Shu Nyatta — Founder and Managing Partner of Bicycle Capital and longtime board member of Endeavor — argues that the real breakthrough in AI won’t come from new models but from established companies that learn to fix the “messy middle”: cleaning data, connecting systems, and deploying AI at scale. In this conversation, he explains why large, distribution-rich, founder-led businesses are best positioned to capture AI’s next wave of value, and how his investment thesis is reshaping growth markets from Latin America to Europe.
AI’s Value Won’t Come From New Models — But From Old Companies That Can Move Fast
According to Nyatta, the real frontier is not model-building. It’s making AI useful. And the companies best positioned to capture this value share two traits:
They have massive distribution — already reaching millions of customers.
They are founder-led or family-run — capable of fast, top-down decision-making.
“These businesses,” Nyatta explains, “can apply AI immediately to sales, customer retention, operations, and productivity. That’s where the value is — not in chasing the next model.”
In his view, AI is becoming like electricity: a near-free resource that can power transformation for anyone who knows how to plug it in. The question is no longer whether AI exists — it’s whether a company can actually integrate it into the machine.
The ‘Messy Middle’: Where AI Breaks Down
To apply AI, companies must navigate a complex layer of infrastructure, data cleaning, governance, security, and system integration — the messy middle. It’s the part of the stack no one wants to talk about, but where everything succeeds or fails.
Nyatta describes this layer as “the plumbing of AI” — unsexy but essential.
“The companies that win in AI will be the ones that solve the messy middle.
They’re the ones connecting systems, cleaning data, and making AI deployable.”
It’s also where Bicycle Capital focuses its investments: the companies doing the dirty but critical work to make AI actually usable inside traditional businesses.
Why Large Distribution Matters
Nyatta makes a powerful point: If you have massive distribution, AI becomes a multiplier.
For example:
A bank with thousands of sales agents can boost conversion with AI-driven workflows.
A retailer with hundreds of branches can transform customer engagement overnight.
A telecom operator can adopt AI to improve support and reduce churn at scale.
When existing companies apply AI well, they grow faster, improve profit margins, and increase their valuation multiples — without reinventing themselves or disrupting their core business.
“This isn’t about replacing your company with a startup,” he says.
“It’s about making the business you already have 10x better.”
The Opportunity for Europe and LATAM
One of Nyatta’s strongest messages is directed at Europe:
Latin America is a massive opportunity — but Europe is absent.
Where European companies once sold software, medical equipment, and industry solutions to LATAM, today the U.S. provides the software and China provides the hardware. Europe, he argues, risks losing both influence and market share unless it re-engages.
At the same time, Nyatta highlights the cultural and structural similarities between Europe’s family-owned enterprises and Latin America’s founder-led giants.
Both are ideal candidates for fast AI adoption — if they choose to act.
A Global Perspective in the Age of AI
Ultimately, Nyatta sees the future of AI as deeply global.
Innovation is no longer confined to Silicon Valley or China.
With the right tools and capital, high-impact companies are emerging from:
Brazil
Argentina
Turkey
Poland
North Africa
He calls this the “elsewhere economy” — the overlooked markets where AI can create extraordinary outcomes.
“The time to be optimistic,” he says, “is now. Founders can build anything from anywhere.”
