Faster Horses — Rory Sutherland's term for just making the…
Where the term comes from
Faster Horses is the label this channel borrows from Rory Sutherland, via investor Nabeel Hyatt, for the most common kind of innovation: just making the existing thing go faster. In the discussion, Nabeel uses it as the bottom rung of a three-part taxonomy of innovation — faster horses, teleportation, and Japanese toilets — to explain what he is and isn't looking for in AI products [^aadbfc77-2045-528b-a149-9cf468b23383].
How it is used in the material
The term serves as a critical filter on AI products: most AI products coming out of the B2B SaaS machine are faster horses — they accelerate something that already exists. Nabeel's blunt assessment is that these are fine, but get arbitraged out of existence within a few years [^aadbfc77-2045-528b-a149-9cf468b23383].
The contrast that gives the term its meaning
The term matters mainly by what it excludes. The products Nabeel hunts for are the opposite: Japanese toilets of AI — mostly new experiences, things that surprise you with the place that they're playing. The takeaway he offers is explicit: look for Japanese toilets, not faster horses [^aadbfc77-2045-528b-a149-9cf468b23383].
- Faster Horses = Rory Sutherland's term for making the existing thing go faster, used here as one of three kinds of innovation.- Most B2B SaaS-style AI products fall into this category: fine, but arbitraged away within a few years.- The term functions as a warning label — the channel's featured products aim to be surprising new experiences instead.