Author: Art Ryan

Working capital, pulsing through receivables, payables and inventory, has always been the bloodstream of enterprise health. For generations, CFOs managed that flow through experience and judgment, aided by rows of spreadsheets and late-night reconciliations. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) is rewiring the circulatory system itself, turning data into intuition and process into intelligence. Across industries, finance teams are testing generative and agentic AI systems to sharpen forecasts, accelerate supplier onboarding, and automate workflows that have traditionally consumed time and talent. According to findings from the 2025/2026 Growth Corporates Working Capital Index, a Visa report in collaboration with PYMNTS Intelligence, 43% of growth corporates surveyed say…

Organizations now sit atop a mountain of data that would’ve been unimaginable even a decade ago. Every customer interaction, workflow, ledger entry and payment is increasingly logged, quantified and distributed across digital systems. The promise of this abundance has traditionally been positioned as a more agile ability to analyze, forecast and respond in real time. But the reality for many CFOs can ultimately look a little different. CFOs who once worried about data scarcity are now finding they must deal instead with data congestion. In boardrooms and budget meetings, they see technical teams present gleaming dashboards containing hundreds of metrics,…

For decades, enterprise technology strategies have hinged on a deceptively simple question: should we build it, buy it, or partner for it? The answer has never been simple, and artificial intelligence (AI) has put an entirely new spin on it. Particularly the emergence of agentic AI solutions, a new class of AI systems, capable of reasoning across workflows, initiating tasks and chaining actions without constant human oversight. PYMNTS Intelligence in the September 2025 PYMNTS Data Book series finds that when it comes to buying, building or partnering for agentic AI solutions, CIOs and CFOs are weighing not just cost, control and speed,…

Artificial intelligence (AI) startups raised billions in new funding this week, with investors allocating capital to companies embedding intelligence into core business operations across enterprise infrastructure, healthcare and payments. Enterprise AI Infrastructure Fireworks AI raised $250 million in Series C funding at a $4 billion valuation to expand its enterprise-ready AI platform. The company helps organizations use and customize large language models more efficiently, cutting both costs and delays in deploying them. Fireworks says its systems run open-source models up to 40 times faster and eight times cheaper than comparable commercial providers, processing over 10 trillion tokens a day for more than 10,000 clients. Its platform supports…

Flight delays tied to the U.S. government shutdown have renewed attention on how artificial intelligence (AI) could help airlines and regulators manage disruptions. With the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) scaling back air-traffic operations, carriers are navigating reduced flight capacity and longer delays at major airports. For airlines already contending with surging passenger demand and labor shortages, the timing has highlighted the need for more technological enhancements to be proactive in resolution.   For passengers, the most visible advances are in how airlines handle delays and rebookings. Delta Air Lines has rolled out Delta Concierge, an AI assistant within its Fly Delta app that helps…

The Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit behind Wikipedia, issued a call to artificial intelligence (AI) developers and companies to stop scraping information from the Wikipedia site and instead use its paid, opt-in API platform, Wikimedia Enterprise, to “responsibly” access its content. A Monday (Nov. 10) blog post explained that making Wikimedia Enterprise a paid service sustains Wikipedia’s global volunteer editor base and nonprofit funding model. The post highlighted that Wikimedia Enterprise enables organizations to efficiently use Wikipedia’s vast repository of human-generated knowledge without overburdening its servers. The foundation asked AI developers to provide proper attribution to Wikipedia content contributors when incorporating information into AI answer…

Scribe, a San Francisco–based AI startup, has secured $75 million in a Series C funding round, boosting its valuation to $1.3 billion. The funding round was led by StepStone and included participation from previous investors such as Amplify Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Tiger Global, Morado Ventures and New York Life Ventures. According to a TechCrunch report, the new funding may enable Scribe to speed up the launch of Scribe Optimize. The platform is designed to automatically map workflows across entire organizations and help them identify processes best suited for automation or AI interventions. In an interview with TechCrunch, Scribe CEO Jennifer Smith…

For decades, oncologists have worked with fragmented information. Imaging tests, biopsy results and clinical records often sit in separate databases, making it difficult to see how one piece of data affects another. The 2025 wave of studies suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) can close that gap by merging data from multiple sources into a single model that captures the full complexity of a patient’s disease. Seeing the Full Picture of Cancer A large study published in Nature Cancer used real-world data from more than 15,000 patients across 38 tumor types to test how well multimodal AI could predict outcomes. The model, trained on a mix of…

Online broker Robinhood wants to let everyday investors put funds into private AI companies. In an interview with the Financial Times (FT) published Monday (Nov. 10), CEO Vlad Tenev said he was interested in offering “normal people” a chance to invest in fast growing artificial intelligence firms, and less worried about a possible industry bubble. AI is going to lead to “widescale disruption, and we want people to have exposure to the drivers of that disruption,” said Tenev. He told the FT the company aims to offer tradeable shares in a new fund managed by its subsidiary Robinhood Ventures, which will invest in five or more…

The CE 100 Index slipped 3.5%, in a week governed by earnings reports. Only the Banking segment and the Be Well pillar, both up 0.5%, were in the green.   Call it a “buy the rumor, sell the news wave,” where runups into quarterly announcements and even strong results from a variety of firms nonetheless led to sell-offs. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 3.3%. In large part, names with artificial intelligence (AI) as a growth engine were prime targets for those sell-offs. Big Tech names such as Microsoft and Meta were down more than 4%. Pinterest stands out as a key example of…

