Fortune US - August - September 2024

In this issue

Sequoia Is a VC Giant. Roelof Botha Needs to Keep It Growing
The low-key investor leads the famed venture capital firm that helped launch Google and Apple. But to maintain Sequoia’s winning streak, he’s uprooting old habits and planting new seeds.
BY MICHAL LEV-RAM

The Lilly-Palooza
The outsize success of its diabetes and obesity drug has sent pharma giant Eli Lilly on a wild ride—to a nearly $900 billion market cap.
BY ERIKA FRY

Inside Volkswagen’s EV Comeback
The world’s largest automaker was late to the EV revolution but is racing to catch up to the competition—fueled by its deep pockets and massive scale.
BY VIVIENNE WALT

The AI Hangover- For thirty-five years, Fortune has been tracking the world's largest companies in our Global 500 ranking.

For thirty-five years, Fortune has been tracking the world's largest companies in our Global 500 ranking. We recently sat down with the head of Sequoia Capital, Roelof Botha, at our Brainstorm Tech conference in Park City, Utah, and at greater length for this issue's cover story. As he told Fortune's Michal Lev-Ram: "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." To learn how he's guiding the firm to sort winners from losers amid the noise and hype, see page 60.

2 mins

GOVERNANCE WHAT AMERICAN POLITICS CAN LEARN ABOUT SUCCESSION PLANNING FROM AMERICAN CORPORATIONS

A POPULAR ADAGE about leaders says the most effective of them build self-sufficient organizations. If the conductor leaves, the orchestra plays on.

5 mins

A Return of the Entrepreneurial Spirit- As Japan finally emerges from a long period of slow growth, soy sauce producer Kikkoman continues its global advance.

In February 2024, the Nikkei Stock Average in Japan surpassed the record high that it set in 1990. To some, this peak signified that the country could finally put the "lost decades" of deflation and anemic growth behind. Yuzaburo Mogi, honorary CEO and chairman of the board of Kikkoman, is cautiously optimistic about this milestone. With a generational shift in motion, he sees Japan's leadership regaining some of its old dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit.

2 mins

Norway's Nicolai Tangen Runs the World's Biggest Sovereign Fund. Can He Leverage its Assets to Change Business for the Better? - Nicolai Tangen, the Norwegian founder of London hedge fund AKO Capital, was picked by Norway's central bank to be the next CEO of its gargantuan oil-and-gas-financed investment fund, whose value had soared above $1 trillion.

Oslo, with its neatly painted houses and serene waterfront, is not known for high drama. But in 2020, Norway’s capital erupted in controversy over one spectacularly wealthy investor, a splashy event in Philadelphia—and the biggest sovereign wealth fund on the planet.

7 mins

2024 Election Vanceonomics: What Trump's VP Pick Could Mean for Business - Vance has cultivated some of the wealthiest elites in tech and venture capital—including former Google chairman Eric Schmidt and the billionaire VC Peter Thiel—to help him win a U.S. Senate seat and, in July, the Republican nomination for vice president.

J.D. Vance first caught the public’s attention with his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, a populist howl about Appalachia that accuses elites of betraying the white working class. Since then, Vance has cultivated some of the wealthiest elites in tech and venture capital—including former Google chairman Eric Schmidt and the billionaire VC Peter Thiel—to help him win a U.S. Senate seat and, in July, the Republican nomination for vice president.

4 mins

Building a Culture on Feedback

IAT Insurance Group's commitment to its workforce makes the company a great place to work year after year.

1 min

Tech AI's Hidden Biases May Be Influencing What You Think. Here's What Should Be Done to Stop It - In less than two years, artificial intelligence has radically changed how many people write and find information.

In less than two years, artificial intelligence has radically changed how many people write and find information. While searching for details about Supreme Court precedent or polishing a college essay, millions seek help from AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Anthropic's Claude.In his newly published book, Mastering AI: A Survival Guide to Our Superpowered Future, Fortune AI editor Jeremy Kahn explores this new tech-infused reality and what should be done to avert the inevitable pitfalls. In the following excerpt, he focuses on the little-recognized problem of subtle bias in AI and the potentially profound influence it can have on what users believe.

