Executive Summary
Enterprise America is burning $490 billion annually on AI tools that don't work. Russ Fradin, who built the measurement infrastructure that unlocked digital advertising's trillion-dollar boom, reveals the uncomfortable truth: 70% of enterprise AI projects fail because companies have no system to measure what actually works. This isn't a technology problem—it's a measurement problem. The same playbook that built ComScore into a billion-dollar empire during the Web 1.0 transition now determines which AI companies survive the coming shakeout. Fradin's new company Larridin discovered that 85% of enterprises believe they have just 18 months to become AI leaders or fall behind, yet 80% find more AI tools being used by employees than they even know about. The parallel to 1990s ad tech is striking: companies poured money into banner ads with no clue if they worked until measurement infrastructure proved ROI. Today's $700 billion AI spend faces the same measurement vacuum, creating a massive opportunity for companies that can prove AI actually drives productivity. Unlike the consumer AI hype cycle, enterprise buyers demand proof—and they're willing to pay premium prices for it. This creates a winner-take-all dynamic favoring companies with the data infrastructure to measure AI effectiveness at scale, particularly those positioned as the measurement layer rather than just another AI tool.
Key Insights
what Russ Fradin said“The technology is unbelievable. And my core thesis, when I was thinking about starting Larridin, after having been first guy at the first online ed network and having been maybe one of the first two executives at Comscore way, way 25 years ago, back in the day, my partner Jim and I sat down and we said, look, every time there's a tremendous shift in budget, and especially when it happens at a great pace, like what happened from TV to digital advertising, what's happened in a lot of categories, from client server to cloud, anytime that happens, people need to rebuild all of the infrastructure.”
what Russ Fradin said“85% of the companies we talked to said they really believe they only have the next 18 months to either become a leader or fall behind.”
what Russ Fradin said“80-something percent of our customers find far more tools being used by their employees than they know about and they've licensed.”
This is a preview. Log in to see the full analysis including investment opportunities, risks, catalysts, and detailed insights.