Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated that in the era of artificial intelligence, companies will need to develop not only human capital but also ‘token capital’—AI systems that accumulate the knowledge and experience of the organization.
https://t.co/vLmiBKTtX3
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) June 14, 2026
In a programmatic article on the future of business, Nadella described the current phase of AI development as the largest transformation of the corporate environment since the advent of digital technologies. He believes that for the first time, companies have the opportunity to create a continuous learning cycle between humans and intelligent systems.
AI as Part of Companies’ Intellectual Capital
The Microsoft chief categorized organizational assets into two types. Human capital includes employee knowledge, professional connections, experience, and decision-making ability. Nadella defines token capital as company-owned AI systems that learn from internal data, processes, and accumulated expertise.
He believes the business challenge is not to find the most powerful model but to create an environment of continuous learning that preserves and scales corporate knowledge regardless of the AI solutions used.
‘Learning Cycle’ as a New Asset
Nadella argues that companies should transform work processes, accumulated experience, and professional decisions into agent-based AI systems capable of improving with each use.
He described such systems as a new form of intellectual property. Unlike traditional assets, they can continuously accumulate value through interaction between employees and artificial intelligence.
Microsoft Warns of AI Monopolization Risk
The Microsoft head also highlighted the danger of value concentration among a limited number of foundational model developers.
According to Nadella, the economy cannot sustainably develop if a few AI platforms benefit from the knowledge of entire industries. Instead, he advocates for a broad AI ecosystem where each company retains control over its own data, knowledge, and learning systems.
Nadella believes that the long-term success of businesses will be determined by their ability to simultaneously build human and token capital, turning employee expertise into scalable AI systems.
Earlier, TechCrunch concluded that a shift to token-based pricing could signal a reevaluation of prices and limits in the AI product market.
