Picture having dinner with the person who helped create the social network that transformed connections for billions. What would you inquire about the future? What insights might he provide regarding the technology that is changing our world?
At Web Summit Qatar 2025, attendees had that opportunity. Eduardo Saverin, Facebook co-founder and now Singapore's richest person, shared the stage with his B Capital co-founder Raj Ganguly to provide his candid view on the future of AI.
While many tech leaders proclaim AI as groundbreaking, Saverin perceives a truth that others overlook: today's AI is just in its awkward teenage years, a precursor to something far more impactful. Leveraging his experiences from Harvard dormitories to becoming a global investment leader, Saverin presents a refreshingly complex outlook on AI’s future—contrary to what many headlines indicate.
Why Today's AI Is Just "Web 1.0" All Over Again
Remember the clunky, one-size-fits-all websites of the early internet? According to Saverin, that's precisely where we currently find ourselves with AI. While the tech world buzzes about generative AI, Saverin drew a striking comparison at Web Summit Qatar: "Current AI is akin to Web 1.0." It's generic and impersonal. You input queries and receive standardized responses—hardly the technological revolution that many claim it to be.
"Current AI is not personalized. You have to enter queries and make requests, which is limiting."
The real revolution, Saverin suggests, won't come from increasingly sophisticated base models. Instead, he envisions the next frontier as integration and personalization—AI systems tailored to specific industries and individual needs. This viewpoint challenges the current AI arms race, which focuses on creating larger, more powerful foundation models. While others invest billions in building bigger models, Saverin believes that the truly transformative opportunities lie in customization.
Where Tech Meets Biology: The Next Frontier
B Capital's Raj Ganguly underscored an area where this personalization is already demonstrating remarkable potential: the intersection of AI and biotech. Companies in their portfolio—including Insilico, Hotspot Therapeutics, and Atomwise—are utilizing generative AI to discover small-molecule drugs that could target diseases that have long eluded traditional pharmaceutical methods. Ganguly envisions a future where personalized AI, advanced generative models, and quantum computing converge to fundamentally alter how humanity addresses disease—developing new medications faster and at lower costs than ever before.
2025's Tech Landscape: When AI Disappears Into Everyday Life
The most powerful technologies aren't those that demand attention—they're the ones that blend seamlessly into our lives until we hardly notice them. Both Saverin and Ganguly emphasized that AI's true impact will emerge when it transitions from a novelty to an invisible enhancement of our daily routines. This represents a significant shift from today's approach, where AI often feels like an add-on that requires users to change their behaviors.
"People shouldn't have to change their lifestyle to use AI. AI should be naturally integrated into what they're already doing."
Ganguly highlighted Uber as an example of technology's growing impact. What started as a disruption to the taxi industry has evolved into logistics, delivery, and even financial services such as insurance. He anticipates that this trend of cross-industry influence will speed up in 2025.
Beyond the US-China AI Rivalry
Saverin provided a refreshingly global perspective when asked about geopolitical concerns related to AI development—especially the competition between the US and China. Citing the Chinese AI model DeepSeek as an example, he emphasized that innovation isn't confined by geography. Success in AI isn't merely about which nation invests the most money; it's about cultivating environments where creative thinking can thrive.
Saverin specifically highlighted the Middle East's potential in the AI landscape, noting three key advantages: government support for AI experimentation, a young population, and abundant energy resources essential for AI infrastructure.
The Investment Philosophy That Shaped Facebook and Beyond
Perhaps the most revealing moment came when Saverin turned the lens on his own investment firm, critiquing B Capital's initial slowness to adopt AI technologies—a refreshing admission from someone of his stature. This self-awareness has led to a complete overhaul of their investment approach, now emphasizing data utilization and pattern recognition. Saverin described their "80:20 rule" methodology—the principle that 80% of outcomes stem from 20% of causes—which they use to identify promising investment opportunities.
"We don't just look at a startup's pitch deck. We analyze the founders' track records and look for patterns that match our previously successful investments."
With remarkable humility, Saverin credited Facebook's early success primarily to luck. The original formula—building an online community founded on real identities via ".edu" email verification—was not envisioned as a pathway to becoming today's Meta. Beyond luck, Saverin emphasizes persistence along with a basic willingness to heed data and consumer feedback. He looks for founders who display not only passion but also the resilience to overcome significant challenges.
The Human Element in an AI World
Despite his enthusiasm for AI, Saverin cautioned against excessive hype. He reminded the audience that e-commerce took nearly two decades to become mainstream, suggesting that AI might need 7 to 10 years to achieve similar societal integration. In a particularly thoughtful moment, Saverin emphasized the necessity of human-centered businesses, even as we approach artificial general intelligence (AGI). In his view, the greatest risk isn't the technology itself, but human psychology—our tendencies toward both irrational exuberance and fear when confronting transformative change.
The Road Ahead: Patient Revolution, Not Overnight Transformation
While headlines proclaim AI's immediate, world-changing potential, Saverin provides a more measured timeline. This isn't a dismissal of AI's significance but a realistic assessment from someone who has witnessed firsthand how technological revolutions unfolded.
The vision Saverin offers isn't of AI as a technological silver bullet, but as a gradual, profound shift in how we engage with technology—transitioning from generic tools to deeply personalized extensions of our capabilities.
As we navigate this transition, perhaps the most valuable insight from this tech pioneer isn't about algorithms or investment strategies, but the reminder that behind every technological revolution are human beings—with all their creativity, resilience, and, yes, psychological limitations.
For those building or investing in the AI future, Saverin's perspective presents both exciting possibilities and a sobering reality check: the most transformative changes often occur not through dramatic disruption, but through patient evolution.
Based on: Eduardo Saverin and Raj Ganguly's panel discussion at Web Summit Qatar 2025 by Pickool.