Cofounder, Meta
"Technology innovation is exponential": learning from Facebook's success
Raj Ganguly and Eduardo Saverin, B Capital Group talk with SuperReturn International about the exponential innovation in the technology sector.
For more coverage visit SuperReturn Live: https://goo.gl/KEmkKV
Follow the conversation on Twitter: / superreturn
About Eduardo Saverin
Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Meta Platforms and co-CEO of B Capital, has spoken about the impact of artificial intelligence on business and society. In a May 2025 interview with AIBRASIL, Saverin described AI as a "key paradigm shifting technology" and said that the most important application of AI is not in creating fundamental large language models but in integrating AI into workflows so that users do not have to take an extra step to use it. He stated that the majority of productivity gains in businesses could be achieved with a proper application layer and workflow integration, rather than requiring significantly more advanced models. Saverin also discussed the societal challenges of AI, including job displacement, and said that entrepreneurs and companies should balance profit optimization with societal benefits. In a March 2025 appearance at the Web Summit in Qatar, Saverin commented on the advancement of DeepSeek, stating that "innovation can and should come from anywhere" and that such developments are "very positive for the industry" because they make core models more accessible from a pricing standpoint. He said that DeepSeek is good for certain types of functions while other models are better for others, and that choice in foundational models will drive more access to AI. Saverin also noted that the news of DeepSeek's capabilities should not cause companies to decelerate spending on AI infrastructure, but rather accelerate it because the return on investment per dollar is higher.
Transcript (16 segments)
I
Interviewer0:06
Eduardo, there have been lots of conversations this week about transformative technology and particularly AI and machine learning. What are your views on that and what opportunities that brings?
E
Eduardo Saverin0:16
Absolutely. I think a lot of what's happening today is technology is starting to enable really traditional industries, and in many cases it's around the concept of data and how data can be analyzed and leveraged to improve how big businesses and their consumers interact. In some cases it could be sort of a reinvention of a new market like e-commerce as well, and the front-end chatbots. And I think artificial intelligence is the crux of everything that's transpired, and big data, because there's so much data out there with the level of sensors that we have today as individuals and also across business processes. We're collecting more data than ever before and it's growing exponentially. So the question is how do we take the data, analyze it, distill it, and make it into an actionable format that will make businesses better and will ultimately provide a good benefit to the world.
I
Interviewer1:10
In the same way that you've described that you couldn't have foreseen where Facebook would have gone when you first conceived of it, do you think we can begin to understand now where we're going to be in 10 years' time?
E
Eduardo Saverin1:21
I think innovation is accelerating very quickly, and you can see that by how long it took the telephone back in the day to reach 100 million consumers versus how long it took a social game on the Facebook platform to reach 100 million players, which was less than 30 days. I think going forward you can always project and make assessments, but I think we will learn as we go and innovation is exponential, I believe, and it'll be hard to tell what the end state is. So we can dream and look to the future, but it's hard to predict it in a precise way.
I
Interviewer1:53
Marge, when you are trying to look for those companies, what do you look for and what qualities do you look for and who to invest in particularly?
M
Marge2:01
You know, I'd say the first thing we look for is entrepreneurs who are really committed, who are passionate. We always say that we back entrepreneurs who are willing to crawl through broken glass, and it really means that they're willing to do whatever it takes to build their companies. But beyond that, it's entrepreneurs who build great teams around them, who realize that it's the success of the team that drives the overall success of the company. And for us, one of the special things is we look for companies that want to partner and collaborate with some of the biggest companies in the world. It's a bit different, we invest in B2B technology companies, but we truly value companies that are willing to partner with others as they grow.
I
Interviewer2:42
How is that as a marriage, Eduardo? Because you're trying to sort of bring together these bright young things and they're sort of incumbent institutions that must be quite hard to facilitate.
E
Eduardo Saverin2:52
Yeah, being at the surface are two different universes, and typically the modus operandi has been young kids in a garage or dorm room are going to out-disrupt the largest business in the world. And what we're moving towards, especially as innovation is starting to touch very large traditional industries, is that in fact young kids in a garage can put together phenomenal technology that will enable innovation in some of the largest businesses in the world. And their distribution platform, their capital, their regulatory know-how will enable young entrepreneurs' growth and their businesses' growth to accelerate. The idea is a marriage, but it requires a translation engine. Very different cultures, but with a lot of potential synergy. And we leverage our partnership with a large organization that has tremendous access to the corporate world to help bring forward that marriage.
I
Interviewer3:43
Boston Consulting Group. How does it feel for you to be able to do that? Because you were there once, and for you to be those people that people look to to be able to help them in that way, it must be quite a special feeling and quite a nice feeling. Is it sort of semi-philanthropic feel to it?
M
Marge4:01
It's always humbling to work with amazing entrepreneurs who are passionate about what they're doing. So in some ways I'm thankful to have the opportunity to work with them, and I always learn. No matter what you've done in life, every single day of your life you wake up in the morning and you're ready to learn some more, and I learn all the time from the entrepreneurs I work with. So it's humbling to always see their passion.
I
Interviewer4:25
And does the passion in these young things take you back to when you started your first company?
M
Marge4:32
I think it keeps us all young. And the reality is we have entrepreneurs of all ages. So the energy that comes from being an entrepreneur isn't something that's only for folks who are young. I think it's something that comes from following a passion, building something which has the ability to go well beyond the impact you can have on your own.
I
Interviewer4:50
You talk there about learning from other people. You're in an environment here where there are 2,000 delegates have descended on Berlin. It's the most accessible SuperReturn ever. What have you found? It's your first one. Have you enjoyed yourself?
E
Eduardo Saverin5:04
No, it's been a phenomenal experience and very thankful to be here. Thank you. We've loved being here. It's been a great group and we've been having a lot of fun on our first SuperReturn.
I
Interviewer5:16
Thank you so much for joining us. Much appreciated. Great to meet you.
E
Eduardo Saverin5:19
Thank you, Emma.