Author: Art Ryan

NContracts has introduced a pair of AI-powered compliance and risk management solutions for financial institutions. The company’s new “Ntelligence product line,” announced Monday (Oct. 20), is designed to help financial organizations better manage compliance by “cutting through data noise” to get faster actionable insights. “Financial organizations are drowning in data while everyone expects faster, more sophisticated responses to compliance issues,” Michael Berman, founder and CEO of Ncontracts, said in a news release. “Our Ntelligence solutions don’t just process information – they decode it, interpret it, and tell you exactly what needs attention and why. We’re giving compliance teams superpowers they’ve never had before.” The…

Artificial intelligence (AI) firm 1001 AI has raised $9 million in seed funding. That funding, announced Monday (Oct. 20), will allow the company to further its mission of developing AI infrastructure for critical industries such as aviation and oil and gas in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). “Just looking at the top three or four industries like airports, ports, construction, and oil and gas, we see more than $10 billion in inefficiencies across the Gulf alone,” Bilal Abu-Ghazaleh, the company’s founder and CEO, said in an interview with TechCrunch. “That’s just in markets like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Even without counting other sectors,…

Technology and data are changing the face of credit and in particular, the underwriting of that credit. AI is proving to be, and will continue to be, part of that transformation. In the third-quarter earnings season, the largest U.S. banks spoke of stronger balance sheets, credit normalization and digital efficiency. Beneath that surface, and especially at some of the banks’ own partners and FinTechs backed by the financial institutions, artificial intelligence is beginning to redraw the lines between risk assessment and credit opportunity though executives seem careful not to over-promise. As earnings season kicked off in earnest this month, among…

Commerce has always been built on complexity, but few areas are as intricate as payments. Merchants today face a proliferating array of providers, gateways, tokens and transaction flows, all while needing to deliver seamless experiences that convert at the lowest possible cost. Artificial intelligence is beginning to make real-time decisions about routing and risk, and payments orchestration is moving from optional infrastructure to strategic necessity. Spreedly CEO Justin Benson told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster in an interview that the orchestration model will be turbocharged by AI. “It’s the sort of perfect use case for AI in the sense that it can take the complexity around working with…

The emerging divide over generative AI isn’t simply generational. It’s about how much people trust technology to make judgment calls once reserved for humans. Younger users may embrace artificial intelligence more eagerly, but even they are approaching the technology with an ambivalence that belies the hype. The latest PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Generation AI: Why Gen Z Bets Big and Boomers Hold Back,” suggests that Americans’ comfort with AI depends less on familiarity and more on faith in the technology, in the data behind it and in the institutions deploying it. The July 2025 report finds that 57% of U.S. adults — roughly 149…

It was a big week for Big Tech in the Prompt Economy, as it continues to take shape from both a technology and use case perspective. This week saw major developments from Amazon and Microsoft and a fascinating future use case from the world of media. Amazon Aims for Enterprise AI Amazon’s new Quick Suite represents one of the clearest examples yet of agentic AI making the leap from experimental to enterprise-ready. Marketed as a digital workspace built around autonomous “teammates,” Quick Suite can answer questions, conduct research, analyze data, generate reports and, critically, turn those answers into real-world actions. Users can…

The president of private capital group Blackstone says Wall Street is still underestimating artificial intelligence (AI). In comments published Saturday (Oct. 18) by the Financial Times (FT), Jonathan Gray says investors are discounting the potential of AI to render whole industries obsolete, and said that understanding these risks has become key for Blackstone when considering investments. “We’ve told our credit and equity teams: Address AI on the first pages of your investment memos,” said Gray at the FT’s Private Capital Summit in London earlier in the week. As the FT noted, high valuations at loss-making AI startups and circular arrangements between many major players have triggered concerns about…

OpenAI reportedly continues to lead Google in the race for consumer AI usage. As Seeking Alpha reported Saturday (Oct. 18), OpenAI announced at its recent developer day that its API platform was processing 6 billion tokens each minute, up 20 times across the last two years. The company also said that its artificial intelligence (AI) model ChatGPT had exceeded 800 million weekly active users. By comparison Google said recently it was processing 1.3 quadrillion tokens per month on all of its services, including AI Overviews, Gemini, and the API platform on Google Cloud. As the report noted, tokens are units of data like words used…

The former chief financial officer for Builder.ai has reportedly been subpoenaed by American prosecutors. Andres Elizondo, ex-finance chief for the collapsed artificial intelligence (AI) startup, was called to appear before a grand jury in Manhattan last month, the Financial Times (FT) reported Sunday (Oct. 19), referring to a subpoena seen by the news outlet. According to the report, Elizondo oversaw the London-based Builder’s finances from 2021 to 2023. He was stopped by the FBI in August on a flight stopover in Dallas, sources familiar with the matter told the FT. One source said he was not a suspect and cooperated willingly. Builder.ai, which promised to help…

Sydney, Australia — Volvo Cars Australia today announced that its upcoming Volvo EX60 electric vehicle (EV) will be the first new-car model in Australia equipped with Google Gemini conversational AI, reflecting the company’s leadership in mobility, connected-car innovation and premium electric performance. This milestone follows an expanded global partnership between Volvo Cars and Google LLC, positioning the EX60 as the reference vehicle for next-generation in-car intelligence.(See Volvo Cars/Google media statement) Breakthrough Technology: What It Means for the Driver Why the EX60 Matters in Australia’s EV Landscape Leadership Commentary “With the EX60, we are launching more than an electric vehicle —…

