, to enhance the customer experience,’ Anders said.
A.I.’s Global Reach and Impact
The sudden emergence of DeepSeek highlighted the increasingly global nature of A.I. innovation. Iconiq Capital has already invested in international A.I. businesses, with about a quarter of its native A.I. investments coming from outside the U.S.
Anders noted that A.I. will play a crucial role in addressing challenges like climate change going forward. Iconic Impacts, the firm’s philanthropic arm, is working to fund projects in areas such as economic mobility and women’s health, where A.I. can have a significant impact.
Climate change refers to the long-term warming of the planet due to an increase in average global temperatures.
This phenomenon is primarily caused by human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, which release greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.
According to NASA, 2020 was the hottest year on record globally, with rising temperatures leading to more frequent natural disasters like hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts.
The 'hottest year on record' quote is from NASA.
The World Meteorological Organization reports that the past decade was the warmest ever recorded.
‘A.I. is going to play a very prevalent role in helping solve some of these problems,’ Anders said, citing an example of an organization using A.I. to monitor coral reefs as part of Iconic Impacts’ work in ocean health.
A Look at Iconiq Capital’s Portfolio
Iconiq Capital has invested in several A.I. startups, including ElevenLabs, a London-based company that offers a range of A.I. products for turning text into realistic audio. The startup was recently valued at $3.3 billion following a $180 million round co-led by Iconiq Capital.
The firm’s portfolio also includes Writer, a San Francisco-based startup that allows users to create first-draft presentations with A.I. Anders emphasized the importance of selecting investments that have real-world applications and can drive business efficiency, revenue growth, and customer experience enhancement.
