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

• Ari Emanuel said Elon Musk's early AI insights helped inspire his push into the live events business.
• Emanuel said Musk told him live entertainment could not be "disintermediated" by AI.
• The Hollywood powerbroker launched Mari, a live events and experiences company, last year.

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."