Venture capitalist and Netscape founder Marc Andreessen continues to remain optimistic about technological advancements like the Internet of things (IoT), the growth of software and hardware firms and the Bitcoin, TechCrunch reported. Andreessen expressed his views when he sat down with Palantir Co-Founder Joe Lonsdale and Goldman Sachs COO Gary Cohn at the Goldman Sachs conference held in San Francisco to discuss tech, a favorite topic among investors.
Andreessen said tech is now getting back on its feet from the financial crash in 2008. He said, "Tech is recovering from the depression. The ratio of public tech PEs [price-to-equity ratios] versus public industrial PEs, tech is undervalued. Relatively, tech PE ratios are really low. I know a tech company with a PE of six. We're so far away from bubble territory that it's unfair to compare this to the late 90s."
Andreessen said the strides taken in the mobile and chip-making technology was an indication that tech is not merely overhyped and that it can still look forward to decades of growth. He added that technologies that have the power to change the world typically go into a more mature deployment phase after the initial hype and frenzy, a view that echoed the research done by economist Carlota Perez, the report said.
He also had high hopes about the potential of the Internet of Things to change how people lived, surmising the possibilities that could happen if every child or dog were chipped. He also continued to remain bullish on the digital currency known as the Bitcoin.
Andreessen said, "I would not encourage your grandmother to put her life savings in it. [But] every single smart computer science person I've had look into it has reached the same conclusion - it's a fundamental breakthrough in technology." He added that corrupt governments and fragile central banking systems would serve as the true test of the digital currency, the report said.
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