WestCap’s Laurence Tosi talks AI investing at Georgetown after alumni entrepreneurs name him investor of the year

By Helena Thorncroft

WASHINGTON — Laurence A. Tosi, the former chief financial officer of Blackstone and Airbnb who founded the investment firm WestCap, returns to the Hilltop on Tuesday to talk about investing in artificial intelligence, five days after Georgetown’s alumni entrepreneurship network named him its Outstanding Investor.

Tosi, a triple Hoya (C’90, L’94, MBA’94), is scheduled to appear from 5 to 8 p.m. ET in Lohrfink Auditorium in the Hariri Building for “Investing in the AI Revolution,” an official Georgetown University event, according to its listing on hoyas.ai. The listing says he will be joined by founders and executives from WestCap-backed companies to discuss how AI is changing established industries, with live demonstrations.

WestCap’s biography of Tosi describes his earlier roles as chief financial officer of Blackstone and of Airbnb before he started the firm.

This year’s honorees

The Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance, an alumni group founded in 2012, presented its 2026 Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards on the evening of Oct. 22 at the Leonsis Venture Lab at WeWork, 200 Massachusetts Ave. NW, according to the alliance’s awards page. The page lists these honorees:

• Entrepreneur of the Year: Ronald Blaylock (B’82, Parent’11), GenNx360 Capital Partners
• Outstanding Investor: Laurence A. Tosi (C’90, L’94, MBA’94), WestCap
• Rising Star: Claudia Recchi (B’17), EdSights
• Best of Social Impact: Carrie Rich (G’09), The Global Good Fund
• Best of Hospitality: Kendall Antonelli (SFS’04) and John Antonelli (B’04), Antonelli’s Cheese
• Best of Retail & Consumer Products: Margarita Womack (EMBA’19), MasPanadas
• Best of Technology: Andrew Gamino-Cheong (C’15), Trustible

The awards page says the prizes celebrate alumni entrepreneurs who “embody and exemplify a passion for innovation and the Georgetown spirit of ‘people for others.’” Its Rising Star award is limited to entrepreneurs no more than 10 years out of school or in business for fewer than five years, and the category awards go to businesses that Hoyas own, operate or co-founded.

The page lists the evening’s sponsors as Canapi Ventures; Diane Charness (SFS’79), managing partner of DHR Global; Netcito; Tom Raffa (B’76, Parent’10); Right Proper Brewing Company; TobiasCounsel; and Peter Wilson.

A cross-section of the alumni economy

The list runs from private equity and growth investing to hospitality, retail and consumer products, social impact and technology, with honorees who graduated from the business school, the College, the School of Foreign Service, the Graduate School and the executive MBA program.

Blaylock’s honor as Entrepreneur of the Year recognizes a career as a creator and leader in entrepreneurship, under the award’s description. The Outstanding Investor prize that went to Tosi recognizes an investor who shows “dedication to pushing the boundaries of innovation and supporting entrepreneurship,” the page says.

The venue for last week’s dinner is named for Ted Leonsis (C’77), the founder of Monumental Sports & Entertainment. The awards are presented by the alumni alliance, and the university does not endorse individual companies.

Registration, access and schedule details for Tuesday’s talk may change, the hoyas.ai listing notes, and it directs attendees to the official event page. The Inquisitor plans to report on what Tosi and the portfolio founders say.

The Inquisitor is seeking comment from WestCap, the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance, Georgetown University and several honorees’ companies. This story will be updated with any response.

Photo: Laurence A. Tosi (cropped). Photo by Bmart87, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.