The 7investing Podcast

There is an upcoming disruption of the food systems industry, and investors today can get in ahead of an exciting new S-Curve that's developing. Elysabeth Alfano is the CEO of VegTech Invest, and also advisor to the EATV ETF. EATV is the world’s only Plant-based Innovation & Climate ETF. 7investing CEO Simon Erickson recently interviewed Elysabeth for our 7investing podcast. In the first part of the conversation, Elysabeth describes how she got interest in food systems transformation and why it is important to solving issues like climate change, biodiversity loss, food insecurity, and human health care. The global food supply system hasn't changed much in the past 1,000 years and it could be ripe for disruption. Elysabeth goes on to describe the limitations of our traditional supply chain. Animal husbandry isn't really innovating any more, whereas the plant-based innovation curve is just getting started. She explains that our current system isn't economical and is often bad for the environment. Beyond Meat has published research that says animal agriculture accounts for about 15% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions; with two thirds of those coming directly from cows. Consumers, governments, and businesses are all stakeholders who are interested in making food systems more efficient. Simon then asks what parts of the supply chain will require the most investment, in order to create a $290 billion new industry by 2035. Elysabeth says it will be investment from businesses into their processes and supply chains. Perhaps with support from their governments. In the final segment, Simon asks what the most common criticisms have been from people who are opposed to change in food products. Elysabeth also describes the investing methodology that she uses for her index. Publicly-traded companies mentioned in this podcast include Beyond Meat, Cargill, ConAgra, Costco, Dannon, Nestle, and YUM Brands. 7investing's advisors and/or its guests may have positions in the companies that are mentioned. Don't miss out on future conversations like this! 7investing will be publishing upcoming interviews with the CEOs of PubMatic, Rocket Lab, and more. Join 7investing's free email list to get our podcasts and investing insights delivered directly to your Inbox. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

In episode 19 of No Limit, Luke and Krzysztof focus on Nvidia. It’s overvalued, so you should sell! But selling a great company is often the most expensive mistake investors make, so you should hold! But AI runs on Nvidia and AI is just getting started, so you should buy! If this kind of investing complexity makes your head spin, tune in to hear us frame this kind of difficulty into principles and a process you can follow with confidence. As a special bonus, Luke puts Krzysztof in the student’s chair and surprises him with a quiz about Nvidia. Does Krzysztof flunk or does he know a thing or two about? We discuss the investing lessons aplenty in the movie Air about Nike’s courtship of Michael Jordan, and Luke schools Krzysztof about innovation at Nike headquarters. Sometimes shoes are not just shoes. With the Apple reveal of its Augmented Reality device 45 minutes into the future, we captured a predictive time-capsule of what we thought Apple might reveal and what that signifies about the upcoming metaverse. How quickly has this segment aged? What did we get right and wrong? Aiming to retire early? Luke, our resident James Bond on a motorcycle, not only talks the talk, but walks the walk and offers insights into making that dream a reality. If you missed episodes 17 & 18, we also recap our insightful conversation with Krishna Bahirwani and how to approach investing in India, which we see as a massive opportunity in the coming decades. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

Investors love dividends. There's something special about receiving cold hard cash into your brokerage account every quarter, which you can use to pay for expenses or reinvest and buy more stock. Over time, reinvesting dividends can compound your returns. But how do dividend-paying stocks compare against other segments of the market? Have they been impacted by the tricky macro of the past year? Are dividends more attractive in rising-rate environments? And what factors should investors consider before buying dividend stocks? To answer those questions, we've brought in an expert. James Early is the Chief Investment Officer of BBAE, and formerly the Advisor of Motley Fool's Income Investor. 7investing CEO Simon Erickson recently spoke with James about dividends and dividend-paying stocks. In the first part of the conversation, James describes what got him into dividend investing and the "3M" factors -- "management, moat, and money situation management" -- that investors should look for. He describes how dividends are a good way to keep management teams responsible in their capital allocation decisions. He also describes how dividend-paying stocks perform through different market environments. Simon then asks James to describe the tradeoff between dividend yield and dividend growth. Is it more advantages for investors to look for higher yields upfront? Or should we patiently wait for dividends to grow over time? In the final segment, James describes two of his favorite dividend-paying companies: Diageo (NYSE: DEO) and Unilever (NYSE: UL). Publicly-traded companies mentioned in this podcast include Diageo, and Unilever. 7investing's advisors and/or its guests may have positions in the companies that are mentioned. Don't miss out on future conversations like this! 7investing will be publishing upcoming interviews with the CEOs of PubMatic, Rocket Lab, and more. Join 7investing's free email list to get our podcasts and investing insights delivered directly to your Inbox. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

