In what could be a big win for the EU’s chip industry, Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council Minister, Wu Cheng-wen, says TSMC is planning to further expand operations in the bloc. TSMC broke ground in August on a €10bn chip plant in Dresden, Germany — its first in Europe. The German government will provide half of the funding with €5bn in state aid, under the EU’s Chips Act. The fab will produce semiconductors for automotive and industrial applications. It’s a joint project between the Taiwanese tech giant, the Netherlands’ NXP, and Germany’s Bosch and Infineon. “They [TSMC] have started construction of the first fab in Dresden, they are already planning the next few fabs in the future for different market sectors as well,” Cheng-wen told Bloomberg TV in a Monday interview. Wu said that whether the company will increase its plants in Germany, or expand to other European countries, will depend on its market strategy. Calling all Scaleup founders! Join the Soonicorn Summit on November 28 in Amsterdam. Meet with the leaders of Picnic, Miro, Carbon Equity and more during this exclusive event dedicated to Scaleup Founders! “And whenever they do [expand], our government will help them establish joint research collaboration for them to continue developing new technologies.” In a statement to Bloomberg, TSMC said that it currently has no new investment plans and is focused on its existing global expansion projects. Europe’s need for foreign investment in the chip sector The EU currently makes about 10% of the world’s semiconductors. It’s particularly strong in the production of chips for the automotive and industrial sectors, boasting well-established players such as NXP, Infineon, and STMicroelectronics. TSMC’s upcoming plant is expected to further strengthen the EU’s position in these industries. The fab is slated to reach an annual output of 480,000 silicon wafers once it is fully operational in 2029. However, the bloc is lagging behind in the production of advanced chips that power technologies such as AI and High Performance Computing (HPC). Intel’s €30bn mega fab in Germany, which was destined to begin operations by 2028, would have helped fill this gap. TSMC’s potential further expansion in Europe presents a ray of hope. “The most important market [for expansion] would be the AI market,” said Wu. source

Six-fingered gloves have been sent to global leaders as a chilling reminder of AI dangers. The gloves symbolise a disturbing digital problem: image generators giving people extra fingers. The petrifying pictures have now been brought to life by Finnish startup Saidot. “AI is developing so fast that nobody can fully anticipate its impacts and the emerging risks,” warned Veera Siivonen, the company’s CCO and co-founder. Calling all Scaleup founders! Join the Soonicorn Summit on November 28 in Amsterdam. Meet with the leaders of Picnic, Miro, Carbon Equity and more during this exclusive event dedicated to Scaleup Founders! “That’s why we want to highlight both the steps that have been taken forward for safer AI, as well as some of the steps that should be taken.” After stitching the gruesome garments, Saidot posted them to tech luminaries, politicians, and celebrities. OpenAI’s Sam Altman was sent a pair as a demand to align AI with human values. But Saidot also applauded him for delaying the release of potent models. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, also received the creepy package. Saidot said her gloves represent the need for effective regulation. Another set was delivered to Scarlett Johansson. The actress hit the headlines in May after OpenAI launched a chatbot with an eerily similar voice to her own. Saidot sewed her gloves to illustrate the importance of digital rights. A fourth pair was mailed to Mark Zuckerberg. Saidot praised the Meta boss for supporting open source models, but cautioned that training data must be sustainably sourced. A message to AI leaders The CEOs of Hugging Face and Klarna also received the six-fingered salutes. So did British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen, and AI researcher Rishi Bommasani. Saidot advised them to be wary of biased outcomes, copyright infringements,  and false information. Naturally, the startup also suggested using its own AI governance platform. Those who decline the offer will have to face the consequences. The pitch is reminiscent of serial killers leaving calling cards at grisly crime scenes. But in this case, the gloves provide a warning of horrors still to come. source

