Robert F. Smith is positioning his portfolio for success in generative AI and wants to do the same for HBCU students. Per IBM, generative AI takes a user prompt and creates original text, images, audio, or software code.
In a fireside chat with Harold L. Martin Sr., Ph.D. — chancellor emeritus of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University — Smith, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, discussed the impact of generative AI on the tech industry and his work with the technology.
Smith said he has already been able to position his portfolio companies as frontrunners within their sectors through the use of gen AI.
“I have the good fortune that our organization is of the size that we are top-five customer for Amazon, Microsoft, and Google,” Smith said during the conversation.
“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,” he continued.
Educating HBCU Students On Generative AI
He is also focusing his energy on ensuring that students from HBCUs won’t be left out of generative AI innovations. Through his company, Stats Perform, he launched gen AI-focused curricula at Morehouse College and Spelman College. This initiative is timely, as AI is projected to disproportionately impact Black workers. According to a McKinsey & Company study, an estimated 132,000 jobs currently held by Black workers may be lost due to automation by 2030.
Smith hopes that the Morehouse and Spelman curricula will help mediate the technology’s impact on the racial wealth gap, he noted in a LinkedIn post. While speaking at the 2025 ForbesBLK Summit, Smith discussed the curricula at the HBCUs.
“You have to understand and embrace this technology. And it’s up to people who have unique skills, capabilities. And I hope more of our community who has that actually comes and delivers platforms and opportunity,” Smith explained.
InternXL
Under Smith’s leadership, he established the AI-driven learning platform, InternXL. The platform offers technical and certification courses, enrichment resources, and career readiness training, free of cost, according to its website. Students can access more than 4,000 courses on a range of topics.
The platform is an initiative of the Fund II Foundation, where Smith serves as founding director and president.
“You can actually learn and build your skill set to become more effective at understanding how this technology is going to change your life,” Smith said during the 2025 ForbesBLK Summit.
“You can start to get some experiences, be a more effective entrepreneur,” he continued.
