Author: Art Ryan

Private equity’s long-standing formula of leverage and operational fixes is meeting a new force multiplier. As deal cycles tighten and competition for assets intensifies, firms are turning to artificial intelligence not as a curiosity but as a core component of value creation. The industry is testing whether AI can compress diligence, sharpen forecasting and surface risks long before they show up in earnings. The shift signals that AI is becoming less of an experiment and more of an operational requirement. That shift is most visible in the earliest stages of investment work. BayPine, a Boston-based PE firm, has begun embedding AI…

Meta executives are reportedly considering cutting as much as 30% of the budget of the company’s metaverse group amid a shift of resources toward artificial intelligence. The proposed cuts are part of Meta’s annual budget planning for 2026, and they could lead to layoffs as soon as January, Bloomberg reported Thursday (Dec. 4), citing unnamed sources. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has also asked executives to look for 10% budget cuts across the company, according to the report. Meta did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment. The company’s metaverse group includes the Meta Horizon Worlds virtual worlds product and the Quest virtual reality unit, according…

Identity platform Trulioo has joined Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) initiative, which creates a common language for how artificial intelligence agents can initiate and complete transactions on behalf of users. Trulioo will bring to the AP2 initiative its expertise in identity verification and trust infrastructure and will show how its Digital Agent Passport (DAP) can be used with AP2 to convey trust for agent-led transactions, the company said in a Thursday (Dec. 4) press release emailed to PYMNTS. “By joining AP2, we’re helping define the identity backbone for autonomous payments, where verified agents transact transparently, responsibly and at machine speed,” Trulioo CEO Vicky Bindra said in the release. “This…

European antitrust regulators have launched an investigation into Meta’s artificial intelligence (AI) enhancement to WhatsApp. The European Commission announced Thursday (Dec. 4) that it had launched a probe into whether the tech giant’s new policy on AI providers’ access to WhatApp violates European Union competition rules. Meta’s new policy, announced in October, bars AI providers from using a tool allowing businesses to communicate with customers via WhatsApp, the “WhatsApp Business Solution,” when AI is the chief service offered. “Businesses may still use AI tools for ancillary or support functions, such as automated customer support offered via WhatsApp,” the EC said in its announcement. “The Commission…

The great divide in American business has traditionally been defined by scale. The Fortune 500 enjoyed the advantages of large finance teams, sophisticated systems, and the operational resilience that comes from institutional infrastructure. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) were left to fend mostly for themselves, however they could, with whatever semi-diluted enterprise-grade tools they could afford to integrate. But the intersection of AI, automation, and a fundamental shift in software design suggests that the balance of power is shifting. And René Lacerte, CEO and founder of BILL, said it could be tilting in the favor of the millions of Main Street SMBs…

Meta is establishing a new creative studio in its Reality Labs division and has hired longtime Apple design executive Alan Dye to lead it. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO at Meta, announced these moves in a Wednesday (Dec. 3) post on Threads. The new studio will “define the next generation of our products and services” and will include designers with “deep experience building iconic products that bridge hardware and software,” Zuckerberg said in another post. Together with Dye, the creative studio will include Billy Sorentino, another design lead from Apple; Joshua To, who has led interface design across Reality Labs; Meta’s industrial design team; and its metaverse design and art teams, Zuckerberg said in…

The OpenAI Foundation has announced the first recipients from the $50 million People-First artificial intelligence (AI) Fund it announced in September. The Foundation will disburse $40.5 million in unrestricted grants to these 208 nonprofits from across the United States by the end of the year, and will announce $9.5 million in grants within months, it said in a Wednesday (Dec. 3) press release. The OpenAI Foundation holds equity in OpenAI Group, which is currently valued at $130 billion, and is one of the best resourced philanthropic organizations in the world, according to its website. Its People-First AI Fund invests in nonprofits “working to…

Mistral’s new Mistral 3 model family is already generating strong signals of interest across the AI ecosystem. The company positioned its latest lineup, released Tuesday (Dec. 2), as a practical alternative to heavyweight systems from larger rivals, and early reactions show that partners and enterprises see value in the mix of performance, flexibility and cost control. CNBC reported that Mistral designed the new models to work across a wide range of environments, including everyday hardware, opening the door to broader adoption across industries. Nvidia quickly amplified the release by highlighting how the Mistral 3 family fits into its newest infrastructure. The company said in…

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) announced on Wednesday (Dec. 3) a new collaboration with OpenAI to bring LSEG’s licensed financial data and analytics directly into ChatGPT, expanding the exchange operator’s push to deliver artificial intelligence ready data across financial markets. The integration will begin the week of Dec. 8 and will allow users with LSEG credentials to access Financial Analytics content, real-time market data, research and news from within ChatGPT through a connector built using the Model Context Protocol. LSEG said the approach will let clients query its datasets inside a conversational interface without switching systems. LSEG said about 4,000 of its employees will gain…

Financial data network Plaid has launched transaction categories enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI) that it said will provide the accuracy and insight needed for the next generation of financial services. “Financial experiences are rapidly shifting toward personalized, predictive interactions powered by AI,” the company said in a Wednesday (Dec. 3) blog post. “Delivering those experiences requires highly accurate transaction data, not just raw descriptors.” Plaid’s upgraded transaction categorization model delivers up to 10% higher accuracy on primary categories and 20% higher accuracy on detail subcategories, according to the post. The model delivers more reliable categories by using AI-assisted label generation and targeted human…

