Davos attendees shift toward AI; Ripple and Circle executives comment

Tech companies attending Davos 2024 shifted toward artificial intelligence (AI) and away from cryptocurrency, according to various reports from CNBC on Jan. 16.

Dante Disparte, CSO of the stablecoin firm Circle, told CNBC:

“Today, there are very few crypto houses along the Promenade. They’re all AI houses, which is good … That suggests that [crypto] is becoming a background technology … I get to become a vintage player.”

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, also commented on attendees’ shift toward AI in response to CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal. Garlinghouse said:

“I think every new technology goes through a hype cycle … I think AI is also a technology here to stay, transformational in a lot of ways … but also not exactly clear what the business models are [and] how it’s going to play out.”

Garlinghouse suggested that crypto is past AI’s current stage in the hype cycle and called this a “very positive thing for the crypto industry.” He added that he is a “voyeur, not a participant” in the AI sector.

An unrelated report from Bloomberg on Jan. 15 suggested that Coinbase also attended the event through its CSO, Alesia Haas. In another Bloomberg report, Haas acknowledged AI and its potential to improve customer service.

Davos’ attendees AI focus seen on promenade

CNBC’s Kharpal suggested that AI was largely seen on the Davos Promenade, where various companies occupied properties and posted slogans.

In a report co-authored with MacKenzie Sigalos, Kharpal noted that Intel placed AI slogans on its its temporary building. An image indicated that Intel used the slogans “Advancing the future of AI” and “AI everywhere” for that space.

Kharpal also noted that Tata Consultancy Services used a slogan reading “The future is AI” and added that the business software company Salesforce similarly used AI slogans on its property. Finally, he noted that Switzerland’s leading telecom company, Swisscom, branded its event space the “AI House.”

CNBC suggested elsewhere that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella commented on global AI cooperation during Davos. Reuters, meanwhile, reported on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s Davos appearance and his suggestion that AI development needs innovations in power sources to meet energy demands.