In this episode of Other People’s Money, Matt Ober, General Partner at Social Leverage, discusses how the data economy is evolving for providers, vendors, and investors. He explains how AI is reshaping data business models, highlights emerging data sources in what he calls the “degenerate economy,” and argues that many alternative data sets once considered sources of alpha are rapidly becoming commoditized beta.

Matt also shares how Social Leverage uses data to make seed stage venture investments, how its approach differs from that of mega VC firms, and where the firm is currently focused. He reflects on his career path from quantitative hedge funds to venture capital and how the expanding role of data shaped his trajectory in the investment business.

Before joining Social Leverage, Matt was Chief Data Scientist at Third Point, where he built the firm’s data analytics and technology platform supporting investments across equities, structured credit, venture capital, and cryptocurrency. Earlier, he was Head of Data Strategy at WorldQuant and a founding member of WorldQuant Ventures, focused on private investments in fintech, data, and technology.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

01:21 The Business of Data

03:28 Data Pricing and AI Impact

04:36 Challenges for Data Companies

07:31 Emerging Data Sets and Buyers

14:25 Social Leverage's Investment Strategy

17:07 Venture Capital Market Dynamics

21:22 Fund of Funds and Network Value

22:40 Insights on Software and AI

25:54 Beehive vs. Substack

29:46 Hedge Fund Journey and Data Evolution

31:41 The Data-Driven Investment Strategy

32:05 Scaling Up: From Millions to Billions

32:24 Global Data Acquisition

32:49 Building a Data-Driven Ecosystem

33:06 Transition to Third Point

33:43 Integrating Data with Investment Processes

34:34 Challenges and Politics in Hedge Funds

35:49 Evaluating Data Sets and Their Impact

37:43 The Evolution of Data in Investment

38:49 The Role of Data in Hedge Fund Success

43:10 From Hedge Funds to Venture Capital

52:08 The Future of Wealth Management

55:00 The Rise of Prediction Markets

59:35 Conclusion and Final Thoughts