PARIS – Reddit cofounder and venture capitalist Alex Ohanian believes artificial intelligence will automate much of the work performed by investors and software developers, but argues that the technology will ultimately increase the value of distinctly human qualities such as empathy, trust, community and live experiences.
Speaking at the VivaTech conference in Paris, Ohanian said the rapid advances in AI have transformed how his venture capital firm, Seven Seven Six, operates and have dramatically lowered the barriers to building software.
“I hadn’t shipped any code for 15, 16 years, and now since November, December, I’ve been doing it every day,” Ohanian said. “It’s incredible.”
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Central to that transformation is Cerebro, an internal software platform that Ohanian described as the operating system for his venture firm. The platform tracks interactions with founders, measures responsiveness and increasingly automates routine tasks.
Ohanian said the goal is to allow software to handle more of venture capital’s administrative work so investors can focus on activities that remain difficult for machines.
“What does even venture capital look like in five more years?” he said at the tech event, which sponsored The AI Innovator‘s trip. “It’s empathy, it’s reputation, it’s network, it’s trust.”
Two investment themes
The entrepreneur, who cofounded Reddit in 2005 and later returned as executive chairman, said his investment strategy has increasingly centered on two themes: companies accelerating the AI revolution and businesses built around experiences that AI cannot easily replicate.
Among the firm’s investments are aerospace startup Stoke Space, which Ohanian described as a potential competitor to SpaceX, as well as sports ventures and consumer brands.
The focus reflects a broader belief that AI will reshape many industries while leaving certain human experiences largely intact.
“No matter how good those robots get, no one’s going to want to watch them play football,” Ohanian said.
He argued that even if AI-generated sports highlights become indistinguishable from real footage, they will lack the emotional significance that comes from watching human athletes succeed and fail.
“The whole reason it’s special is because a human did it,” he said.
That conviction has led Ohanian, who is married to tennis legend Serena Williams and has become one of the most prominent investors in women’s sports, to expand his sports holdings. He pointed to his involvement in women’s soccer and a new professional track-and-field league called Athlos, which he said was inspired by the enthusiasm he witnessed during the Paris Olympics.
Ohanian believes sports franchises could become significantly more valuable as AI fragments entertainment and makes authentic live events scarcer.
“Sport is one of those things that will just capture attention in a way that I think is still going to matter in 5, 10, 15 years,” he said.
He also predicted that other live events could enjoy a resurgence as AI-generated entertainment becomes commonplace.
“I actually think live theater, comedy, the arts, ballet, opera – I think those will actually be more popular five, 10 years from now,” he said.
Wake-up call for Europe?
Beyond entertainment, Ohanian expressed optimism about AI’s potential to address major societal challenges. He highlighted emerging medical technologies and robotics applications that could help countries cope with aging populations and labor shortages.
Japan, in particular, could benefit from robotic automation as its workforce shrinks, he said.
“Robotics and things like that could be an amazing supercharge for an economy,” Ohanian said.
The investor also used the discussion to call for greater European technological self-reliance. Holding both American and German citizenship, Ohanian said recent tensions between the United States and Europe could serve as a wake-up call for the continent to strengthen its own AI capabilities and industrial base.
“I think it is a good thing … for Europe to be waking up,” he said.
For entrepreneurs, Ohanian argued that AI has created an unprecedented opportunity for ambitious builders. Quoting investor Naval Ravikant, he said successful founders are often both builders and sellers – people capable of creating products while understanding customers.
“There has never been a better time to be time rich and cash poor than right now,” Ohanian said.
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