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• Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2018 (Revised December 2019)

  Modern Automation (A): Artificial Intelligence

  William R. Kerr and James Palano

  This primer is meant to be a field guide to the late 2010s' surge in business use of "Artificial Intelligence" (AI), or enterprise software based in machine learning. First, it provides an overview of the key trends - digitizaiton, connectivity, the continuation of Moore's law, and advancements in machine learning algorithms - which led to the inflection point in adoption of AI. Then, the primer describes the range of use cases of state-of-the-art enterprise AI organized in a taxonomy designed to build generalized understanding of the types of work to which AI can be applied. This knowledge is useful not only to managers looking to best leverage the technology but to those working to manage resulting organizational change and prepare the workforce for transitions into complementary tasks. Finally, key issues and implications of AI adoption are also discussed.

  Keywords: artificial intelligence; digitization; connectivity; Computing; future of work; automation; Technology; Technology Adoption; Employment; Management; Information Technology;

  Citation:

  Kerr, William R., and James Palano. "Modern Automation (A): Artificial Intelligence." Harvard Business School Case 819-084, December 2018. (Revised December 2019.)  View Details

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• Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2019

  Tech Clusters

  William R. Kerr and Frederic Robert-Nicoud

  Tech clusters like Silicon Valley play a central role for modern innovation, business competitiveness, and economic performance. This paper reviews what constitutes a tech cluster, how they function internally, and the degree to which policy makers can purposefully foster them. We describe the growing influence of advanced technologies for businesses outside of traditional tech fields, the strains and backlash that tech clusters are experiencing, and emerging research questions for theory and empirical work.

  Keywords: clusters; agglomeration; innovation; entrepreneurship; patents;

  Citation:

  Kerr, William R., and Frederic Robert-Nicoud. "Tech Clusters." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-063, November 2019.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2019 (Revised October 2019)

  NewView Capital and Venture Capital Secondaries

  Shai Benjamin Bernstein, Ramana Nanda and Allison Ciechanover

  While still a general partner at Silicon Valley-based New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Ravi Viswanathan considered the challenges presented by evolving market dynamics in the venture capital space. Startups were staying private longer, which led to limited partners thirsty for liquidity and venture capital funds managing overloaded portfolios. Viswanathan and the senior leaders of NEA orchestrated the purchase of 31 NEA unrealized portfolio companies by the newly created $1.35 billion NewView Capital spinout that he would head. This secondary transaction provided liquidity to NEA’s limited partners and reallocated NEA partners’ time to shepherd other portfolio companies, while at the same time allowing NewView Capital to reap gains from future exits from a portfolio of diverse, high-quality growth stage technology companies. Now, as he prepares to raise Fund II, Viswanathan acknowledges that the unique circumstances that enabled the launch of Fund I would not be replicable, and he must consider alternative strategies to pursue next. Should he continue to focus on secondary transactions, focus on direct investments, or some combination of the two?

  Keywords: Venture Capital; Capital Markets; Private Equity; Strategy;

  Citation:

  Bernstein, Shai Benjamin, Ramana Nanda, and Allison Ciechanover. "NewView Capital and Venture Capital Secondaries." Harvard Business School Case 820-038, October 2019. (Revised October 2019.)  View Details

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