Vanessa Larco, a partner at Premise and former partner at NEA, has made significant predictions about the future of consumer artificial intelligence (AI). Larco discussed her ideas further on TechCrunch’s flagship podcast Equity. In her view, 2026 is going to be a breakout year for consumer AI. She stressed this technology will revolutionize how consumers engage with digital spaces. It will usher in an era of AI-enabled “concierge-type” services.
Here’s a brief outline of Larco’s experience, where she explained her long history and successes in investing in consumer and prosumer markets over the decades. She highlighted a transformational shift in how consumers are behaving. She’s convinced that AI is going to radically change what people do online. Larco is convinced that AI will reshape the way we do everything. As a consequence, we’ll more and more venture beyond the screens we’ve come to know. At the same time, she strongly cautions against underestimating what voice interfaces can do. Her positive experience with Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses furthered this conviction.
Larco imparted some great wisdom during the podcast. The conversation centered around the increasing consumer demand for AI technologies. Bellan, a former TechCrunch reporter, covered business, policy, and emerging technology related to artificial intelligence. He then posited the question to Larco as to what corners of consumer AI are still protected from giant tech’s sway, such as OpenAI. We explored the untapped potential of the consumer AI market. This interview opened up fascinating themes of development and invention.
Throughout the episodes, Larco honed in on major trends that could help spark this movement. She contended that the deeper AI gets into our everyday lives, consumers will expect interactions to be as easy as possible. They’ll want technology that’s more intuitive and less reliant on visual displays. This perspective aligns with ongoing discussions in the tech community about the future of user experience in an increasingly AI-driven world.
