BI Davos Diary Day 2: Donald Trump and AI have dominated conversations at the World Economic Forum

• The World Economic Forum in Davos began in earnest Tuesday.
• Trump's return to the White House and AI have dominated conversations.
• This is what BI reporters have been hearing and seeing on the ground.

As the rich and powerful gather for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Business Insider journalists are chairing panels, interviewing agenda setters, and speaking to people in the wings and at parties.

This is what has been happening there on Tuesday.

The talk at the parties was about who will fly over from DC

Monday was officially day one of Davos, but the action was taken up a notch on Tuesday. One question people at parties have been asking: Which of the CEOs who showed up to Trump's inauguration will make the trip to snowy Switzerland?

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is set to make an appearance on Thursday, but will Sam Altman also return? If Sergey Brin can make the time for Trump's inauguration, might he also make a trip over in a private jet?

Separately, I spotted Microsoft president Brad Smith holding court with a gaggle of people outside Microsoft's house. I also saw Amazon CEO Andy Jassy going through the conference center security scanners. Tech bosses, they're just like us! — Hugh Langley

2 CEOs told BI they expect Trump's administration to be good for business

Elon Musk's DOGE might be in the business of cutting, but several tech companies we spoke to also see dollar signs. President Trump on Monday signed an executive order creating Doge, which describes its goal as "modernizing Federal technology and software."

Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Antonio Neri said the new administration wants "more business, not less" from a tech perspective. "I consider the government a large enterprise," he told BI. Meanwhile, Eric Clark, the CEO of NTT Data Americas, said, "I think we'll see opportunities for expansion very quickly."

He said NTT works with the federal government, that it did well under Trump 1.0, and that they expect the new administration to be "pro-technology and pro-business." — Hugh Langley and Jamie Heller

BI moderated a star-studded panel on crypto's future

The day after bitcoin hit a record high, I moderated a star-studded panel on all things crypto — the outlook, the regulatory framework, and the launch of Trump and Melania's meme coins.

Joining me were Lesetja Kganyago (governor, South African Reserve Bank), Brian Armstrong (CEO, Coinbase), Denelle Dixon (CEO, Stellar Development Foundation), Jennifer Johnson (CEO, Franklin Templeton), and Anthony Scaramucci (founder, SkyBridge Capital).

"When you vote for Donald Trump, you get the whole thing," Scaramucci said during the panel discussion. Scaramucci said $Trump — now worth billions — "hurts the industry" because it will vex older politicians and lawmakers and will probably "slow down" the regulatory process. My colleague Theron Mohamed has more.

The panel offered fascinating insights into where everyone stands on regulation.

Regulatory uncertainty continues to be one of the biggest challenges for the crypto industry, with different governments worldwide taking different approaches. The panel agreed more clarity was needed — something they are expecting to get from Trump's second term. — Spriha Srivastava

People are feeling upbeat about Trump and his impact on the economy

Trump's return has brought mixed feelings to Davos, but in conversations I'm having with folks — some on the record, some behind closed doors — there's an emerging upbeat feeling about the economy and potential for growth.

"CEOs and management teams seem to be much more optimistic about the macro environment," said Neil Dhar, a global managing partner at IBM Consulting. "I think some of that is probably that the world has gone through a massive election cycle, and I think now that people know the direction of travel." — Hugh Langley

Expect a 'David' AI startup to emerge in the AI space, a tech leader says

AI — especially agentic AI — is dominating conversations. One tech leader summed up the current trend, saying, "Small is the new big." During a discussion on Big Tech and AI, Abhishek Shankar, the president of Tech Mahindra, emphasized the importance of keeping an eye on smaller players in the space.

"I'm always reminded of the David and Goliath story, and there are many, many Davids out there today. OpenAI is, of course, one of the known Davids. But if you really watch closely, then you have Anthropic, Mistral, etc."

Shankar said that the coming years will reveal who the next "David" will be. "The next few years are about watching some of these new-age players. They are going to scale up, and the velocity at which they do so will be different from the past. I'm pretty sure a new David will emerge to take that space open." — Spriha Srivastava

Ever struggled to get a chatbot to help you with your canceled flight? A travel firm might have the answer.