When it comes to opening a bank account for your business, there’s more than just one type of bank account to consider. The main options are business checking accounts, which handle day-to-day transactions like payments and bills and business savings accounts, which help you stash away funds for future use while earning interest. Other specialized accounts include merchant accounts for processing credit card payments and money market accounts, which combine checking features with more favorable interest rates. Each type serves a different financial purpose, so choosing the right mix depends on your business needs. It’s up to you to understand the differences and think about what types of bank accounts would serve your business best. Keep reading for more information. 1 Rippling Spend Employees per Company Size Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1,000-4,999), Enterprise (5,000+) Any Company Size Any Company Size Features Automated Accounting, Bill Pay, Cash Back Rewards, and more Types of Bank Accounts for Businesses When you’re running a business, managing your money wisely is crucial. Business bank accounts help keep your personal and business finances separate, making it easier to track where everything’s going. Here’s a deeper look at some of the most common business bank accounts types: Business Checking Accounts This is the main workhorse of your business banking setup. Think of it as your business’s wallet. You’ll use this account for on-the-go transactions like paying bills, accepting payments from clients, and handling everyday expenses like office supplies or employee payroll. Most banks offer free checking accounts, but some may charge a small monthly fee based on how many transactions your account makes. Why you need it: If you’re making regular transactions, a checking account keeps your business transactions flowing smoothly. Plus, separating personal and business expenses helps avoid a headache come tax-time. If your business uses QuickBooks for its accounting processes, consider checking out our guide on the best banks for QuickBooks integration. Business Savings Accounts Saving money is necessary for any business. It’s mostly important for common business purposes like future investments, emergency funds, or paying your taxes. A business savings account lets you put away extra funds while earning interest at the same time, boosting your account balance in the process. The interest rate won’t be mind-blowing, but hey, every bit helps! Why you need it: It’s a safe place to build a financial cushion. Plus, since it earns interest, your money grows passively over the life of your business. Merchant Accounts If you’re selling products or services and accept credit card payments, a merchant account is a must. It’s designed specifically to handle all types of card transactions, and it transfers funds into your checking account right after payments are processed. Keep in mind, merchant accounts usually come with higher fees for each transaction. Why you need it: If your customers prefer paying with cards, you need a way to handle those payments seamlessly. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on potential business and revenue. Money Market Accounts These accounts are like a hybrid between a savings and checking account. You can earn better interest rates than a standard savings account with a merchant account, but still have some flexibility to make withdrawals or write checks since your money doesn’t get locked up. However, these accounts often come with higher minimum balance requirements, so you’ll want to keep a close eye on if that fits your goals. Why you need it: If your business is sitting on a good chunk of cash and you want to grow it while still having access to your cash when you need it, this might be the right option for you. More Banking Coverage Business Bank Account Requirements Opening a business account isn’t quite as simple as opening a personal one. Banks need to make sure your business is legit, so they’ll ask to see some paperwork. Here’s what you can expect when opening your business bank account: Employer Identification