This week, we attended WSJ Tech Live 2025 at Stanly Ranch & Carneros, an intimate 2.5-day gathering that brought together roughly 300 investors, executives, and innovators exploring what’s next for technology, business, and AI. The setting was scenic and sophisticated —coming to Northern CA for the first time this year—reflecting the caliber of the conversations happening across every room.
Below are a few standout sessions and themes that defined the day.
Pushing the Limits of Intelligence: CFO of OpenAI
Highlight of the event: The CFO of OpenAI offered a look into the company’s next era—where compute capacity, not imagination, is the main constraint. Sarah kept referring our adoption of AI to electricity when it first begun, and how we’re “just turning the lights on” in a new world of intelligence— we’ve yet to think about the adoption of “appliances” and opportunities that will follow.
Enterprise adoption for OpenAI continues to surge, with usage shifting from 70/30 consumer-to-enterprise last year to 60/40 today—reflecting 9x YoY growth and more than 1 million enterprise customers, primarily in financial services, healthcare, and CPG. The message was clear: we’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible, and compute power will define the pace of AI’s evolution.
The Superuser Strategy: Michael Wolf, Activate Consulting
A fast-moving presentation PACKED with data and predictions about how people—and businesses—will interact with technology in the coming years.
By 2029, he projects we’ll spend 15 more minutes a day on average with technology, and B2B digital growth will outpace consumer categories by three percentage points. Media consumption already exceeds 32 hours a day (thanks to multitasking), underscoring the constant attention battle for brands.
We loved his emphasis on the “superuser strategy”—focusing on your most engaged audience members who try products early, share data, and become brand advocates. He also emphasized the continued dominance of video: 53% of podcast listeners prefer video, and 70% of top podcasts already use it.
Download the full report at Activate.com →
Investing in an AI-First Era
One investor Masterclass, a more intimate and interactive session, captured the mindset shift underway in Venture: every company is a legacy company—it’s just a question of whether they can disrupt their industry or be disrupted. Investors are looking at total addressable markets through a new AI lens, uncovering exponential opportunities. ‘Traditional’ SaaS models must evolve—“SaaS isn’t dead, but it has to reinvent itself with AI at the core.”
Jai Das @ Sapphire Ventures shared what investors are looking for in Founders:
Vision: They can clearly articulate what they’re building and why it matters.
Execution: Sapphire spends ample time with teams to really understand dynamics and mechanics.
Expertise: They’re deeply grounded in their vertical.
Underlying theme: “If you’re not willing to challenge conventional wisdom (as a Founder), you can’t be a disruptor.”
AI and the Art of Living Intentionally
Beyond business transformation, WSJ Tech Live also touched on AI’s growing role in our personal lives—and how technology design is adapting to support focus, balance, and well-being.
Two examples:
Light Phone III, a minimalist phone that strips away distractions and redefines what “connected” means in the age of constant stimulation.
1X Technologies, will these robots really be in our everyday lives?
Together, these examples illustrate two ends of the same spectrum: restraint and reach. As technology becomes more intelligent, the opportunity—and responsibility—is to design experiences that serve human intent, not overwhelm it.
WSJ Tech Live 2025 blended sharp insights with candid discussions about the challenges ahead—particularly around compute, data saturation, and the pace of AI transformation. Despite the tech headwinds, the optimism in the room was clear: innovation belongs to those ready to evolve, lean in, and build the future now.
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