For decades, oncologists have worked with fragmented information. Imaging tests, biopsy results and clinical records often sit in separate databases, making it difficult to see how one piece of data affects another. The 2025 wave of studies suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) can close that gap by merging data from multiple sources into a single model that captures the full complexity of a patient’s disease. Seeing the Full Picture of Cancer A large study published in Nature Cancer used real-world data from more than 15,000 patients across 38 tumor types to test how well multimodal AI could predict outcomes. The model, trained on a mix of…

The Prompt Economy™ was generous this week. Instead of the recent deluge of instructions and advice for developers, we saw some more practical applications for digital media and retail as agentic artificial intelligence (AI) continues to become a real factor for the end of the year. One of the more interesting use cases came in the area of SEO and digital media. Search is moving from a keyword-driven exercise to an intent-driven conversation between users and intelligent systems. As Search Engine Journal explains, agentic AI doesn’t just respond to queries. It acts on goals, retrieves and tests information, and guides users toward outcomes it deems most relevant. That means visibility is…

The uncertainty surrounding the shutdown has left millions of Americans unsure how they’ll restock their pantries. Food insecurity spikes when government benefits stall, and for millions of households, SNAP dollars are the difference between an empty fridge and a family meal. That’s the gap Gopuff CEO Yakir Gola says his company is stepping in to fill. Building on a Foundation of Service “It’s in our culture to step up for the community and be there in times of need,” Gola told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster in a recent interview. “When we heard about the government shutdown and the delay in SNAP funding, we called a meeting…

OpenAI’s CEO wants the U.S. to expand eligibility for a tech-focused tax credit. In a post on the social media platform X, Sam Altman pushed the federal government to expand eligibility for a Chip Act tax credit. “We think U.S. re-industrialization across the entire stack — fabs, turbines, transformers, steel, and much more — will help everyone in our industry, and other industries (including us),” wrote Altman, whose comments were flagged in a report by Reuters. However, Altman added, the tax credit is “super different than loan guarantees to OpenAI.” Reuters noted that Altman’s comment follows OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane’s letter to the White House…

Meta will invest $600 billion in the United States by 2028 to build artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. “As the importance of AI grows, so will the importance of data centers,” the company said in a Friday (Nov. 7) press release. “We’ll continue to build and scale infrastructure for the future of AI while supporting the communities that host us.” Meta told investors during an Oct. 29 earnings call that it would be stepping up its infrastructure spending as it races to build what CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls “personal superintelligence.” Chief Financial Officer Susan Li said the company expects capital-expenditure dollar growth to be “notably larger in 2026 than 2025” and…

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – November 10, 2025 — The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) convened an extraordinary Thematic Session at the 26th UN Tourism General Assembly in Riyadh, under the theme “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation in Shaping Global Tourism.” Hosted in the Prince Sultan Grand Hall at the Mandarin Oriental, this session brought together ministers, industry leaders, and global innovators to explore how AI and cutting-edge technologies are transforming the travel sector into a more intelligent, inclusive, and sustainable ecosystem. Opening Remarks: A Vision for the Future of Tourism The event commenced with Natalia Bayona,…

SHANGHAI, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) — Dutch health technology giant Philips is expanding its investment in AI-powered healthcare in China, unveiling its latest health solutions at the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai to tap into the country’s rapidly evolving digital health landscape. “AI is becoming a key force in addressing the common challenges of the medical system, and we have seen strong innovation momentum in China,” Liu Ling, chief region leader of Philips Greater China, told Xinhua in an interview. An eight-year participant of the CIIE, Philips is presenting about 50 innovations this year, covering precision diagnosis, intelligent…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping how the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry operates. After years of testing automation and data analytics, leading chains are now using AI to forecast demand, manage labor and streamline kitchen operations. The shift marks a broader redefinition of “fast food” from speed of service to precision of prediction. This is different from the first wave of AI use in QSRs, which saw brands like Taco Bell get mixed results when they added AI to drive-thru ordering. McDonald’s Refines Its AI Strategy McDonald’s is deploying AI and edge-computing systems across its global network of roughly 43,000 restaurants to improve operational reliability…

Lloyds Banking Group plans to add an artificial intelligence (AI) powered financial assistant to its mobile app in early 2026. The assistant will initially help customers manage their spending, savings and investments, and it will later be expanded to work across all financial products, the bank said in a Thursday (Nov. 6) press release. “By harnessing cutting-edge artificial intelligence, the new AI financial assistant will provide 24/7 personalized financial coaching and work as a financial companion, capable of answering questions and providing guidance, alongside the ability to easily refer to expert human support when needed,” the release said. While many adults have…

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is redefining the global tourism landscape through a powerful fusion of artificial intelligence (AI), digital innovation, and sustainability. As the host of the 26th UN Tourism General Assembly, Riyadh has emerged as a global epicenter for smart tourism—where cutting-edge technology meets visionary leadership to create a model for the future of travel. A Global Blueprint for AI-Powered Tourism At the heart of Riyadh’s tourism transformation is an ambitious strategy to integrate AI, data analytics, and automation across every stage of the visitor experience. These innovations are enabling smarter travel ecosystems, seamless…