To help us answer those questions, we've brought in a few expert tech investors. 7investing CEO Simon Erickson recently spoke with Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster and Doug Clinton, who have been investing in technology for decades. Deepwater is a global asset manager based in Minneapolis, MN. The three kicked off their conversation by discussing Deepwater's investing philosophy and vision. Gene explains that their firm likes to dive deep into three core areas of technology: AI, automation, and the Metaverse. They use those as a starting point, to further screen for the best-in-breed companies with persistent growth. And finally, they look for the select few which they have the most conviction in; which is something that can't be easily found or simply modeled in spreadsheets. Doug goes on to explain the "three buckets" of investing timeframes. Some investors think only in terms of quarterly earnings and others only in terms of long-term trends. But Deepwater prefers to be in the third bucket -- from 3 to 5 years -- where they can more measurably assess what will happen in the near-term future. It turns out that predicting what the world will look like a decade from now is incredibly difficult. Gene and Doug both then discuss the FinTech sector, which is quickly transitioning from bricks and mortar to digital. Brazil's NuBank, Block, and Apple could all be opportunities for investors, as they are gaining share but without having legacy operational costs. The group then discusses the macroeconomic climate. Gene points to several companies like Home Depot still reporting disappointing earnings, and that is leading to institutional investors being cautious. But bigger-picture, it's more important to find quality companies and to size into positions over time. Simon asks them about valuation, and they described their methodical process for determining a fair price. In the second segment, the three discuss several of Deepwater's larger positions, including Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META),  CrowdStrike (Nasdaq: CRWD), ACV Auctions (Nasdaq: ACVA), and Everbridge (Nasdaq: EVBG). They conclude with a fun "lightning round", where Simon spots them up with questions about AI and the market's largest technology companies. Publicly-traded companies mentioned in this podcast include Meta Platforms, CrowdStrike, Everbridge, ACV Auctions, NuHoldings, Block, Amazon, and Apple. 7investing's advisors and/or its guests may have positions in the companies that are mentioned. Don't miss out on future conversations like this! 7investing will be publishing upcoming interviews with the CEOs of PubMatic, Rocket Lab, and more. Join 7investing's free email list to get our podcasts and investing insights delivered directly to your Inbox. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

Welcome to 7investing in June 2023! We’ve just issued our latest stock recommendations, where we share reports on our favorite opportunities in the stock market with 7investing members. To see all seven reports, please click here to get started with a 7investing membership for only $1, to unlock full access to all of our recommendations and premium content. This month, our team chose a nice mix of companies across different industries, risk levels, and sizes:  Two advisors chose Moderate Risk recommendations this month. Luke Hallard went with an critical player in the energy industry, while Matt Cochrane chose a global e-commerce powerhouse. Two advisors chose High Risk companies. Simon Erickson re-recommended a semiconductor company who is focused on supplying electric vehicles, while Steve Symington re-recommended one of his very favorite Financial Technology companies. Three advisors chose Very High Risk companies this month. Dr. Dana Abramovitz chose a promising biotechnology company who just won an important FDA approval, Dr. Anirban Mahanti went with an international payments enabler, and Dr. Krzysztof Piekarski chose a small cap energy company who could be hitting an inflection point of upcoming demand. Investing is the stock market is a lifelong journey, and it involves much more than just reading a single month’s reports. We have built 7investing to be long-term investing advisors, who will help guide you through that journey and to learn which types of stocks are right for you. We purposely make recommendations of all types — from moderate risk to very high risk; from Financial Services to Biotechnology — so that you can find the right fit for your portfolio. And then enjoy reading our recommendation reports, and discussing them with us in our Subscriber Calls and Community Forum to follow along with how they’re doing. If you would like to sign up with 7investing and see all recommendations since our launch in March 2020, click here to get started with 7investing today! Questions about our 7investing membership? Please email us at info@7investing.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

