Bill Ford on CNBC: Investing Through AI and Global Uncertainty

At General Atlantic’s Investor Summit in New York City, Chairman and CEO Bill Ford sat down with CNBC’s Leslie Picker for an exclusive conversation to share how the firm is leading through a period defined by rapid technological change and heightened global complexity.  

His message was direct: in a more uncertain environment, investors can drive long-term outperformance by investing behind secular growth across AI, global markets, and evolving capital structures, while using diversification to manage risk. 

Ford described AI as one of the most significant technological shifts in modern history, comparable to the railroads, electricity, the personal computer, and the internet. He sees it as the major source of capital allocation for investors over the next decade, with the opportunity spanning the full stack from software to data centers, digital infrastructure, and energy transition. Data center capex alone is projected to reach $5.2 trillion by 2030.¹ On global markets, Ford made the case for diversification as an essential risk management tool. With more than half of General Atlantic’s investments outside the U.S., the firm is well-positioned to capture growth in markets that continue to outpace the developed world, particularly India, Latin America, and China. On capital markets, Ford was measured but optimistic. While recent geopolitical events have introduced a near-term interruption to IPO activity, he views this as a window of disruption, not a structural reversal, and emphasized that what’s needed is not a full recovery, just stability. 

As markets evolve, Ford believes the advantage will accrue to platforms with global reach, thematic clarity, and the ability to execute at scale – and that General Atlantic is built to do exactly that, providing investors with access to AI, infrastructure, and high-growth markets at a pivotal moment for capital deployment. 

¹McKinsey & Company, “The cost of compute: A $7 trillion race to scale data centers,” April 28, 2025.

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