For nearly 30 years, Robert F. Smith’s Vista Equity Partners has invested in enterprise software companies. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, in August 2023, Smith announced that the global investment firm had reached over $100 billion in assets under management.

“Since Vista was founded over two decades ago, we’ve expanded to 650+ team members operating around the world, built a comprehensive library of enterprise software best practices and much more,” Smith shared in a LinkedIn post at the time. “We’ve also been committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, creating opportunities for individuals who have traditionally been underrepresented.”

As a leader championing underrepresented technologists and tech entrepreneurs, Smith was among the speakers at AFROTECH™ Conference 2023. Joined by Base10 Partners Co-Founder and Managing Partner Adeyemi Ajao, the two founders led the panel titled “Powering Forward: Creating A Shared Digital Future.”

During the discussion, Smith shared what initially drew him to the tech space before working at Goldman Sachs and leading Vista Equity Partners.

“One of the things that struck me when I was going through high school and into college was how technology was impacting the world I lived in,” Smith said. “I was, in my age, a digital immigrant. You all are kind of digital native, and to see the impact of technology, it was changing the way that we engaged as people, as companies.”

As for the digital future, Smith believes generative artificial intelligence (AI) will play a significant factor. He also said that now is the time, more than ever, to learn prompt engineering.

“We have a new tsunami that, frankly, in my view, is going to have a higher impact than the Internet, and this thing is called generative AI,” Smith said during the panel.

In addition to what they envision for the digital future, Smith and Ajao discussed how there is a potential collective opportunity regarding data.

“One thing we were reading that blew my mind a few days ago is that more data was created in the last three years than in all of history before,” Ajao shared. “And now, what you do with all that data? That is the opportunity. One of the things that we tell to young entrepreneurs is, ‘Hey, everyone is looking at the next social network or the next gaming thing. Go to something boring in the real economy — lumber yards, neighborhood restaurants, farmers — think about how could they use that [data].”

Smith added how young entrepreneurs can create sustainable infrastructure in business applications that could provide economic benefits for the people they’re serving.

“If you do it right, you can create economic opportunity for yourself and the company that you’re founding, running, whatever it is,” Smith said.

To watch the full “Powering Forward: Creating A Shared Digital Future” session, click here.

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