In part II of our conversation with Krishna Bahirwani, 7investing’s own Luke and Krzysztof embarked on a wild ride through the bustling bazaars of the Indian investment landscape! We zigzagged through throngs of Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) where retail investors have a favorable set-up with low or no fees, thanks to its scale. We also discussed the information goldmine that was screener.in, where we could dig up 10 years’ worth of financials on any company. As we journeyed through the potential growth of India as a global powerhouse, we found tantalizing opportunities that came with the rise in per capita and disposable income. We also eavesdropped on the sophisticated chatter in the “Indians Invest Globally” community — make sure you ask Krishna about it on twitter. And just when you thought we were done, we took a detour to explore the exciting terrain of India-focused ETFs, especially those feisty small cap ones. So, buckle up and enjoy the ride through the emerging and thrilling world of Indian investment! Go to www.7investing.com/subscribe to support the 7investing podcast through your membership. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

Join our 7investing FREE email list to receive our investing insights and conversations with the CEOs of PubMatic, Rocket Lab, and more at 7investing.com/email. We as investors often suffer from "home court bias", where we're most interested in the opportunities who are based in the country that we live in. We're familiar with the culture and the currency, so it's easier for us to invest closer to home. Yet the business world stretches to all corners of the globe, and investing is similarly an global phenomenon. Astute investors who are willing to put in a bit more research are often rewarded by the opportunities offered by other countries. So where are those opportunities today? Are there certain countries that are particularly lucrative for investors? Are there specific companies who are winning on the global stage? To answer those questions, we're welcoming back two of our favorite guests. 7investing CEO Simon Erickson recently spoke with Comgest's portfolio managers Rick Mercado and Richard Kaye about international investing. Comgest is an independent global asset management firm based in Paris, who manages $30 billion and has a knack for finding long-term growth opportunities. The three kicked off the conversation by sharing perspective on the global macroeconomy. Interest rates are rising and threats of a recession are looming, yet bottoms-up research and stress-testing of companies still shows that the fundamentals of most businesses are still sound and attractive. Tech companies like Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) appear well-positioned to benefit from AI, while the membership-based Costco (Nasdaq: COST) appears resilient to an economic downturn. Perhaps surprisingly, high-end consumer discretionary names like Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (OTC: LVMHF) and Ferrari (NYSE: RACE) have similarly shown a resilience to the challenging macro. Richard then discussed investing in Japan. He points out that Japan's growth rate is amongst the highest of OECD nations, yet its market valuation multiple is among the lowest. Several under-the-radar companies like Ibiden (OTC: IBIDF) and Advantest (OTC: ATEYY) are manufacturing the equipment necessary to manufacture the microprocessors to support high-performance computing. Due to the rising popularity of AI and machine learning inference, those are seeing a dramatic increase in demand. Rick and Richard together described how sometimes a country's equity markets could be a springboard for it's companies to enter other markets. Simon and Rick then dive into the computing industry, specifically about ASML's (Nasdaq: ASML) dominance of lithography. They discuss whether rising geopolitical tensions between China and Taiwan could disrupt the semiconductor supply chain and the impact that might have on ASML. The three then discuss India, where mega-conglomerates with close ties to the government often "write the script" of emerging industries. One example is Suzuki, who is working with the government on the rollout of electric vehicles. Similar situations have happened with renewable energy and telecommunications. This can often make it challenging (and messy) for international companies like American Tower to compete in countries like India. But it can often also backfire, as seen recently with Adani Group's troubled financial statements. In the final segment, the group discusses investing in 2023 as compared to 2022. "Earnings matter now", as fundamentals and good quarterly reports are increasingly being rewarded by the market. Rick and Richard close out by discussing their approach to valuation, especially using a long-term mindset. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

