Recently, tech company CEOs are no longer just integrating AI technology into their businesses. Instead, they have started using AI avatars to replace themselves during earnings calls.
In Klarna's recently concluded earnings presentation, the company's CEO and co-founder, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, made an appearance through his AI avatar in an 83-second promotional video. The AI version of him introduced the company's performance for the first quarter of 2025. At the beginning of the video, the AI avatar humorously stated, "It's me—or more precisely, my AI avatar."
Klarna has always been proactive in adopting AI, as Siemiatkowski mentioned in a recent interview with CNBC that some layoffs were directly related to the company's AI investments. This is not the first time the company has used an AI version of Siemiatkowski to share earnings information.
In addition, Zoom's CEO, Eric Yuan, also used his own AI avatar to deliver the report during the company's earnings call for the first quarter of 2026. In the video, he said, "Today, I am using our custom virtual avatar, powered by AI, to share part of my report." In the upper right corner of the video, there is a message indicating that the video was created using Zoom’s AI assistant.
Although Yuan appeared in person during the live Q&A session at the meeting, he highly praised the performance of the AI avatar, saying, "I really like this AI-generated virtual avatar." He added during the first question, "I think we will continue to use this technology. I can tell you that I enjoyed this experience." This CEO has long hoped that "digital twins" could attend meetings on behalf of users.
These innovations not only demonstrate the tech industry's enthusiasm for AI but may also change the way companies manage and communicate in the future. As AI technology continues to develop, more companies may adopt this innovative communication method.
Key points:
🌟 Both Klarna and Zoom's CEOs used AI avatars instead of themselves in earnings calls, showcasing a new application of AI in corporate communication.
🤖 Klarna's CEO mentioned that AI investments led to layoffs, highlighting the importance of AI in company operations.
📈 Zoom's CEO highly praised the performance of the AI avatar and expressed hope for its use in more occasions in the future.