In the early 80s, fresh out of USC Viterbi, I found myself staring at something that seemed both monumental and oddly mundane – the desktop PC. The beige box sat on a table in front of me, humming softly, almost unnoticeable in its presence. At the time, it moved business forward, not in great strides but in a gentle shuffle – a 1x shift that promised more that didn’t quite deliver it yet. Back then, the true horizon lay beyond our field of vision, and the potential of what was beginning remained stubbornly out of reach.
Then the 90s struck. The internet arrived with a force that no one could ignore, pulling entire industries in its wake. It connected us, shaped new ways of communicating, and expanded commerce fivefold. Suddenly, the world felt smaller, more reachable. By the time cloud computing took hold, the impact amplified further, with a 15x leap in productivity and scale.
Today, artificial intelligence redefines the 21st-century economy. Its reach spreads through every sector – healthcare, finance, transportation – reshaping them 100x, or possibly 200x. The future unfolds in real time, with speed and depth unlike anything we’ve experienced.
At Nvidia, I witness this shift firsthand. As a founding investor, I watch every AI application flow through our platforms, touching economies and societies in profound ways. This moment defines the next industrial revolution. Where previous innovations offered efficiency and productivity, AI grants something unprecedented: it hands back time, a resource that once felt fixed and finite, now returned to us, unlocking opportunities we couldn't have imagined.
Healthcare feels AI’s touch with each diagnostic scan. Radiologists work alongside AI-driven tools that process and analyze vast data streams, detecting anomalies with remarkable precision. What once took hours now happens in moments, with fewer hands needed to manage the load. Diagnostic processes quicken, reshaping how care unfolds. Treatments accelerate, improving recovery times for countless patients.
In biotech, timelines for drug development no longer stretch across decades. AI algorithms predict molecular interactions, compressing years of trial-and-error processes into manageable months. Research moves forward with newfound agility, and patients awaiting critical therapies gain access to treatments far earlier than anticipated. The innovation pipeline compresses instead of bottlenecking crucial industries held back from progress.
Energy systems, long hampered by inefficiency, now shift into high-precision operations. AI anticipates power demand before it arises, allowing for seamless distribution across energy grids. The waste once produced by peak energy consumption fades as the system adapts dynamically to each fluctuation. Resources find their path with accuracy, preserving energy and ensuring reliability throughout the network.
Employment shifts, as critics worry about AI’s role in replacing jobs. Yet tasks once requiring manual repetition now allow workers to engage with creativity and strategy. History suggests that new technologies create opportunities rather than erase them. Roles evolve. The workforce aligns itself with a future shaped by innovation, not redundancy.
AI empowers. Tools like Microsoft’s AI Copilot deliver professional-grade assistance, once thought exclusive to experts. Workers entering the marketplace engage with AI on a level that bridges decades of learning in a fraction of the time careers expand, and knowledge becomes accessible to all who seek it.
AI redefines industry, refines time, and pushes boundaries once thought unreachable. Every moment and decision moves forward with a speed that reshapes human potential. The next phase unfolds now. Sovereign AI empowers nations to build their own capabilities while healthcare, finance, and energy react in real time to AI’s precision. We reclaim time as AI offers new opportunities.
Mark Stevens is an American venture capitalist and a partner at S-Cubed Capital in Menlo Park, California. He was previously with Intel and Sequoia Capital. He serves on the board of Nvidia and is an investor in the Golden State Warriors of the NBA. He brings more than two decades of finance and investment leadership to the USC Board of Trustees in addition to a demonstrated dedication to community service within the Trojan Family. Often receiving the “Fight On!” symbol from strangers in airports, Stevens believes USC “is a special connection and gateway to the world.”