The air crackled with anticipation at CES 2026, not just from the whirring of robots and the glow of holographic displays, but from a more profound shift underway. Forget lifelong careers built on static skillsets. The message resonating from the conference halls, and amplified by industry titans, was clear: the relentless march of artificial intelligence demands constant adaptation.

The stark reality of this new era was laid bare during a live recording of the All-In podcast, featuring Bob Sternfels, Global Managing Partner of McKinsey Company, and Hemant Taneja, CEO of General Catalyst. In a conversation led by Jason Calacanis, the two executives painted a picture of a world where the traditional model of "learn once, work forever" is rapidly becoming obsolete.

Taneja emphasized the unprecedented speed at which AI companies are scaling. He contrasted the 12 years it took Stripe to reach a $100 billion valuation with Anthropic, a General Catalyst portfolio company, which skyrocketed from a $60 billion valuation last year to a valuation in the hundreds of billions this year. This rapid ascent, fueled by groundbreaking AI models and applications, signals a fundamental change in the business landscape. Taneja boldly predicted that we are on the cusp of seeing a new wave of trillion-dollar companies emerge, naming Anthropic and OpenAI as prime contenders.

Calacanis probed the driving forces behind this explosive growth. Sternfels pointed out that while many companies are experimenting with AI products, widespread adoption, particularly among non-tech enterprises, remains hesitant. This hesitation stems from a complex mix of factors, including concerns about implementation costs, data security, and the need for significant workforce retraining. The question that Sternfels posed, and one that hangs heavy over the industry, is how to bridge the gap between AI's potential and its practical application across diverse sectors.