To support the 7investing Podcast, go to ⁠7investing.com/subscribe/⁠. Your subscriptions allow us to keep making this podcast, so we can empower you to invest in your future. In this episode, Matthew Cochrane welcomes back Bill Brewster, the host of The Business Brew podcast, for a wide-ranging conversation that touches on a variety of investment topics and companies. The pair begin their talk with Brewster sharing his recent experiences at the Markel (NYSE:MKL) and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B) annual investor conferences.     Markel's primary business offers niche insurance underwriting services. The company then uses its float and profits from the insurance business to invest in private companies and public equities. Cochrane asks Brewster if the right way to think about Markel is to think of it as a mini-Berkshire.    "I think they have looked at what Berkshire has done and seen the power of it. I don't know that you can sort of do the 'This is a mini-Berkshire' mental heuristic. I think that probably understates what Berkshire is."    The conversation then naturally shifts to Berkshire Hathaway and its bull case after Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger are no longer there. Brewster believes Berkshire will prove resilient but is unsure if it can outperform the S&P 500 in the years ahead.     Brewster and Cochrane then discuss how AI will impact society and how it will affect Big Tech and the competition among them, primarily focusing on Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).     Brewster and Cochrane then hit on:    Are U.S. investors letting home country bias impact their returns?  Why Brewster is more concerned about Alphabet than Meta over the next five years;  Why Disney is becoming a much more difficult company to value.    To follow Bill Brewster check out his podcast The Business Brew on any major podcast platform.   --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

The Super Mario Bros. Movie recently crossed the $500 million threshold at the domestic box office, placing it on an exclusive list of just 19 films. Globally, it has now amassed $1.2 billion and is now the fifth-biggest animated movie of all-time. For Nintendo's (OTC:NTDOY) first film venture in nearly 30 years, the film has been an astounding success.     7investing Lead Advisor Matthew Cochrane invited Ryan Henderson and Brett Schafer of Chit Chat Money to sit down to review Nintendo's investment thesis.    Henderson breaks down the movie's economics, explaining that Nintendo partnered with the animation studio Illumination, meaning that Nintendo does not take home all of the movie's profits. Still, after trying to use reasonable assumptions, Henderson and Schafer believe the movie can meaningfully impact Nintendo's bottom line.     Henderson and Schafer then discuss Nintendo's future plans for film and theme parks, and whether Nintendo's famously conservative management will finally look to monetize its intellectual property through additional channels. Inevitably, the question of the Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) comes up and whether Nintendo has aspirations and the capabilities to mirror the entertainment giant's flywheel that includes theme parks, movies, TV, and merchandise.     Cochrane wonders if Nintendo is destined to be a cyclical company, following a pattern of hits and misses with the consoles the company has released over the years. The Nintendo Switch was a hug success, selling over 125 million units, but this followed the disastrous Wii U which only sold 13 million units. Henderson and Schafer discuss Nintendo's past mistakes but believe the company has learned form them and will release an updated Switch sometime in 2024.     After wrapping up their discussing on Nintendo, Cochrane asks Henderson and Schafer what they think about the U.K. blocking the pending Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) acquisition of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) latest results.     You can follow Henderson and Schafer through the podcast that they co-host, Chit Chat Money: https://open.spotify.com/show/4SBtOWGEOmD9pmltgIXO8r    Henderson and Schafer also are the portfolio managers for Arch Capital Fund: https://www.archcapitalfund.com/  For more great investing insights, become a 7investing subscriber at https://7investing.com/starter-membership/     --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

