Robert Smith liked to sit around the dinner table with his children and ask them to name the most profound technological developments in human history. Was it a printing press? Mr. Smith, CEO of technology-focused private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, said he was inclined to choose transistors. This is not surprising for someone who became a billionaire by betting on the rise of new software. But he says his children and other young people are likely to choose AI because it is the most important technology to emerge in their lifetime.
Smith shared this story at Fortune’s Brainstorming Tech in Aspen and used it to make a broader point. Each new era of technology builds on the previous, and it’s important for companies to ensure young talent is included in this evolution. Smith says bringing young people into the workforce not only helps pass on knowledge, but also the spirit of optimism that has always pushed technology forward.
“I want to continue to encourage you and the companies you run and own to not destroy intern programs. This is an important part of bringing people in and, frankly, creating optimism and a new group of technologists and thinkers who are going to take charge of this world,” he said.
Smith’s own career proves his advice wise. As a high school student in Denver, he spent months pestering Bell Labs, one of the most prestigious research centers at the time, to let him participate in an internship program for college juniors and seniors. His persistence paid off, and Bell Labs eventually agreed to take him on as an intern. The company was impressed with his work and later invited him back during a summer break from Cornell University, and while at Bell, Smith developed reliability tests for semiconductors.
As CEO and Chairman of Vista, a private equity firm he founded in 2000, Mr. Smith oversees a portfolio of approximately 90 software companies, including Klarna, Marketo and BetterCloud.
Speaking in Aspen, Smith acknowledged that AI is wreaking havoc on the workforce, but said the fundamental importance of internships remains.
“Agents are workers, and workers perform tasks. There is no doubt that some of those tasks will be aggregated into jobs and will have a significant impact on jobs, some might say. [it will be] There will be some big losses, some might say expansions, but there will be some mixing until we reach different equilibriums, that’s how life is,” Smith said, insisting that young people have to be a part of whatever happens.
In a conversation with Fortune’s Allie Garfinkle, Smith also discussed Vista’s unique approach to investing in AI, including what makes a company worthy of being in the next era. He also shared anecdotes about his early meeting with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, business strategy, and his thoughts on Elon Musk and SpaceX’s massive IPO.
Details about the 25th Annual Fortune Brainstorming Tech Conference:
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