šŸ”ļø What to expect at Davos 2025

Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP (Getty Images)
Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP (Getty Images)

Welcome back to our annual Need to Know: Davos newsletter!

The global elite are dusting off their snow boots for the World Economic Forumā€™s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland (this Monday through Friday), where ā€œCollaboration for the Intelligent Ageā€ isnā€™t just a fancy theme ā€” itā€™s a loaded proposition for what might be one of the most consequential gatherings in years. This year, however, the Swiss mountains are competing with another summit altogether: Donald Trumpā€™s inauguration in Washington.

The elephant in the (virtual) room: Just days after his inauguration on Monday, Trump on Thursday will address Davos via a video link in what WEF President and CEO Borge Brende says will be a ā€œvery special moment.ā€ But the real story might be who wonā€™t be in Davos. Tech leaders including Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, and Dara Khosrowshahi are choosing the D.C. swamp over the Alps. Meanwhile, Wall Street remains committed to Davos, with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and other banking executives rumored to be sticking to their usual Swiss schedules.

While some tech leaders are heading to Washington, Davos isnā€™t exactly hurting for attendees. The Swiss gathering will host 60 heads of state and government, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Chinaā€™s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang. For the second year in a row, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will make a special address about the Russian invasion of his country.

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On the business side, more than 900 CEOs will be navigating the Congress Centreā€™s corridors, including what WEF said will include a notable contingent of unicorn founders and tech pioneers. Theyā€™ll be tackling an agenda heavy on ā€œfrontier technologiesā€ and quantum computing ā€” even if some of Silicon Valleyā€™s biggest names will be missing.

The Forum is also pushing its ā€œGlobal Collaboration Village,ā€ an extended reality platform that feels either perfectly timed for an era of virtual diplomacy or like a solution in search of a problem (weā€™ll be watching to see which).

Some of the topics that will take center stage:

ā€œAgentic AIā€ is having its moment: Forget last yearā€™s theoretical AI discussions. OpenAIā€™s Sam Altman says 2025 is when AI agents will actually join the workforce, and the company is launching its ā€œOperatorā€ product this month.

The talent crisis is getting real: Japan just hit a sobering milestone with 30% of its population now elderly. Several Davos sessions focus on ā€œtalent scarcityā€ and ā€œreinventing retirementā€ ā€” signals that demographic shifts are no longer a future problem. Could AI agents help? You better believe theyā€™ll be pitched.

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A $30 trillion reality check: Thatā€™s the investment needed to get ā€œhard-to-abateā€ sectors (think shipping, aviation, and steel) to net-zero emissions. These industries represent 40% of global emissions, and while everyone will talk about the opportunity, the funding gap remains stark. In this instance, the chance AI could be helpful actually has some decent evidence.

The big, perennial question: Can a gathering thatā€™s often criticized as an elite talking shop actually make progress on what WEFā€™s founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab calls a ā€œsocietal revolutionā€? With converging technologies ā€œreshaping the very fabric of our worldā€ (his words, not ours), this yearā€™s Alpine gathering might matter more than the skeptics think.

The full program can be found here, with many of the sessions being streamed live. Weā€™ll be watching closely and bringing you the most important developments. Stay tuned.

P.S. At least one person is trying to have it all: Argentinaā€™s President Javier Milei plans to attend both Trumpā€™s inauguration and Davos. Now thatā€™s what we call global collaboration.

ā€”Jackie Snow

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