Krzysztof & Luke join Indians Invest Globally founder Krishna Bahirwani to learn more about how Indian investors are making their presence felt in markets across the globe. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

Things are really up in the air for the stock market. And we mean that in the most literal way possible. Morgan Stanley predicts the Space Economy will be worth more than $1 trillion dollars by 2040. Merrill Lynch is even more optimistic, thinking it will reach $2.7 trillion by 2045. Whatever actual number is eventually reveal, the key point is that it will likely involve a "t" in its order of magnitude. The space economy will soon become one of the largest and most important new markets that develops in our lifetime. Once reserved for well-funded government missions, satellites in orbit now enable regional television broadcasting, the GPS used for Smartphone apps, pinpoint imagery used for logistics and government surveillance, and high-speed internet provided for locations. Each of those opportunities will require an entire subsector as well. Launch providers like SpaceX and Rocket Lab will be needed to place the satellites into orbit. Cloud providers like Amazon Web Services and Google will store and compute all of the data they collect. Support providers like Redshift will keep the satellites operational and in good condition. And with the FCC working through a backlog of nearly 40,000 new satellite spectrum applications, the million dollar question becomes how should we invest in the space economy? Three of our 7investing advisors tackled that question in an exclusive conversation. Simon Erickson, Luke Hallard, and Steve Symington together hosted a livestream discussion last month, sharing insights, key themes, and plenty of space-related puns. They first talked about defense contractors, such as how companies like Lockheed Martin were embracing collaborations and partnerships to support complex, billion-dollar government contracts. They then set their sights on launch providers, whose reusable rockets are drivign down costs and carrying larger and more sophisticated payloads for building constellations. They also discussed consolidation, especially as capital costs are increasing in a rising-rate environment and companies are finding ways to spread fixed cost across a larger number of offerings and income streams. Steve then described Virgin Galactic's ambitions for space tourism. Even with its sister company Virgin Orbit recently filing for bankruptcy, Galactic believes space tourism will eventually be an affordable vacation for many potential tourists. Simon then dug into defense applications, primarily in support of the escalation Russia/Ukraine war. He points to Maxar Technologies $6 billion acquisition by a private equity firm as a sign that M&A deals for mission-critical satellite operators will continue in 2023 and 2024. Luke chimed in with a few other 'fun' space applications, such as 3D printing components for satellite repair or asteroid mining for rare minerals. The three concluded the conversation by reaffirming their optimism for the space economy. This will take time and patience to play out, but it will also produce incredible returns for investors. Publicly-traded companies mentioned in this interview include Alphabet, Amazon, Astroscale, Lockheed Martin, Maxar Technologies, Redwire, Rocket Lab, Virgin Galactic, and Virgin Orbit. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