AI has a problem right now: It's forgetful. If you've ever had a long back-and-forth with a chatbot you may have noticed it sometimes can't recall information from earlier in your chat.

The travel booking firm Navan might not be the company you'd think would solve this problem, but its CTO, Ilan Twig, told BI he's created a new framework for AI that more closely mimics the human brain.

Think of it as different topic experts talking to one another and passing information back and forth — one knows airline seating and another knows everything about your loyalty program. But for the user, it's as if they're just chatting to one person. If you've ever felt the frustration of dealing with a chatbot when your flight got delayed, or being passed through countless service agents, this could be a positive.

Twig said its travel agent is already dealing with 7,000 chats a day and nearly 60% of inbound requests are solved without having to go through to a human. — Hugh Langley and Dan DeFrancesco

A software CEO had a funny answer when asked how AI would hurt his business

Nacho De Marco made a funny remark when we asked him whether AI would hurt his business, BairesDev, which provides software engineering support to companies on an outsourcing/staff augmentation basis.

"I heard some people say that about journalists," he said. Touché! That said, he predicted that in the next five to 10 years, "software is going to become just a lot better" with the new technologies. "In 20 years, I don't know." — Jamie Heller

David Beckham made an appearance

Amid the whirlwind of meetings, dinners, and cocktails, there have been some celebrity sightings, too. Ever heard of a guy named David Beckham? Well, I met him. The former soccer player and UNICEF goodwill ambassador received a Crystal Award for his philanthropic work.

That's the magic of Davos. One moment you're refilling your coffee at the Congress Centre's central lounge, and the next, you're rubbing shoulders with some of the world's most interesting figures. — Spriha Srivastava

Private credit isn't a zero-sum game between banks and private lenders, said JPMorgan's Troy Rohrbaugh

For Troy Rohrbaugh, the co-CEO of JPMorgan's commercial and investment bank, the great debate over the rise of private credit isn't a zero-sum game.

Despite the perception that banks and private lenders have to compete over business, Rohrbaugh said he believes the key will be a collaboration between both sides.

"People are very focused on how banks and non-banks are going to go head-to-head and compete with each other in the space. The reality is, the real game will be the ones who figure out how to partner with each other," Rohrbaugh told me.

That's not to say banks and private leaders won't ever compete over deals. But he sees more opportunities to work together. After all, as much as private credit has become the hot new corner of Wall Street, at its core it's just a lending business, which is literally the foundation on which banks were built.

That's also why banks hold a key piece of the lending puzzle, Rohrbaugh added.

"The assets are certainly important, but the differentiator is in origination," he added. — Dan DeFrancesco

KPMG talks about its legal venture

When a firm the size of KPMG looks to move into a new business, it tends to turn heads, but the Big Four professional-services firm's effort to set up a US law firm isn't about upending the industry, according to one of its leaders. Paul Knopp, the chair and CEO of KPMG US, told me the strategy is rounding out the type of services they're already doing. He mentioned things like addressing the legal issues that come with contract management or performing due diligence on a deal.

"We don't see it as a threat to the traditional law firms that are out there today," Knopp said. "It's looking more for complimentary or adjacent services that fit well with what we're already doing that can add value to the particular service we're already providing."

As for how KPMG plans to staff the new group, Knopp said the firm will lean on the relationships it's already established recruiting directly out of universities. It'll also make what Knopp called "direct entry talent," meaning the firm would hire people currently working in the market.

Knopp doesn't see that as a massive threat to midsize and large law firms since the focus won't be on the type of litigation or regulatory work that those firms excel at.

"It's the very reason we're getting into that space. We think there's a bit of an unfilled need where we can serve in that capacity, where there's some legal services that can be performed by us more efficiently because we know the other service already," Knopp added. — Dan DeFrancesco

Shrinkflation hits the Davos freebies

It appears shrinkflation has come for the Davos freebies. The popular blue Davos bobble hats, a staple of the conference for years, have returned, albeit in a slightly different form.

This year's bobble is noticeably smaller than in years past. Even in an event for the world's elite, signs of changes in the economy are being felt. — Dan DeFrancesco