Antonio Gracias calls for “proentropic” startups built to thrive in chaos

A new term is emerging in conversations around the artificial intelligence era, at least according to Antonio Gracias, founder of Valour Equity Partners.

Speaking at this year’s Upfront Summit in Los Angeles, Gracias introduced the concept he calls “proentropic” — a way of describing startups that are built not just to survive but to thrive amid chaos and disruption. These disruptions, he noted, range from climate instability and geopolitical shifts to rapid technological change.

The idea draws from physics, where entropy refers to the level of disorder or uncertainty within a system. According to the second law of thermodynamics, disorder naturally increases over time. It cannot be reversed — a principle that Gracias believes mirrors real-world conditions, where systems tend to move toward greater unpredictability.

Gracias acknowledged that the concept may not be immediately intuitive. He said he began developing the idea around 2013, when he anticipated that forces such as deglobalization combined with accelerating technological change would fundamentally reshape global power structures.

He added that the world has been trending toward greater instability since at least the end of the 20th century, driven by population growth and evolving technologies.

“We are looking at businesses that are really good at predicting that future state and figuring out where to go,” he said, pointing to SpaceX — one of Valour’s portfolio companies — as an example.

According to Gracias, companies like SpaceX are not simply operating within markets that currently appear viable. Instead, they incorporate a probabilistic mindset into their strategies and organisational culture — an approach that assumes conditions can shift at any moment.

This perspective, he explained, allows companies to anticipate and even benefit from edge-case scenarios, rather than being disrupted by them.

During the discussion, Gracias also emphasised the importance of conviction in investment strategy, especially in light of broader economic and geopolitical conditions. He suggested that building meaningful and impactful companies in the current environment requires a strong sense of purpose and resilience.

“We’re going into a period now in the economy where if you really want to build a better world, you’re going to have to have moral courage,” he said.

He also touched on the convergence of climate, energy, and hardware innovation, using Tesla as an example. According to Gracias, it is possible to create powerful solutions without relying heavily on massive computing resources, provided there is effective integration between software and hardware systems.

Looking ahead, Gracias addressed concerns about the potential negative impact of artificial intelligence. While many narratives focus on risks such as job displacement and social unrest, he expressed a more optimistic outlook.

“The prevailing narrative is that artificial intelligence is going to be terrible — job losses, social unrest,” he said. “And I think this is not true. I’m going to work really hard in the next five to 10 years to make it not true.”

He believes the current moment presents unprecedented opportunities. As low-code and no-code tools continue to improve, more individuals will be able to launch companies, potentially unlocking new levels of productivity and innovation.

“Who knows what they will build,” he said.

Ultimately, Gracias suggested that society's direction will depend on collective choices, concluding that the future could evolve into either a utopian or a dystopian outcome depending on how these technologies are developed and applied.