In this conversation, 7investing Lead Advisor Matthew Cochrane once again sits down with Ryan Krueger, the co-founder and CEO of Freedom Day Solutions, a family-owned and operated financial advisory firm located in Houston. Krueger is also the founder of the Freedom Day Dividend ETF (NYSE:MBOX).  The Freedom Day ETF is designed, as Krueger explains, to give investors growth of income, not growth or income. Krueger believes the ETF can accumulate a stable of quality companies that pay a rising dividend while avoiding many of the common pitfalls often associated with income investing, namely:  Not investing in companies with the highest yields; Avoiding companies that nominally raise their dividends every year to please income investors; Not investing in companies with unsustainable payout ratios. Cochrane listens to Krueger as he explains why he believes there's a problem with the 4% rule, which suggests retirees can safely withdraw 4% of their retirement savings balance every year. Krueger believes a much safer bet is holding a portfolio of financial instruments that pay dividends in excess of one's expenses.  Along the way, Cochrane and Krueger discuss several of MBOX's holdings. Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) and Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) are two pipeline operators that transport and store natural gas. If global conditions don't change, the two operate profitable companies that pay a nice dividend to shareholders. However, natural gas provides much cleaner energy than coal, and Krueger believes there is a real chance both can experience significant growth as the rest of the globe transitions from coal in the coming years.  Nexstar Media Group (NASDAQ:NXST) is the largest domestic television station owner and operator with almost 200 stations. Even as the world consumes more media via streaming apps, live sports and news still command more viewers than any other type of content. At just 12 times next year's earnings and sporting a 3% dividend yield, Krueger believes Nexstar is undervalued as an operator of attractive and profitable assets.  As a father of five kids involved in youth sports, Krueger is well aware of the allure of Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS), a retailer that sells atheletic apparel and equipment. But Dick's also owns the GameChanger app that allows little league games to be watched online, giving the big box store a digital growth channel.  To see all of Matt Cochrane's top dividend stocks, subscribe to 7investing Premium. Krueger can be found on Twitter @RyanKruegerROI and you can find more information on his advisory firm (and excellent blog) at freedomdaysolutions.com. For more information on the Freedom Day Dividend ETF, you can visit freedomdaydividend.com.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

How do the supercharging powers of artificial intelligence change someone's ability to spy on your whereabouts? Learn your history? Pretend to be you? How do we as consumers and investors safeguard against these emerging threats? Krzysztof and Luke journey into the realm of cybersecurity, blockchain, and AI-assisted private investigators in this week's episode of "No Limit with Krzysztof and Luke." Along the way, their autonomous vehicle takes a few detours, leading to discussions about battery technology, Meta, Tesla, wanting to work at McDonald's as a kid, vegan cheeseburgers, and "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent." To get more of Krzysztof and Luke's in-depth research on a variety of publicly-traded stock market investing opportunities, subscribe to 7investing: https://7investing.com/subscribe/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

The tech world moves fast, and no one wants to get left behind. Emerging technologies like generative AI, large language models, and open-source platforms have the potential to completely transform individual businesses or even entire industries. Those who embrace them will profit, while those who don't will become irrelevant. Yet a "Hype Cycle" also tends to accommodate new technologies. Several new movements in the tech world that were believed to be the Next Big Thing turned out not to be. 3D printing and NFTs are recent examples. How should forward-thinking and growth-minded investors separate out the game-changers from the flashes-in-the-pan? What new technologies are actually gaining momentum, and which will never live up to their expectations? To answer those questions, we've brought in an expert. 7investing CEO Simon Erickson recently spoke with Howard Holton, the Chief Technology Officer of GigaOm. GigaOm brings the decision-making executives of progressive companies up-to-speed about emerging technologies and then helping to implement them across their organizations. In Part 2, Simon and Howard discuss how the cloud's Infrastructure-as-a-Service providers like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure are finding that cloud computing is becoming more commoditized. Each of the Cloud Titans is looking to create a platform for developers, who are comfortable with their capabilities and eager to deploy what they're already familiar with at their organizations. Howard then also spoke in detail about the Metaverse. While intriguing in theory, he also believes it will be very difficult to moderate or to control offensive content, and that monetizing the Metaverse for any corporations' profit interests could be counter-productive to furthering the interests of its users. He and Simon do agree that digital advertising is a likely income stream that will result from the Metaverse; a next-evolution of the personalized advertising we've gotten used to in display ads on websites or video platforms. In the final segment, Howard discusses the importance of trust in the future of AI. While he believes several AI projects are likely overhyped and will eventually go bust, some that are well-designed and execute well could be incredibly valuable and profitable. Companies should hire a "Chief Trust Officer" who can verify the biases purposely imposed on AI models. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

