Written with bestselling author Kevin Maney and drawing on insights from two dozen CEOs, founders, and researchers, the book argues that the winners of the next decade won’t just use AI, they’ll be redesigned around it. On sale December 1, 2026.

Early Praise

“A clear framework for leaders looking beyond mere adoption toward the intentional design of the next generation of enterprises.”
— Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman & Managing Director, TVS Capital

“A must-read framework for thinking about business in the 21st century.”
— Oren Etzioni, Founding CEO, The Allen Institute for AI

“The antidote to today’s fears about AI.”
— Joanne Lipman, Bestselling Author, Journalist, and Yale Lecturer

“Essential reading for any leader who wants to build with AI without hollowing out the thing that made their organization worth building.”
— Panos A. Panay, President, The Recording Academy (Grammys)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Artificial intelligence is not just another technology wave. It is a fundamental shift in how companies are built, operated, and led. In The Human-Machine Company: Reimagining Businesses in the Age of AI (Ideapress Publishing; on sale December 1, 2026), Lak Ananth, founder and Global Managing Partner of $2 billion venture capital firm N47, and co-author Kevin Maney deliver a practical blueprint for leaders who know that bolting AI tools onto yesterday’s organization won’t be enough.

The Human-Machine Company argues that the organizations that thrive in the coming decades won’t simply use AI more efficiently. They will be redesigned from the ground up as hybrid systems in which human and machine intelligence work together to capture the unprecedented possibilities AI presents and create value in entirely new ways.

Drawing on historical parallels, contemporary case studies, and insights from two dozen CEOs, founders, and researchers on the front lines of AI-driven innovation, Ananth and Maney take readers on a guided tour of the human-machine companies already taking shape today. From human resources to product development, manufacturing to management, they show how companies are reimagining core functions and scaling knowledge work with machine intelligence, while leveraging the human creativity and judgment that becomes more valuable, not less, as AI spreads.

“Through the fog of the current AI fever, we started to see the outlines of a new kind of company: the human-machine company. This book is meant to give leaders a clearer sense of what to do on Monday morning,” said Lak Ananth.

The book helps leaders grapple with the big questions they’ll face as every company evolves into a human-machine company, including:

• What’s my recipe for blending human and machine intelligence to meet my company’s and customers’ specific needs?
• How can I redefine my company’s value proposition in a world where everyone has access to the same models and intelligence?
• What can I do to preserve and build my company’s culture?
• How can I leverage my company’s proprietary data and methods to build sustainable competitive advantages in the human-machine era?
• And many more.

The Human-Machine Company not only provides a critical roadmap for the organizational changes already underway; it also provides a starting point for leaders to identify emerging opportunities to create entirely new categories of value through seamless collaboration between people and intelligent systems.

“Lak is an expert in leading innovation that works. This book brings that perspective to any leader trying to make sense of what AI means for their organization — not in theory, but in practice,” said Rohit Bhargava, founder of Ideapress Publishing.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Lak Ananth is an engineer and venture capital investor with deep roots in Silicon Valley and its technology ecosystem. Building on early experience at venerable companies, including HP and Cisco, he founded $2 billion venture capital firm N47, where he has partnered with dozens of founders to help build and scale their businesses. He specializes in spotting the moment when early products spark an emotional connection with customers and point to massive, category-defining market opportunities.

Ananth draws on his experience and vast network in the technology world in The Human-Machine Company, an up-close and practical look at how the companies of the future will thrive by finding their own recipe for blending human and machine labor, reimagining their value propositions, and leveraging their proprietary data and methods to create competitive moats.

In addition to leading N47, Ananth serves on the boards of several companies he has helped grow to $1 billion+ valuations, including VAST Data and Verkada. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and The Wharton School and is a Kauffman Fellow (Class 12).

His first book, Anticipate Failure, was named one of Soundview’s Best Business Books of 2022.

Kevin Maney is a bestselling author, columnist, and co-founder of Category Design Advisors. He spent 22 years at USA Today, primarily as its technology columnist, and has written for Newsweek, Fortune, The Atlantic, and Fast Company. His books include the New York Times bestsellers The Two-Second Advantage, Play Bigger, and Unscaled.

BOOK DETAILS

Review copies, excerpts, and interviews with Lak Ananth are available upon request. For more information, visit humanmachinecompany.com.

ABOUT IDEAPRESS PUBLISHING

Founded in 2015 by bestselling author Rohit Bhargava, Ideapress Publishing is an author-centric independent publisher of beautiful and insightful business books. Through its partnership with Simon & Schuster, Ideapress titles are distributed globally to bookstores and retailers.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Ideapress Publishing
Megan Wheeler | megan@ideapresspublishing.com 

N47
Liana Corwin | thehumanmachinecompany@n47.com 

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SOURCE IdeaPress Publishing