meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
a16z Podcast

RIP to RPA: How AI Makes Operations Work

a16z Podcast

a16z

Science, Innovation, Business, Entrepreneurship, Culture, Disruption, Software Eating The World, Technology

4.41.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 January 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Intelligent automation is transforming industries by tackling messy, unstructured workflows that traditional Robotic Process Automation (RPA) couldn’t handle. In this episode, a16z partner Kimberly Tan discusses the shift from rigid RPA systems to AI-powered agents and why this evolution unlocks massive opportunities in legacy markets. Drawing on her article "RIP to RPA: The Rise of Intelligent Automation," Kimberly shares real-world examples of companies revolutionizing referral management, and highlights how startups can build impactful solutions in this space.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

People use the term AI and they're like, oh, everything's going to change something.

0:04.0

But like, what does that mean?

0:05.0

Nobody wants to do data entry.

0:07.0

Nobody wants to sit in the back and read 100 faxes and try to input that into a system.

0:13.0

This is one of the most exciting times to actually be going after some of these legacy markets.

0:18.0

There's just so much untapped opportunity that technology just wasn't able to penetrate before.

0:22.6

Then now with intelligent AI agents, with voice agents, etc., you can now tackle.

0:27.6

The internet has given us so much, whether it's instant access to the world's information,

0:33.6

platforms for new art and expression, nearly every feature film or song in your pocket,

0:39.3

or the ability to work from just about anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection.

0:43.3

The list, of course, goes on, but there are still some promises that haven't quite hit their mark yet.

0:50.3

One example, robotic process automation, otherwise known as RPA, has been a buzzword for years,

0:58.0

a buzzword that promised a revolution in automating repetitive tasks. Companies like UiPath

1:04.1

founded in 2005 even promised to enable the quote, fully automated enterprise. And while RPA did start strong,

1:12.8

its limitations became evident due to its rigid systems,

1:16.1

sometimes even hard coding specific processes

1:18.3

down to the button click,

1:19.8

meeting with the unpredictability of most workflows.

1:23.4

Of course, UiPath with a market cap of $7 billion

1:27.1

as of this recording and the RPA industry

1:29.6

at large are no failure, but they are poised for a facelift.

1:34.1

Enter Intelligent Automation, a new paradigm powered by AI that can handle messy, unstructured

...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -68 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from a16z, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of a16z and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.