The tech world moves fast, and no one wants to get left behind. Emerging technologies like generative AI, large language models, and open-source platforms have the potential to completely transform individual businesses or even entire industries. Those who embrace them will profit, while those who don't will become irrelevant. Yet a "Hype Cycle" also tends to accommodate new technologies. Several new movements in the tech world that were believed to be the Next Big Thing turned out not to be. 3D printing and NFTs are recent examples. How should forward-thinking and growth-minded investors separate out the game-changers from the flashes-in-the-pan? What new technologies are actually gaining momentum, and which will never live up to their expectations? To answer those questions, we've brought in an expert. 7investing CEO Simon Erickson recently spoke with Howard Holton, the Chief Technology Officer of GigaOm. GigaOm brings the decision-making executives of progressive companies up-to-speed about emerging technologies and then helping to implement them across their organizations. (You can also  see last year's conversation with GigaOm CEO Ben Book here.) In Part 1 of their conversation, Simon and Howard first addressed the status quo of generative AI. AI is being used for 'fun' things today -- like creating lifelike images through MidJourney -- but even this requires significant computing power. Howard explains that innovative companies are already deploying AI at scale, but that they need appropriate data strategies and governance policies in order to maximize their success rate. This is similarly true for the flood of recent large language models; those that endure will require filters to curate the noisy flood of data from all across the internet is a way that is actually usable and trustable for businesses. One key advantage of AI over human beings is that it does not have the same biases as humans. The two then turned their sights on hardware, specifically the custom silicon being designed by hyperscalers like Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. Chipmakers like AMD and NVIDIA will still have an endless runway of future demand, though niche applications will also continue to be served by customizable chips like FPGAs. In Part 2 (which we will publish on Thursday, April 27th), the cloud's Infrastructure-as-a-Service providers like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure are finding that cloud computing is becoming more commoditized. Each of the Cloud Titans is looking to create a platform for developers, who are comfortable with their capabilities and eager to deploy what they're already familiar with at their organizations. Howard then also spoke in detail about the Metaverse. While intriguing in theory, he also believes it will be very difficult to moderate or to control offensive content, and that monetizing the Metaverse for any corporations' profit interests could be counter-productive to furthering the interests of its users. He and Simon do agree that digital advertising is a likely income stream that will result from the Metaverse; a next-evolution of the personalized advertising we've gotten used to in display ads on websites or video platforms. In the final segment, Howard discusses the importance of trust in the future of AI. While he believes several AI projects are likely overhyped and will eventually go bust, some that are well-designed and execute well could be incredibly valuable and profitable. Companies should hire a "Chief Trust Officer" who can verify the biases purposely imposed on AI models. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

Welcome to our 7investing Market Madness competition! Throughout this campaign, we’re matching popular stocks up against one another to determine which will be the best investment over the next three years. And then, by voting in the poll at the bottom of the article, you can help us determine which stock will go on to the next round! Our rankings are determined by the total return of the stock during calendar 2022. The highest-ranked stock had the best overall return of those in our tournament, and our lowest-ranked stock had the lowest overall return. In this final first-round matchup, we have a battle of the semiconductor chipmakers: with Intel up against AMD! The two were very similar performers in 2022, with Intel’s stock falling (48%) and AMD falling (52%). But past performance is not predictive of future returns. Which of these stocks do you believe will provide investors with the best forward three-year return? Read our investing thesis and cast your vote in the poll below! To follow along with our entire Market Madness tournament: 7investing.com/marketmadness Our Market Madness tournament is in support of our new 7investing Starter membership, which we are giving away free during the entire month of March. To get started with Starter — and to see how we’re already outperforming the S&P 500 by a convincing margin — click here to automatically apply your “madness” promo code. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

