By Rolando Grandi, Theme Fund Manager, LFDE

Innovation has fascinated me since I was a child and has shaped my view of the world. It was therefore only natural for me to focus as a manager on funds that invest in innovation, artificial intelligence (AI), space, and probably other topics in the future. Today, my team and I invest in the major global financial markets from Paris.

This international dimension reflects my view that innovation knows no borders. I travel to visionary entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, for example, where everything revolves around the future, disruption, and opportunities. There, I get to know companies from sectors as diverse as satellites, space travel, 3D printing, data analysis, healthcare, semiconductors, and electric cars.

Rolando Grandi, LFDE (Image: LFDE)

I attended the French high school in La Paz, the highest capital city in the world. I then studied in Lyon, France, which explains my second passion - good food and drink. From there I moved to Paris.

I visit my native Bolivia as often as I can. Incidentally, during a trip to the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt desert in the world, while looking at the stars and the Milky Way, I had the desire to set up a fund focussing on the space sector. This is what LFDE has done with Echiquier Space.

A Land of Contrasts

(Image: Diego Aguilar, Unsplash)

Bolivia is a marvelous and challenging country of contrasts, with mystical places such as Santa Cruz, Sucre, the Altiplano or insider tips such as Potosí, one of the highest cities in the world, which was once the site of one of the world's largest silver mines.

Bolivia is not just home to llamas and quinoa. The country has one of the largest lithium deposits in the world – estimated at over 20 million tonnes – and other mineral resources such as copper and tin.

Innovation, AI, and Space

Innovation is driving change in the global economy. The boom in generative AI in 2023 following the publication of ChatGPT was a sign of a paradigm shift: it was the year zero of this revolutionary technology, which we believe will bring a wave of growth to the global economy. AI is now seen as a new indicator of competitiveness.

The leading providers of these intelligent systems are already recording around 50 percent higher growth than their competitors. Echiquier Artificial Intelligence, the French pioneer in this investment theme, provides investors with exposure to innovation across all sectors.

(Image: Ozzy Photos, Pexels)

AI benefits all sectors of the economy. In the healthcare sector, for example, the prospects are improving, particularly thanks to the accelerated development of new therapies or the analysis of the human genome. This sector generates large amounts of data, the processing of which is supported by AI. The global market leader in data-based healthcare, the EPFL start-up Sophia Genetics, is benefiting greatly from this.

Satellite Observation of Lake Titicaca

As another field of innovation, space opens up a multitude of opportunities. Echiquier Space invests in companies that contribute to the democratization of access to space and takes positions in the entire value chain of the space ecosystem, which is in the midst of a transformation. The market, currently estimated at $400 billion, could reach $2.7 trillion by 2045.

The immense potential of space data is a valuable tool for earth and climate observation. One example of this is the satellite observation of Lake Titicaca in the Andes. I am convinced that we will be able to overcome numerous challenges on Earth in the future with the help of space research and AI.