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Box CEO on the AI Adoption Gap | The a16z Show
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Erik Torenberg, Steven Sinofsky, and Martin Casado speak to Aaron Levie, CEO at Box, about what happens to enterprise software when agents become the primary users. They discuss why coding agents succeed where other knowledge work agents struggle, what abstraction layers mean for the workforce, and how data access and systems of record must change in an agent-first world. Timestamps: 0:00—Intro 0:51—Building software for agents vs. humans 2:10—Can non-technical workers actually use AI agents? 14:31—CFO/CIO pushback: the real fear of agents doing integration 18:39—Treating agents like employees and why it breaks down 27:35—Diffusion gap: startups vs. enterprises 42:53—Wall Street's economics are off by an order of magnitude Read the full transcript here: https://www.a16z.news/s/podcast Resources: Follow Aaron Levie on X: https://twitter.com/levie Follow Steve Sinofsky on X: https://twitter.com/stevesi Follow Martin Casado on X: https://twitter.com/martin_casado Follow Erik Torenberg on X: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.
Segments Timeline
Intro
"The diffusion of AI capability is going to take longer than people in Silicon Valley realize. >> It's just absurd to think you're going to vibe code your way to like SAP. All of that domain knowledge,..."
Building software for agents vs. humans
"like that trend is happening which is like we spend as much time now thinking about the agent interface to our tool as we do the human interface. Sure. And the reason we're doing that is because our h..."
Can non-technical workers actually use AI agents?
"it it makes sense in a in an theoretical way. Yeah. >> But in a in a practical way, we have to be really careful in that >> that the way to say it is algorithmic thinking >> Yeah. >> is really really ..."
CFO/CIO pushback: the real fear of agents doing integration
">> Uh let me get off my lawn. Okay. Okay. So, okay. So, the reason I I just was in a room filled with a bunch of CFOs and CIOS and this they all looked at me when I said something along these lines, a..."
Treating agents like employees and why it breaks down
">> okay now can I instantly take do a take down of of of this uh element that we're going to run into >> please >> okay so that is fantastic for personal productivity >> and the question that we're go..."
Diffusion gap: startups vs. enterprises
"what's happening is like we see startups that can start from the ground up without any of the risks that we're talking about because they have nothing to blow up and and so we look at that as the traj..."
Wall Street's economics are off by an order of magnitude
"off by at least an order of magnitude on how big the opportunity is. Okay, because the the new models that people will come up with that nobody knows what they are right now, but they will absolutely ..."