Welcome to our 7investing Market Madness competition! Throughout this campaign, we’re matching popular stocks up against one another to determine which will be the best investment over the next three years. And then, by voting in the poll at the bottom of the article, you can help us determine which stock will go on to the next round! Our rankings are determined by the total return of the stock during calendar 2022. The highest-ranked stock had the best overall return of those in our tournament, and our lowest-ranked stock had the lowest overall return. In this first-round matchup, the entertainment empire Disney is up against the global chip designer AMD. Disney’s stock was down (43%) in 2022, while AMD was down (56%). But past performance is not predictive of future returns. Which of these stocks do you believe will provide investors with the best forward three-year return? Read our investing thesis and cast your vote in the poll below! To follow along with our entire Market Madness tournament: ⁠7investing.com/marketmadness⁠ Our Market Madness tournament is in support of our new 7investing Starter membership, which we are giving away free during the entire month of March. To get started with Starter — and to see how we’re already outperforming the S&P 500 by a convincing margin — ⁠click here⁠ to automatically apply your “madness” promo code. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

Welcome to our 7investing Market Madness competition! Throughout this campaign, we’re matching popular stocks up against one another to determine which will be the best investment over the next three years. And then, by voting in the poll at the bottom of the article, you can help us determine which stock will go on to the next round! Our rankings are determined by the total return of the stock during calendar 2022. The highest-ranked stock had the best overall return of those in our tournament, and our lowest-ranked stock had the lowest overall return. In this first-round matchup, search and AI giant Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) squares up against the cloud-based continual monitor platform Datadog (NASDAQ: DDOG). Alphabet’s stock fell (38%) in 2022, while Datadog was down (60%). But past performance is not predictive of future returns. Which of these stocks do you believe will provide investors with the best forward three-year return? Read our investing thesis and cast your vote in the poll below! To follow along with our entire Market Madness tournament: ⁠⁠7investing.com/marketmadness⁠⁠ Our Market Madness tournament is in support of our new 7investing Starter membership, which we are giving away free during the entire month of March. To get started with Starter — and to see how we’re already outperforming the S&P 500 by a convincing margin — ⁠⁠click here⁠⁠ to automatically apply your “madness” promo code. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

Welcome to our 7investing March Madness competition! Throughout this campaign, we’re matching popular stocks up against one another to determine which will be the best investment over the next three years. And then, by voting in the poll at the bottom of the article, you can help us determine which stock will go on to the next round! Our rankings are determined by the total return of the stock during calendar 2022. The highest-ranked stock had the best overall return of those in our tournament, and our lowest-ranked stock had the lowest overall return. In this first-round matchup, i-everything consumer device maker Apple matches up against the social network pioneer Meta Platforms. Both stocks had a challenging 2022: Apple was down (30%) while Meta Platforms fell (63%). But past performance is not predictive of future returns. Which of these stocks do you believe will provide investors with the best forward three-year return? Read our investing thesis and cast your vote in the poll below! To follow along with our entire Market Madness tournament, visit 7investing.com/marketmadness Our Market Madness tournament is in support of our new 7investing Starter membership, which we are giving away free during the entire month of March. To get started with Starter — click here to automatically apply your “madness” promo code. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message

Welcome to our 7investing March Madness competition! Throughout this campaign, we’re matching popular stocks up against one another to determine which will be the best investment over the next three years. And then, by voting in the poll at the bottom of the article, you can help us determine which stock will go on to the next round! Our rankings are determined by the total return of the stock during calendar 2022. The highest-ranked stock had the best overall return of those in our tournament, and our lowest-ranked stock had the lowest overall return. In this first-round matchup, mRNA and COVID-vaccine developer Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) is up against the electric vehicle innovator Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). Moderna’s stock fell just (30%) during 2022, while Tesla tumbled (69%). But past performance is not predictive of future returns. Which of these stocks do you believe will provide investors with the best forward three-year return? Read our investing thesis and cast your vote in the poll below! Follow our entire Market Madness tournament at 7investing.com/marketmadness  Our Market Madness tournament is in support of our new 7investing Starter membership, which we are giving away free during the entire month of March. To get started with Starter — and to see how it’s already beating the market significantly — click here to automatically apply your “madness” promo code. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/7investing/message