Abu Dhabi, UAE — Global AI Show 2025 is honored to announce Maria D. Toler, Founding and Managing Partner at SteelSky Ventures, as a featured speaker at this year’s flagship AI and innovation summit, taking place 8–9 December 2025 at Space42 Arena, Abu Dhabi. As the head of SteelSky Ventures, a groundbreaking $100 million venture capital fund investing in the transformation of women’s health and global healthcare infrastructure through AI and emerging technologies, Maria stands at the forefront of the next wave of healthcare innovation. A Trailblazer in AI-Driven Healthcare Investment Maria D. Toler has built a distinguished reputation as…

Abu Dhabi, UAE — Global AI Show 2025 is excited to announce Sistema Strategy as an official Startup Exhibitor at this year’s premier AI gathering, taking place 8–9 December 2025 at Space42 Arena, Abu Dhabi. With AI accelerating digital transformation across every sector, Sistema Strategy brings powerful data-driven capabilities designed to help organizations unlock intelligence, strengthen operations, and scale smarter. Driving Operational Excellence Through AI + Data Integration Sistema Strategy specializes in helping businesses maximize the value of their data through end-to-end AI-powered insights and automation. Their core expertise includes: By streamlining data flows and enabling real-time operational clarity, Sistema…

Abu Dhabi, UAE — The world is now just 4 days away from one of the most influential AI gatherings of the decade. On December 8–9, 2025, Abu Dhabi will host the Global AI Show 2025, a landmark event bringing together the brightest minds and boldest innovators reshaping the global AI landscape. With AI now at the center of digital transformation, economic strategy, and national competitiveness, Global AI Show 2025 is poised to become a defining moment for the future of intelligent technologies. 🌐 The Global AI Community Is Converging in Abu Dhabi Thousands of attendees from more than 50…

Abu Dhabi, UAE — The countdown is almost over. In just 6 days, the world’s top game developers, publishers, esports organizations, investors, creators, and immersive-tech innovators will gather in Abu Dhabi for Global Games Show 2025, taking place on December 8–9, 2025 at Space42 Arena. As the global gaming and interactive entertainment ecosystem accelerates, Global Games Show 2025 is poised to become one of the most influential gaming experiences of the year — transforming Abu Dhabi into a vibrant hub for gaming culture, digital creativity, and next-generation entertainment. 🌍 A Global Meeting Point for Gaming, Esports & Immersive Tech Global…

The Financial Conduct Authority launched a new initiative on Wednesday (Dec. 3) to give U.K. financial firms a “safe space” to test artificial-intelligence systems in live markets under regulatory supervision.  The program, called AI Live Testing, pairs participating firms with the FCA and its technical partner Advai to deploy AI tools in real-world conditions while monitoring performance, risks and consumer impact. From Sandbox to Live Markets AI Live Testing builds on the FCA’s earlier efforts to foster innovation while maintaining oversight. In June 2025, the FCA launched a Supercharged Sandbox in partnership with Nvidia, giving firms access to advanced computing infrastructure, regulatory guidance, and a controlled environment…

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is on track to meet its target of $700 million to $1 billion of enterprise value from artificial intelligence by 2027, according to RBC President and CEO Dave McKay. “Importantly, our target is net of investments, including building on investments already made in data storage, GPU clusters, proprietary LLMs, risk governance and in people,” McKay said Wednesday (Dec. 3) during the bank’s fourth-quarter earnings call. RBC measures the enterprise value generated from AI by the annualized exit run-rate benefit in revenue, cost avoidance, expense savings, fraud reduction and lower cost of risk, net of investments, according to a strategic…

Forty-seven percent of Americans are using artificial intelligence tools to help with shopping during this holiday season, according to Visa. The most common uses for AI tools include finding gift ideas (21%), conducting product research (16%), using AI-powered search for shopping (15%) and trying out products online with virtual fitting room or other tools, the company said in an article posted Tuesday (Dec. 2). While shoppers are integrating AI into their routines, they also have some reservations about the technology. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed said they prefer human interaction for customer service, while 60% want a better understanding of how AI-powered shopping…

Anthropic is taking early-but-consequential steps toward a potential IPO that could arrive as soon as 2026. It’s a timeline that, if it holds, would put one of the most important generative AI vendors used across financial services onto public-market footing ahead of rival OpenAI. For banks, payments processors and FinTechs racing to operationalize AI for fraud, compliance, customer service and developer productivity, an Anthropic listing would also be a referendum on whether public investors will fund the soaring compute costs behind “frontier” models. According to the Financial Times, Anthropic has tapped law firm Wilson Sonsini “to begin work on one of the largest initial…

AWS kicked off re:Invent 2025 in Las Vegas on Tuesday (Dec. 2) with high expectations. As the artificial intelligence (AI) race heats up, Amazon needs to prove that its years of heavy investment in model infrastructure and automated systems are paying off. The company is going up against Microsoft and Google, both of which are rapidly expanding their cloud AI services. This annual showcase is crucial because AWS contributes significantly to Amazon’s revenue and a greater share of its profits, making the success of its AI strategy vital to the company’s future. AWS CEO Matt Garman, in his keynote, highlighted the scale of the business, stating, “AWS has grown to be a $132 billion business,…

Zip said Tuesday (Dec. 2) that its agentic procurement orchestration platform has processed $355 billion in spend across more than 7 million suppliers in 2025. While doing so, the platform provided $6 billion in customer savings, saved customers 10 million days of cycle time, and delivered 10 million artificial intelligence (AI) insights, Zip said in a press release. “What began as a simpler way to start a purchase has grown into a full procurement operating system,” Zip Co-Founder and CEO Rujul Zaparde said in the release. “This year, we introduced agentic procurement orchestration — not just a new term and category, but a new way of…