Warren Buffett sees no AI fit enough to replace Ajit Jain

Warren Buffett has previously lauded Jain's "unmatched" underwriting skills, saying he insures risks that no one else has the desire or the capital to take on. (Image credit: News18 Hindi)

During Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting over the weekend, CEO Warren Buffett heaped praises on Ajit Jain, the company's insurance czar and speculated to be the legendary investor's successor.

While addressing questions on artificial intelligence (AI), Buffett said that "there won't be anything in AI that replaces" Jain. "It can do remarkable things," the 92-year-old said, "but it couldn't tell jokes."

Buffet also quashed speculations about Ajit Jain being Berkshire Hathaway's heir apparent. “Ajit never wanted to run Berkshire,” the CEO said.

Here are 10 things to know about Ajit Jain:

1.) Jain, who was born in Odisha, graduated with a BTech degree from IIT Kharagpur. He then joined IBM in India, before moving to the US to earn his MBA from Harvard.

2.) He joined Berkshire Hathaway's insurance business in 1986, at a time he said he knew "little about insurance".

3.) But Jain must have learned fast, as under his watch, not only did its insurance business grow fast, it also played a vital contribution in Berkshire's investment float.

4.) This happened as Warren Buffett was able to use the vast premiums collected from the insurance business -- dubbed 'float' -- and invest them in his portfolio.

5.) Essentially, the returns generated by Buffett's investments were not just because of the Oracle's legendary stock-picking skills, but were amplified thanks to what was effectively leverage generated by the low-cost 'float' generated by Jain's insurance business.

6.) It has been Jain's superior skills when it comes to underwriting -- or deciding when to offer insurance to customers and at what price -- that ensured that even as the business generated upfront premium by the millions, the business rarely took undue risk or resulted in blow-ups.

7.) Buffett has previously lauded Jain's "unmatched" underwriting skills, saying he insures risks that no one else has the desire or the capital to take on.

8.) "His operation combines capacity, speed, decisiveness and, most important, brains in a manner unique in the insurance business. Yet he never exposes Berkshire to risks that are inappropriate in relation to our resources," he said.

9.) Jain's "mind, moreover, is an idea factory that is always looking for more lines of business he can add to his current assortment," Buffett added.

10.) Buffett's regard for Jain can be seen in a letter to shareholders, in which he said that if "Charlie (Munger), I and Ajit are in a sinking boat, and only one of us can be saved, swim to Ajit".

Read more: The inside story of Warren Buffett’s big Japan bet, over glasses of Coke at four seasons