Satya Nadella urges firms to build token and human capital for AI

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said companies must develop both "token capital" – their own proprietary AI models and systems – and "human capital," the knowledge, judgment and relationships of their employees. He argued that human capital does not lose value as token capital grows, noting that “without human direction, you have compute running in circles.”

Nadella emphasized the need for a learning loop that integrates AI with human expertise, urging firms to create a frontier ecosystem rather than merely chase the latest foundation model. The approach, described by analysts as “Harness Theory,” treats the AI model as a commodity and the surrounding processes, feedback and institutional memory as the enduring competitive advantage.