The Price of People
Mat Sherman@mat
+7.3%
since Oct 1
The idea
As AI pushes the cost of answers toward zero, I think verified access to actual people becomes the scarce, valuable thing, and the platforms gating that access can charge more for it. This basket owns the toll collectors on both sides of the human graph, professional and personal, from social and dating networks to recruiting and expert access, while skipping platforms that just sell work product AI can replace. It stays concentrated in higher-beta names for a repricing I expect to play out over the next year or two, with 10% in cash to add if prices dip.
What it owns
- Meeting people romantically or socially is a core human need that platforms can charge for, especially as free information becomes abundant elsewhere. · Meta PlatformsIt owns the largest map of personal connections across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and collects fees when people use those apps to find and reach each other rather than just consume content., Match GroupIt operates Tinder and Hinge, the main paid gates for meeting new people, where the product is access to a person rather than information., RedditIt charges for access to real humans answering questions, which becomes scarcer and more valuable as AI-generated content fills other platforms., GrindrIt charges higher per-user fees than most dating platforms, demonstrating that access to specific people commands a real price., SnapIt owns the social graph of the youngest cohort, the map of real personal connections before they appear elsewhere, and converts that graph into revenue., BumbleIt offers a cheaper entry point into dating platforms that charge for access to people, positioned to benefit most if the repricing of personal connection accelerates.48%
- These companies own verified maps of who works where and sell access to reach specific professionals. · MicrosoftLinkedIn is the paid front door to the professional graph, where recruiter seats and messaging are sold as access to real people, not as information., ZoomInfo TechnologiesIt sells verified contact information for specific professionals, creating value as free information sources become cheaper and less reliable.19%
- Matching real people to real jobs becomes more valuable as AI floods the market with free-generated resumes and postings, making verified matches the scarce asset. · Korn FerryIt sells introductions to executives who cannot be reached through other means, a pure human-access broker where the product is the relationship itself., ZipRecruiterIt charges employers to reach real candidates, and that matching service becomes more valuable when generic resumes and job posts are free to generate.13%
- Platforms that connect users with credentialed humans, from doctors to tradespeople, charge for access to people AI can inform but not replace. · Teladoc HealthIt provides access to licensed doctors whose credentials and legal authority cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence, positioning the credentialed human as the differentiator., AngiIt gates access to plumbers and electricians whose work AI cannot do, connecting homeowners and pros in exchange for a fee.10%
- Cash10%