Davos 2024: AI Steals the Spotlight, Outshining Crypto in Global Tech Showcase

In recent years at the World Economic Forum, cryptocurrency companies were the main focus in Davos, advertising their products. However, in 2024, artificial intelligence has become the spotlight, with major companies promoting their AI products and services, emphasizing that "The future is AI." This change highlights the increased investment and interest in AI, driven by the success of ChatGPT.

Global technology giants are vying for a leading role in the field of AI, and they seem to be relying on their significant announcements on the Davos Promenade to showcase their prowess in this area. Companies from U.S. semiconductor firm Intel to Salesforce had AI slogans on the properties they took over. Notably, there was the "AI House," an events space hosted by companies, including Swiss telecommunications firm Swisscom.

AI took center stage on the Promenade, surpassing the prominence of crypto firms, marking a shift from recent years.

In January 2022, even amid the cryptocurrency price downturn, companies at the World Economic Forum were promoting "Bitcoin Pizza Day" and non-fungible tokens. By January 2023, during the crypto winter, firms scaled back on spending at Davos, but the industry still maintained a significant presence, including a mysterious orange bitcoin car.

The current dominance of AI aligns with trends in investment. According to PitchBook’s Emerging Tech Indicator, tracking investments in the world’s top 15 venture firms, AI and machine learning startups attracted substantially more investment in the third quarter, pulling in around $600 million, compared to just over $100 million for Web3 and decentralized finance companies.

The crypto industry, on its part, seems to be embracing the change at Davos.

Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer for Circle, the issuer of the popular U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC, and a regular attendee at Davos for the past eight years, expressed to CNBC that the blockchain and crypto sector has been focusing on "telling the story of the technology, rather than the story of results."

“Today, there are very few crypto houses along the Promenade. They’re all AI houses, which is good,” Disparte said. “That suggests that this is becoming a background technology.”

According to Disparte, who has actively collaborated with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to advance legislation concerning stablecoins, the surviving companies and key players are expected to integrate with traditional banking, finance, and payment systems.

“It’s not dissimilar to the way the internet had to go through its dotcom bubble phase to hand over the development of the Internet to more durable, trusting and safe hands,” Disparte said.

“There’s a new technology kid on the block, which means that I get to become a vintage player. And I don’t have to explain the tech so much so that’s encouraging,” he added.

Notably, crypto firms still made their presence felt. Circle showcased prominently on the Promenade, while the Global Blockchain Business Council, a Swiss non-profit industry body, hosted events. CasperLabs, an established attendee, also occupied a significant space. Despite the crypto industry and investors experiencing a more successful 2023 than 2022, marked by Bitcoin's 150% rally, the overall presence seemed quieter. There's a prevailing sentiment in the industry that crypto companies no longer need to prove themselves, with the recent approval of a bitcoin ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seen as a pivotal moment solidifying crypto's status as a legitimate asset class.

The quotes in this piece were sourced from CNBC.