Knowledge at Wharton Where AI Works: From Pain Points to Productivity — Finding AI’s Real Value
Aug 25, 2025
Teresa Nemeshani, Worldwide Director of Private Equity and Venture Capital Partnerships at Microsoft, helps investors and portfolio companies scale AI-driven products. She talks about where AI creates real value: productivity boosts, high cost-to-serve pain points like call centers, and data‑heavy verticals. She also covers monetization experiments, measuring ROI, and how Microsoft supports partners to commercialize AI.
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Three Core AI Value Areas
- Microsoft sees three early AI value areas: developer productivity, modern work, and security.
- These domains deliver measurable impact and underpin broader product and partner innovation.
GitHub Copilot Delivered Rapid Developer Gains
- Microsoft found early productivity gains with GitHub Copilot, addressing developer scarcity and backlog.
- This example demonstrates a fast, measurable productivity win from AI deployment.
Monetization Hides In High Cost-To-Serve Areas
- AI monetization often lives in the gray area between revenue creation and cost reduction, like contact centers and renewals.
- High cost-to-serve workflows give clear sandboxes to experiment and hit the top line quickly.