Navigating the intersection of innovation, regulation and valuation.

A few weeks ago, when asked if he thought we were currently in an AI-driven market bubble, Bill Gates responded: “AI is no Pets.com,” referring to the dot-com bust poster-child startup of the early 2000s.

And while I agree with him that AI is a very real technology that should be taken seriously, I can’t help but see parallels between the current environment and the boom/bust cycle of the internet era.

Like the internet, AI has the power to fundamentally transform our socioeconomic landscape. And while AI isn’t a new concept, the recent and rapid adoption of Gen-AI chatbots has echoes of the browser wars of the late 1990s which paved the way for the internet to become the fabric of our society.

The communications challenges, including making the complex simple, dealing with a constantly changing competitive landscape, regulatory uncertainty, managing investor sentiment and navigating the hype cycle, are also similar to those we faced back then. I started my career in those days and now, with 25 years of experience (and the gray hairs to prove it), I thought it might be worth exploring some of the lessons from the past in hopes they might help those who are navigating these challenges for the first time.

You say you want a revolution

The dot-com boom transformed how we communicate, shop, and do business. Companies like Amazon, Google, and eBay emerged as giants, reshaping industries and creating new ones. Similarly, the AI boom is revolutionizing entire industries, from healthcare and finance to transportation and entertainment.

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Sabrina Guttman is the Managing Partner, Global Technology Practice Leader at www.finnpartners.com