The Rich Are Cautious About AI. but Their Family Offices Invest in It.

Billionaires like Google’s Eric Schmidt are betting big on AI through their family offices.
But these private investment firms prioritize wealth preservation rather than rapid returns.
Insider talked to family office insiders to learn how to find real deals amid the hype cycle.
America’s rich are eager to join the artificial intelligence gold rush. Billionaires like hedge fund titan Stanley Druckenmiller are buying up shares of chipmaker Nvidia. Google cofounder Eric Schmidt is an investor in Mistral AI, a French startup founded less than two months ago.
Family offices took an interest in AI before ChatGPT launched in November 2022 with 48% of these private firms already having invested in the sector per a spring 2022 survey. This recent fervor has renewed interest in the technology but also made these private investment firms cautious.
So many startups are claiming to use AI that family offices are wary of