While Nvidia is thriving, this CEO hails an anti-AI bet - and is winning

By Jules Rimmer

TKO Holdings wants to sell real-life experiences expensively, not the virtual for free.

One of TKO' Holdings's flagship holdings is World Wrestling Entertainment.

Nvidia results show the AI trade is alive and well. One chief executive is betting against AI, and thriving as well.

In an interview with the Invest Like the Best podcast, TKO Holdings CEO Ari Emanuel spoke of an "anti-AI bet."

The fundamental thrust behind the expansion of sports entertainment enterprise TKO is his conviction that in an AI-driven world where the marginal cost of content creation is getting close to zero, consumers will be prepared to pay a premium for a real-life experience.

Looking at the share price performance of TKO (TKO) versus the Magnificent Seven MAGS so far in 2025, it appears the market agrees with him. It's risen by a third, comfortably outpacing the 18% return delivered by megacap tech stocks.

TKO Holdings was formed in 2023 by a merger that brought together brands like UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), and the sports marketing business IMG. The stock has a market capitalization of $36 billion and revenue forecasts for full year 2025 are about $4.7 billion, according to FactSet.

Emanuel has some forthright opinions about where the value from sports and entertainment will accrue in this new era. He is scathing about AI content: "AI is the greatest average ever" and because of AI's capabilities to produce and reproduce endless content very cheaply, the walls around creating that content will come down. He is adamant that "brands are going to be really important" as will the use of intellectual property.

"I don't know how to write an algorithm for AI. I don't know how to build the data center. I'm not in the chip business. I just know how to create really great live events, monetize them, have a great user experience," he says.

Rather than churning out content, TKO's ambition is to create "a great user experience" and he cites the example of Tiger Woods when he first began playing golf, and people clapped when he won. As technology moved on, people started producing their phones and filming when he won because people want to record the live experience.

There's a clear differentiation here between how tech companies seek to exploit AI, by creating the repeatable cheaply, and TKO Holdings trying to market the one-off for a hefty price tag.

-Jules Rimmer

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11-20-25 0540ET