3 mins

Nurturing Talent for a Better Future

The Surplus Line Association of California is proving that when it comes to workplace excellence, trust is the key.

2 mins

Well the Fortune 50 Best Places to Live Will Serve Families in the Years to Come - When 51-year-old Pazit Aviv walks her dog in her Silver Spring, Md., neighborhood, it takes an extra 30 minutes as she inevitably gets lost in an impromptu chat with a neighbor.

“What we’re seeing is a longing of older people to age in place, and younger people, like Gen Z, to have a sense of place that they consider home,” says Jon Jon Wesolowski, an urbanist and housing advocate who sees more people eager to change their house to suit them as they age rather than to move.In this year’s ranking, we analyzed over 2,000 cities and nearly 200 data categories, assessing livability, financial health, resources for aging adults, education, and wellness. The winners are communities that are sustainable for their youngest and oldest residents—including many fast-growing suburbs and edge cities that find creative ways to improve people’s well-being.

5 mins

INVEST AS AI GOBBLES ELECTRICITY, IS NOW THE TIME TO BUY UNLOVED UTILITY STOCKS? BY LEO SCHWARTZ

INVEST AS AI GOBBLES ELECTRICITY, IS NOW THE TIME TO BUY UNLOVED UTILITY STOCKS?

4 mins

LEADING JAPAN'S ECONOMIC SECURITY IMPERATIVE

As geopolitical tensions rise, consulting firm Kitamura Economic Security is helping businesses fortify their defenses and seize opportunities.

3 mins

CARS APOCALYPSE CHIC: TESLA'S CYBERTRUCK GIVES LUXURY A NEW SHAPE

FIVE YEARS AFTER Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled plans for his polarizing Cybertruck, I found myself standing in a downtown Los Angeles parking lot on an afternoon in July, surveying the automaker's surrealist take on the electric utility vehicle: a triangular behemoth, sharp-angled and brutalist.

3 mins

WHAT CAN BUSINESS EXPECT FROM THE NEXT PRESIDENT?

There's one thing Republicans and Democrats can agree on: higher tariffs on imports to America. Here are the challenges both parties' proposals will pose for corporate leaders.

8 mins

HOW BIG CAN ROBINHOOD ALLY GET?

CEO VLAD TENEV AND THE FINTECH UPSTART HAVE CHANGED THE WAY AMERICANS INVEST. BUT TO MAKE SERIOUS MONEY, THEY'LL HAVE TO ELEVATE THEIR GAME.

10+ mins

SEQUOIA IS A VC GIANT. CAN ROELOF BOTHA KEEP IT GROWING?

The low-key investor leads the famed venture capital firm that helped launch Apple, Google, and Nvidia. To keep Sequoia's 50-year winning streak alive in a changing industry, he's uprooting old habits and planting new seeds.

10+ mins

INSIDE VW'S EV COMEBACK

First Tesla outmaneuvered Volkswagen. Now Chinese EVs are challenging VW's dominance. The world's largest automaker was late to the EV revolution, but it's racing to catch up by reaching into its deep pockets and leveraging its massive scale.

9 mins

THE LILLY-PALOOZA

Not long ago, it looked like the best days of Eli Lilly were behind it. But tirzepatide, a drug for diabetes and obesity, has sent the 148-year-old pharma giant on a wild ride. It's now the ninth most valuable company in the world.

10+ mins

Golf Gets a Tech Upgrade

TGL, a new golf league, is partnering with the PGA TOUR to fuse advanced technology and live action.

3 mins

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Fortune US Magazine Description:

FORTUNE covers the entire field of business, including specific companies and business trends, tech innovation prominent business leaders, and new ideas shaping the global marketplace. FORTUNE is particularly well known for its exceptionally reliable annual rankings of companies. FORTUNE furthers understanding of the economy, provides implementable business strategy, and gives you the practical knowledge you need to maximize your own success.