Navigating change

The race for AI supremacy is heating up, and the playing field is leveling fast. While OpenAI keeps pushing boundaries, new contenders are stepping up with models that rival—or even surpass—its capabilities. These new players have come to market with lightning-fast training times, making industry leaders wonder if the era of massive GPU power is coming to an end.

The real game-changer? The next wave of generative AI is all about inference—where these models step out of the lab and into the real world, learning and adapting on the fly. Buckle up, because the future of AI isn’t just about building smarter models—it’s about putting them to work in ways we’ve only just begun to imagine.

The global Trust & Safety market size is projected to grow from $89 billion in 2023 to $189 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 11.4% during the forecast period.

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Get ready for the rise of the digital workforce. Agents—AI-powered digital workers—are set to deliver serious business value in the year ahead, but integrating them into your workflows isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. It’s a complex dance that requires rethinking how teams operate and reshaping entire processes. Companies are scrambling for guidance on how to seamlessly bring these agents into the fold while upskilling their human teams to collaborate effectively. This shift isn’t just another tech trend; it’s a pivotal moment in the evolution of generative AI, one that promises real, measurable results. The future of work is here, and it’s powered by humans and machines working side by side. Agentic AI has an opportunity to disrupt digital advertising and can help platforms transform the entire ad buyer journey to boost their ROAS.

Advertising is back with a bang, and it’s growing faster than it has in years—think double-digit growth, with estimates hitting around 13% for the year. Big players like YouTube, Meta, Amazon, Pinterest, and Snap are making big strides. But it’s not just the usual suspects; retail media networks and other newcomers like Uber and Netflix are shaking things up, flooding the market with fresh ad inventory. And here’s the real kicker: AI is revolutionizing the game, giving advertisers smarter tools to create, measure, and optimize campaigns with laser precision. The result? Better ROI and a whole new level of control. For brands, this isn’t just a rebound—it’s a renaissance.

Software is undergoing a seismic shift, turning the traditional seat-based pricing model on its head, as buyers demand a new approach: value-based pricing. Companies now expect software costs to reflect the actual value delivered, not just the number of users. But this shift isn’t just a trend—it’s a challenge. Software providers have their work cut out for them as they rethink pricing strategies and adapt to a world where AI is no longer a nice-to-have, but a must-have. The game is changing, and only the agile will thrive.

The tech world is navigating a whirlwind of change. On the funding front, AI is raking in record private investments, with both giants and startups cashing in, though some face down rounds as skepticism grows over sky-high valuations. Meanwhile, tech companies are shifting gears, pouring money into data centers and AI infrastructure while hitting the brakes on acquisitions. M&A isn’t off the table, but don’t expect the eye-popping valuations of the past. It’s a brave new world for tech, and the stakes have never been higher. The four critical strategies software investors must adopt to best position their investments for successful exits in this evolving landscape are outlined here.