The a16z Show The AI Opportunity That Goes Beyond Models
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Jan 19, 2026 
Join Alex Rampell, a general partner at a16z with a focus on AI apps and fintech, as he shares insights on the rapid transformation AI is bringing to software. Discover how AI is creating new markets by enabling software to take over tasks traditionally done by humans. Alex discusses key investment themes, including AI-native applications and proprietary data workflows, and highlights the importance of defensibility and workflow ownership. Dive into the implications of these shifts for the future of enterprise productivity and tech innovation.
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Eve's End-To-End Legal Workflow
- Eve built an end-to-end plaintiff-side legal workflow and used voice agents to collect evidence.
- That data created a compounding advantage and expanded the market for lower-value cases.
Prioritize Workflow Ownership For Moats
- Evaluate differentiation versus defensibility: AI features differentiate, but workflow ownership and proprietary data defend.
- Aim to own the end-to-end system of record to build a lasting moat.
Salient's Collection Win And Data Moat
- Salient replaced manual collections with AI and achieved ~50% higher collection rates.
- Their accumulated call scripts and statute ingestion form a practical data moat.