by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman
October 17, 2025
The billionaire investor spoke on how he’s bridging community with the future of AI.
Robert F. Smith, the billionaire investor and philanthropist, believes in the future of Generative AI and wants to foster learning of the technology at HBCUs.
Smith, who founded Vista Equity Partners, emphasized his focus on artificial technology in a fireside chat with Harold L. Martin Sr., Ph.D., chancellor emeritus of North Carolina A&T University. In response to a question on how these technologies can yield systemic change while creating economic value, Smith explained how the implementation of generative AI has proven useful in companies under his portfolio.
“I have the good fortune that our organization is of the size that we are a top-five customer for Amazon, Microsoft, and Google,” Smith. “So I get unique sets of access to resources for my portfolio companies to enable them to be first in the industries that they’re in to have gen AI-enabled products in those markets. That’s critically important.”
Seeing how generative AI is transforming the business landscape, Smith noted his responsibility to the community, ensuring Black professionals are at the forefront of this change. The creation of hackathons resulted in HBCU students’ involvement and acclimation with this emerging tech.
He added, “That is what I call your responsibility to create the on-ramps on the platforms that you are have influence over.”
Smith then went on to explain how this success led to his implementation of AI-focused curricula at Morehouse and Spelman. His company, Stats Perform, launched these courses at all the men’s and women’s HBCUs within the Atlanta University Center. Last year, he wrote on LinkedIn about one of the initial courses, titled “AI in Basketball.”
The class not only dived into the intersections of AI and sports, but also provided unique career growth opportunities for AUC students.
Smith is already aware of the racial equity gaps present within the tech industry. However, he remains committed to using his platform to drive more opportunities toward Black scholars at these institutions. His work has sustained the importance of embracing this technology while building diverse pipelines that explore it across multiple industries.
Putting his money where his mouth is, Smith also launched an AI-learning platform, InternXL, which offers over 4,000 technical and certification courses for any student to access.
Robert Smith was honored at the 2025 XCEL Summit For Men for his commitment to excellence.
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