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By Kirsten Green, Founder and Managing Partner

@kirstenagreen

The AI arms race is in full swing. This week’s news — DeepSeek and its downstream implications — is just the latest flashpoint in an escalating battle that’s unleashing chaos in the LLM space. The hysteria is as much about who will win the race as it is about the overarching fear that there could be a real margin squeeze on model pricing and performance, which so far, has been the primary money-maker in AI. It’s too early to tell where this goes next, but these are signals that the models can become commoditized, quickly leading to a race to the bottom.

In our view, the real opportunity is unfolding elsewhere. We are focused on builders at the consumer application layer. We think the inevitable accessibility of cutting-edge AI will shrink the gap between competitors on pure technology. What will set companies apart isn’t just speed or scale — it’s the foresight into human adaption, elegance in delivery, and deeply personalized utility for everyday people using AI to solve their everyday problems.

This is where the advantage shifts. The future belongs to those who can translate AI’s raw power into products that feel effortless, indispensable, and uniquely tailored to the individual. This is the stuff that Silicon Valley has relied on for decades for massive opportunity and financial gain: relevant, well-executed products that wield a new technology to cater to users and evolve with them, ultimately offering compounding advantages that are hard to replicate.

What gets us really excited about this stage is AI’s unique potential to fuel a new level of personal agency and self-optimization for consumers — across health, finances, personal safety, and careers. Our new framework, Proactive Measures, outlines this opportunity. Consumers are increasingly stepping into the role of “CEO of their own life” — and they are seeking solutions that don’t just provide information and options, but equip them with tailored, actionable strategies for life’s more critical dimensions.
This shift is creating massive opportunities in proactive health management, career empowerment, financial autonomy, and personal resilience. The next wave of AI-powered applications will be anticipatory, deeply personal, and built for long-term engagement.

Reach out if you are building here! investments@forerunnerventures.com.

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What We’re Talking About This Week:

  1. The Americans pledging to buy less—or even nothing: WSJ covers the “no buy 2025” trend that is gaining traction on social media. Last year, 20% of Americans participated, according to Chime, and Google searches for “no buy challenge” are up 40% YOY, while searches for “no spend challenge” have hit a peak. “When inflation was at an all-time high, cost-of-living was at an all-time high, I’ve never seen so many people telling me to buy things on the internet. Those two things together have exhausted people.”

  2. Working Americans turn to food banks as the Fed inflation battle drags on. The rise of food insecurity isn’t due to unemployment, but rather the persistent cost-of-living crunch faced by low-income and middle-class workers. Prices for groceries have soared nearly 28% over the past five years (that’s about how much food costs increased in the 15 years preceding the pandemic), yet wages haven’t grown enough to make up the difference. One food bank in Washington distributed 64 million meals last year, 5 million more than the previous year, and reported a significant uptick in food insecurity among households earning $100,000–$150,000 annually.

  3. More Americans take on a second job or side hustle. They come at a cost. By late 2024, 5.3% of U.S. workers held more than one job, the highest level since 2019. (This number might even be underestimated since self-employed people with more than one gig weren’t counted.) Multiple-job holders say they regularly sacrifice sleep, their mental health, and time with family for the opportunity for extra income. Economists note that while multiple jobs can reflect a healthy labor market, they also highlight the challenges of stagnant wages and rising costs, particularly for women and minorities, who are more likely to hold multiple jobs.

  4. Life Actually, a No Bullshit Study is the latest Gen Z research released by Day One agency and USC Center for Public Relations. From their survey of 1,022 18- to 25-year-olds, they discovered that most young people fell into three categories. Neo Traditionalists (29%) value homeownership, long-term relationships, full-time employment, and making money over following a passion. Fluid Pragmatists (33%), who are realists preferring a higher income over work-life balance, are open to renting forever, and prioritize mental health over physical health. The biggest group, Internet Age Explorers (38%), favor remote work and work-life balance, want to explore the world, yet are less likely to vote. The report points to the fact that Gen Z does not possess a single point of view and brands would be wise to reflect that instead of jumping on every generational cliche. “The brand communities that actually work are rooted in a true need among younger consumers—a tangible benefit (community, exploration, stability) and not a buzzword. The product is useful and so is the content.”

  5. College isn’t dead to Gen Z yet. Enrollment just hit a post-pandemic high. Previous numbers showed a sharp decline in freshmen enrollment, but that turned out to be a methodological error that the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center has now addressed. Turns out, in Fall 2024, total postsecondary enrollment increased 4.5%, to about 19 million students, undergraduate enrollment neared 16 million, and graduate enrollment grew to about 3 million. Freshmen enrollment rose by 5.5%, with community colleges seeing the most growth. Public and private four-year institutions both showed enrollment growth, surpassing pre-pandemic numbers. “At a time when many Americans are questioning the worth of college, this data comes as a welcome surprise.”

  6. Meet the Gen Zers who launched their side hustles before even starting high school—now they’re making a fortune as their own bosses. According to LinkedIn, the second-fastest growing job title for Gen Z grads is Founder. Nearly two-thirds of people aged 18-35 have either started or plan to start a side gig, with almost half saying they want to be their own boss. “Gen Z is seeing people talk about burnout, and they’re thinking, ‘If that’s what’s coming, I would rather design a career that actually serves me, versus working myself into the ground for somebody else’s benefit.’” While many Gen Zers aspire to be entrepreneurs, only a small fraction are doing it full-time, with many balancing side hustles with traditional jobs, allowing them to build skills while still getting a 401(k) and health insurance.

  7. The scientific fight over whether aging is a disease: WSJ looks at how a group of scientists, doctors, and entrepreneurs are advocating to classify aging as a disease, arguing that doing so could help speed up drug approvals for treatments targeting aging, rather than just age-related diseases, which could save millions on chronic disease spending in later life. Opponents to the idea say calling aging a disease could lead to ageism in healthcare, with doctors dismissing treatable conditions as simply “old age” as well as open the door to exploitation by the anti-aging industry, “capitalizing on quick fixes to ‘cure’ aging.”

  8. The less people know about AI, the more they like it, says new research covered in WIRED. This “lower literacy-higher receptivity” link suggests that those who don’t understand the technical aspects of AI see it as “magical and awe-inspiring,” making them more open to using it. On the other hand, people with more knowledge of how the technology works tend to be less receptive because they are aware of AI’s reliance on algorithms and data. This lower literacy-higher receptivity link is most apparent in areas where AI performs tasks with human-like qualities, such as creating art or counseling. In contrast, when AI is used for analytical tasks, those with higher AI literacy are more receptive, valuing its efficiency. “By understanding how perceptions of ‘magicalness’ shape people’s openness to AI, we can help develop and deploy new AI-based products and services that take the way people view AI into account, and help them understand the benefits and risks of AI.”

  9. Net worth of millennials has quadrupled: Why some call it ‘phantom wealth.” CNCB looks at how millennials’ collective net worth has surged from $3.94 trillion to $15.95 trillion in five years, driven largely by a 44% jump in home prices. Despite this, many still feel financially insecure because gains in the value of a home or a retirement plan are illiquid and don’t contribute to their daily cash flow. Many millennials are considered “HENRYs” (High Earners, Not Rich Yet), since they have strong incomes but ongoing financial strain from larger mortgages, student loan debt, and rising living costs.

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