How Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Business, But Not Rich Lister’s Fortune

Investor Robert Whyte says that while some people have already made significant money investing in artificial intelligence, he is “late to the party.”

“Artificial intelligence is impossible in a small office, other than Nvidia, Microsoft and Google. We (invest in it), but there is not much to gain from it,” he says.

Whyte currently lists uranium and medical marijuana as his favorite investments, but invests 5 to 10 percent of his portfolio in “Microsoft, Google and Nvidias,” which gives him exposure to artificial intelligence.

Nvidia has seen huge demand for its chips amid significant advances in generative AI – a type of AI that involves creating original content, whether text, images, audio or data – led by OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Among wealthy listers, James Packer has the most exposure to Nvidia through his Consolidated Press International Holdings, which holds 443,643 shares as of May 2024 and is valued at nearly $461 million, according to Bloomberg.

But the wealthiest readers who probably have the most exposure to the tech market darling Nvidia are Pro Medicus billionaire duo Sam Hupert and Anthony Hall.

A company that makes software that allows radiologists to view reports and image files generated by X-rays and other medical scans on mobile devices uses Nvidia chips in its Visage software.

“We have been using Nvidia GPU since the birth of this platform. From an infrastructure standpoint, every Visage customer is AI-ready,” says Hupert.

“The platform enables the use of artificial intelligence when overlaying visual results on images. Most systems cannot combine the two. This is quite a sophisticated fusion technology because it can’t even be a single pixel away.

“Our platform is ready for artificial intelligence. Then there’s the question of where the algorithms come from… and we have the ability to develop some… but we also have deep-established research links with key clients.”

We have already passed through the hype phase and the disappointment phase, and now we are on the wave of reality where artificial intelligence is used in a significant way.

— Sam Hupert, professional doctor

The first AI algorithm for measuring breast density was developed in-house in collaboration with Yale and has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The company also invested $5 million in a US startup developing two cardiac CT algorithms, Elucid.

Hupert says the benefits of artificial intelligence in health care have been growing for years, but were just entering the “realism” phase.

“We had a huge increase in drive and enthusiasm. “A futurist predicted six years ago that radiologists would have no jobs in five years… and this is now being cited as a key reason for the global shortage of radiologists,” he says.

“We’ve been through the hype phase and the disillusionment phase, and now we’re on the wave of reality where AI is being used in a meaningful way… but we’re in that early stage.”

Hupert says he has made some personal investments in the AI ​​space, but only in healthcare. He says other industries will go through similar phases of hype and disappointment before real use cases emerge.

“There was an incredible wind in our sails… I think we will see some sort of correction in the industry,” he says.

“I usually (invest) in what I understand best… but that doesn’t mean I won’t focus on other specific areas. But it’s a bit like investing in biotech and trying to find the winners – there will be a lot of good ideas that don’t make it through the journey.”

While Pro Medicus uses Nvidia chips, Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, and Cameron Adams’ Canva leveraged OpenAI’s advanced generative artificial intelligence technologies.

The OpenAI DALL·E image generator allows Canva users to quickly and easily create images in Canva.

Last October, the local tech giant unveiled Magic Studio, easy-to-use AI-powered features that have redefined the design process.

Meanwhile, Blackmagic’s Petty has been using artificial intelligence in his Melbourne company’s video and audio production equipment for years.

“We used to call it a neural engine, but now the buzzword seems to be artificial intelligence,” he says.

Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve software, which was used to edit the highest-grossing Hollywood film in history, Avatar, among thousands of others, it uses artificial intelligence to “separate” images from a single camera shot and allow them to be color corrected separately.

Macquarie Technology Group’s David Tudehope, who appears on this year’s rich list along with his brother Aidan, who is worth an estimated $975 million, has seen a 27 per cent increase in his wealth in the last 12 months thanks to the soaring share price of the company he works with -founded in 1992 as a telecommunications company that challenged Telstra.

The company has successfully expanded beyond its telecommunications offering and has recently been investing heavily in data centers – the infrastructure needed to support the artificial intelligence boom.

The company will be the first to build a data center specifically for AI, called IC3 Super West.

Warmth and power

“It’s a function of time. We finalized the plans a year or a year and a half ago, but at the same time AI was gaining momentum, so we changed our plans for the new center to be AI-ready,” Tudehope says.

“There will be more… but we were the first ones out of the blocks.”

Running AI algorithms requires much more power than cloud computing and generates much more heat.

Tudehope says that traditionally existing data centers have been managed by having every other rack of servers empty, wasting space. IC3 Super West and other AI data centers use liquid-based cooling of GPU chips or completely immersing servers in cooling tanks.

“So far, data centers built have been designed for the cloud. There is still a huge demand for this solution. We believe that AI is an addition to, not a replacement for, cloud demand,” says Tudehope.

Macquarie has just added artificial intelligence to its cybersecurity arsenal, using it to identify real attacks and filter out “false positives.”

It also uses artificial intelligence to increase internal productivity – a Macquarie programmer who knows the Python programming language can now also work in other languages ​​thanks to artificial intelligence.

“As a result, employees are more productive and effective, and their skills are used to a greater extent,” says Tudehope.

“Too often, leaders think of AI as a new way to reduce staffing, as opposed to whether AI can be something that makes people’s jobs more interesting, less dull, boring and dangerous.”

Tudehope stated that it had not personally invested in AI due to its “significant overweight at Macquarie”. However, he believes that opportunities for most investors in Australia were limited, with people generally limited to indirect investment in the theme through listed software-as-a-service companies or data center players.

Artificial intelligence goes beyond technology

Apart from tech founders, other Rich Listers are also using AI in their companies.

Billionaire packaging and recycling company Anthony Pratt says Visy Australia and Pratt Industries are actively developing and introducing artificial intelligence and machine learning applications into their operations.

“Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important in keeping machines up and running longer through better preventive machine maintenance,” says Pratt.

“First, sensors detect a deviation from the normal functioning of a machine part, and then when the sensor detects a deviation from normal operation, the artificial intelligence predicts when the part will fail. The result is longer machine uptime and more tons of product.”

The Rich List issue of AFR magazine will be published on Friday, May 31 Australian Financial Review. Follow AFR Mag on Instagram.