Investing Data is Evolving: AI, The Degenerate Economy & More | Matt Ober | Social Leverage

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. Sign up for Matt’s newsletter The Rollup: https://www.mattober.co/ Follow Matt on X: https://x.com/obermattj Follow Max on X: https://x.com/maxwiethe Follow Other People’s Money on: Apple Podcast https://bit.ly/4e7QJ1M Spotify https://bit.ly/3Yhaazi YouTube https://bit.ly/3C63VXR X https://x.com/opmpod 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