Verily has launched a new consumer health app that includes personalized recommendations and a private artificial intelligence companion. “We created Verily Me to meet the consumer need for a simpler, more personalized healthcare solution,” Vindell Washington, MD, MS, chief clinical officer at Verily, said in a Friday (Oct. 17) press release. “Verily Me identifies care gaps and provides more personalized treatment recommendations, an important step towards our commitment to equipping individuals with the tools they need to better manage their health.” The Verily Me app provides users with personalized recommendations from providers, access to their health history, and the ability to receive feedback and nutrition…

First Internet Bank has integrated Parlay Finance’s artificial intelligence-native Loan Intelligence System to enhance its Small Business Administration lending. The bank expects to see as much as a 50% increase in efficiencies throughout the lending process as the LIS enables its SBA lending operations team to eliminate manual tasks and gain deeper insights for loan decisioning, the companies said in a Thursday (Oct. 16) press release. “Partnering with Parlay has allowed us to reclaim hours once spent on manual data entry and repetitive tasks,” First Internet Bank President and Chief Operating Officer Nicole Lorch said in the release. Craig Fortner, senior vice president and chief information officer…

Generative AI’s first phase in healthcare focused on pilots and productivity. The next phase, centered on agentic AI, is about measurable returns. According to Google Cloud’s ROI of AI in Healthcare and Life Sciences report, 44% of executives in these industries now have AI agents in production. This signals a clear shift from experimentation to scaled deployment. “AI agents are specialized models with context and objectives that can plan, reason, and take actions under human control,” said Aashima Gupta, Google Cloud’s Global Director for Healthcare Solutions, who was cited in the report. “They are enabling organizations to achieve higher precision and automation across…

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The curtains have closed on GITEX Global 2025, the world’s largest and most influential technology event, after a record-breaking week that redefined global collaboration across artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, and emerging technologies. Hosted under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the 45th edition of GITEX underscored the nation’s role as a platform for billion-dollar partnerships, sovereign innovation, and the acceleration of AI-driven economies. Held across Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and Dubai Harbour, the 2025 edition brought together…

Dubai, UAE — At GITEX Global 2025, Dubai Health has formally introduced its AI-enabled Virtual ICU pilot, an ambitious digital initiative poised to transform critical care delivery. Through remote monitoring, intelligent alerts, and unified connectivity, the system empowers clinicians to oversee ICU patients across multiple sites — enhancing response time, consistency, and care outcomes. This innovation reinforces Dubai Health’s mission to embed AI into core clinical workflows and spearhead a next-generation, data-driven healthcare ecosystem. 🔍 Solution Overview & Key Capabilities The Virtual ICU pilot integrates multiple advanced technologies to bridge gaps in critical care: By combining visual analytics, real-time physiological…

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — In a strategic milestone for the UAE’s digital transformation and smart mobility agenda, Emirates Auction, the region’s leader in electronic auction and digital asset services, and Parkin Company PJSC, Dubai’s premier provider of paid parking solutions, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during GITEX Global 2025. The partnership establishes a powerful alliance aimed at developing and deploying AI-powered, data-driven, and customer-centric smart mobility solutions, integrating digital auction services, parking technologies, and real-time operational intelligence across Dubai’s urban landscape. The MoU was signed at the Dubai Government Pavilion, in the presence of senior officials, marking…

Islamabad / Dubai — In a move that signals a bold step in Pakistan’s digital transformation, PTCL Group announced during GITEX Global 2025 the expansion of its strategic partnership with Mercantile, Apple’s official distributor in Pakistan. This enhanced collaboration aims to deliver Apple’s complete hardware and service ecosystem directly to institutional and enterprise customers across Pakistan — altogether shifting how business, government, and tech sectors access premium devices. This partnership marks PTCL’s evolution beyond connectivity into being a full-stack digital enabler, combining network infrastructure, device distribution, and integrated services into a seamless enterprise offering. 🔧 What the Partnership Delivers Under…

Corporate treasuries are entering a new era. In this era, artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to underpin daily decisions, forecast cash positions, and optimize liquidity. A recent Citi report found that 82% of treasury teams are still in the early stages of experimenting with generative AI. Only 3% have scaled adoption across their operations. Yet the same study predicts that by 2030, AI will evolve into “the new treasury operating system.” It will transform the function from a control center into an intelligent financial hub. “The potential productivity gains from AI are too significant to ignore,” said Ron Chakravarti, Citi’s Global Head of…

Microsoft believes developers will lead the next wave of enterprise transformation. The tech firm’s recent FYAI blog post outlines how artificial intelligence copilots and agents are redefining the software lifecycle, turning what was once a series of handoffs into a continuous feedback loop. “AI doesn’t just change how we code. It redefines who gets to lead innovation,” said Amanda Silver, corporate vice president and head of product for apps and agents at Microsoft. “Developers are becoming the orchestrators of intelligent systems.” In Microsoft’s vision, generative AI collapses traditional development stages from requirements and design to testing and deployment. Copilots translate natural language into…

Revolut has acquired Swifty, a startup that offers an artificial intelligence-powered travel agent. Swifty’s technology will be integrated into Revolut’s loyalty program to add smart financial guidance and the automated execution of complex travel and lifestyle tasks to the customer experience, the companies said in a Tuesday (Oct. 14) press release. The AI-powered travel agent features a conversational interface and autonomously handles everything from the selection of flights and hotels to payments and invoicing, according to the release. It will complement Revolt’s development of its own AI financial assistant, per the release. “This acquisition strengthens our position at the intersection of finance, AI…