Ari Emanuel says Elon Musk’s AI prediction to him helped inspire his live events business

Ari Emanuel is the real-life inspiration for Ari Gold in HBO's "Entourage." Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC Hollywood powerbroker Ari Emanuel said a conversation he had years ago with Elon Musk about artificial intelligence helped inspire his push into the live events business.Speaking on a recent episode of David Senra's podcast, Emanuel said he first connected with the Tesla CEO after reading about his electric car venture. Emanuel said he called Musk, despite not knowing him, and the two developed what Emanuel described as an "incredible relationship.""I don't agree with him all the time. I do agree with him. I learn a ton. I disagree a ton," Emanuel, the super agent-turned-entertainment-mogul who is the real-life inspiration for Ari Gold in the HBO TV series "Entourage," told Senra.A major takeaway from Musk, Emanuel said, was his early view of where AI was headed. "He was talking about AI in 2007, what it was going to be," said Emanuel."He said the only thing that can't be disintermediated by AI is live, in the entertainment business," Emanuel told Senra of Musk, adding that he specifically asked Musk about entertainment.That's what Emanuel said gave him the idea behind Mari, the live events and experiences company he launched last year."We're now building a pretty big business" in the live entertainment space, Emanuel said, adding that his company has acquired the Miami Open and the Madrid Open tennis tournaments, along with the trading card convention, Collect-A-Con.Emanuel — who also leads TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE and UFC — said Mari "will be everything live events on a global basis." Natalie is a senior reporter on Business Insider's Business News team covering the AI and data center boom.She was previously on BI's Legal Affairs team, where she handled major cases coming out of state and federal court, as well as bankruptcy. Her coverage often focused on stories at the intersection of law, business, politics, and technology. Natalie has covered Donald Trump’s criminal and civil cases, the wave of lawsuits against the second Trump administration, the indictment and criminal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and the legal battles facing Elon Musk and his companies. Natalie came to Business Insider in June 2021 as a breaking news reporter, focusing on the most interesting angles on the day's trending news. Natalie largely drove BI’s coverage around the fatal “Rust” shooting involving Alec Baldwin and the disappearance and murder of Gabby Petito.Prior to joining BI, Natalie worked for the New York Post, the New York Daily News, and The Brooklyn Paper. She has an extensive background covering crime and courts. During her more than 12-year journalism career, she did a stint covering the police beat out of the New York Police Department's headquarters. Natalie, a Brooklyn native, graduated from Brooklyn College in 2012 with a degree in journalism. Elon Musk AI