Number (EIN): This is like a Social Security number, but for your business. It’s issued by the IRS and helps the government track your business for tax purposes. Some banks allow sole proprietors to use their Social Security number instead, but it’s good to have an EIN ready at account opening. Business Formation Documents: If your business is an LLC, corporation, or partnership, the bank will need to see proof. You’ll need to provide your Articles of Incorporation, a partnership agreement, or an LLC operating agreement. These documents show that your business is legally registered with the government. Government-Issued ID: Anyone who’s going to be signing on the account will need to show a valid ID. Operating Agreement or Bylaws: Some banks might ask for these if you’re opening an account for an LLC or corporation. These documents outline how your business is structured and who’s in charge of making the financial decisions. Business License: Depending on where you’re located and the nature of your business, you may need to show a valid business license. Different Types of Business Bank Accounts Beyond the basics of checking and savings, there are a few other types of business account options that could come in handy depending on your needs: Certificates of Deposit (CDs) If you have money that you don’t need to touch for a while, consider putting it into a CD. These accounts let you lock in a fixed interest rate for a set amount of time, typically ranging from a few months to a few years. The catch? You can’t withdraw the money until the CD matures without facing penalties. Why you need it: CDs are a great way to earn higher interest rates on money you know you won’t need for a while. Sweep Accounts If your business is cash-heavy, sweep accounts can be a lifesaver. These accounts automatically transfer (or “sweep”) excess funds from your checking account into a higher interest-earning savings account or investment option at the end of the day. It’s a smart way to ensure you’re maximizing interest without lifting

………………………………………………………………. 工商銀行5.28元 升3仙友邦保險103.78元 升2毫8仙中國人壽16.06元 升1毫4仙中國石油股份2.89元 升1毫3仙中國石油化工3.99元 升3仙滙豐控股收市折合49.25元 比本港收市升9毫半建設銀行6.37元 無升跌騰訊控股629.65元 跌1.85元銀河娛樂69.88元 跌1.07元港交所478.64元 跌1.36元 ………………………………………………………………. 金管局指上季銀行信貸質素維持良好，提醒疫情反覆或加劇信貸風險 金管局副總裁表示：「初步數字來看，第一季比起去年底的信貸質素狀況都是保持平穩，也無特別惡化的情況。若果疫情反覆的話，可能對銀行業務都會有一些壓力，特別是信貸質素方面，我都呼籲業界繼續密切監察信貸風險的狀況。」 ………………………………………………………………. 最受市場注視是多項重要的就業市場指標，包括非農業職位連續兩個月增加，市場估計四月新增職位會加快至超過九17萬份。 ………………………………………………………………. 多個新盤在剛過去的周六日登場，市場積存的購買力一下子釋放，帶動一手成交顯著回升至約470宗，是近半年來最旺的周六日。 成交主要來自路勁和港鐵的黃竹坑站「晉環」，入場單位要過千萬元，首批240伙最終亦即日沽清。 ………………………………………………………………. 澳門博彩收入表現差過市場預期，上月收入約84億澳門元，按年升十倍以上，按月升 1.1% 。 首四個月合計，博彩收入超過320億澳門元，按年升2.6 % 。 ………………………………………………………………. 早前平保參與北大方正集團的債務重整方案，公司在上海交易所披露進展，表示將透過旗下平安人壽涉資最多507億元人民幣收購新方正集團50 % 至 70 % 股權，但最終金額及持股比例，有待債權人決定。 ………………………………………………………………. 海航集團旗下海航控股去年蝕640億元人民幣，是A股有紀錄以來最大虧損。海航近月面臨嚴重債務危機，多項債券相繼違約，被債權人入稟申請破產重整。 《彭博》引述指，身陷財困並須重組業務的海航集團，計劃出售內地資產，有意競購資產的投資者，包括京東集團、平保、復星集團，以及中國國航等。各潛在投資者有可能獨資或是合組財團競購。 內地官媒《證券時報》批評，如果將海航控股去年虧損的金額兌換成100元人民幣鈔票，足以環繞地球2.5圈。 ………………………………………………………………. 中國燃氣收購北京華油聯合燃氣 49 %股權，作價逾4.8億元人民幣，餘下股權由中石油旗下公司持有。 ………………………………………………………………. 根據聆訊後的資料顯示京東物流去年收入超過730億元人民幣，按年升 47 % 。毛利率 8.6 %，按年升 1.7 % 。去年經調整純利超過17億元人民幣，結束連續13年的虧損，但預計今年會再次錄得重大虧損。 ………………………………………………………………. 港交所權益披露資料顯示，紅杉資本創辦人兼美團非執董沈南鵬，在本月27日於場內以每股平均價約300元，減持47.5萬股美團，套現約1.4億元 ………………………………………………………………. 英特爾行政總裁格爾辛格接受電視台訪問時估計，最少要數個月才能開始紓緩車用晶片短缺的問題，由於其他晶片需求亦龐大，預計要數年時間才能處理。他又表明，公司未來不會那麼專注回購股份。 另一晶片商台積電，董事長劉德音在同一個節目上就透露已提前兩個月，於六月底開始滿足車用晶片的最低需求。由於供應鏈相當複雜，預計晶片短缺最快要今年底或明年初才能緩解。上一則 : 日本今日假期休市 美股指數期貨早段靠穩 ………………………………………………………………. 美國本周公布的經濟數據較多，最受市場注視是多項重要的就業市場指標 ，市場估計四月新增職位會加快至超過九十七萬份。 四月失業率預計跌穿 6 %，再創去年三月疫情在美國爆發以來的低位。 ……………………………………………………………….. 美元上周五創一星期高位後，美匯指數繼續在91.2水平上落。 美元匯價上周造好 曾創一周高位 美國消費開支增長，而且芝加哥採購經理指數創近四十年高位，反映經濟向好，支持美匯指數曾經升約 0.7 % 。 ………………………………………………………………. 美國總統拜登訪問多地推廣20,000多億美元基建計劃,美國總統拜登開始一連串訪問推廣二萬二千多億美元的基建方案，他在費城出席美國客運鐵路系統50周年紀念儀式時，再次呼籲國會盡快通過撥款6000多億美元在道路、鐵路等，相信擴展鐵路網絡、改善交通有助經濟增長，提升競爭力。 共和黨議員質疑方案部分內容與基建無關，提出規模不足6000億美元的反建議。眾議院議長佩洛西定出七月初要通過基建法案的目標，外界預計如果要獲跨黨派支持，最終規模可能少過10,000億美元。 美國前財長薩默斯擔心大規模財政刺激會導致經濟過熱，尤其是現時已有跡象顯示出現勞工短缺的情況好像經濟繁榮時般，都是通脹升溫的先兆。 雖然聯儲局認為，物價急升只是暫時現象，但他重提1970年代，當時聯儲局主席都有類似說法，結果石油危機引發通脹急升。 他更擔心金融市場風險，尤其是股市和樓市都在高位，低信貸評級的企業債息亦低，認為應盡早討論開始退出寬鬆貨幣政策，包括放慢購買資產步伐。 ………………………………………………………………. 因類似空殼公司的SPAC很多時要兩年內完成併購，但如果要他們兩年內買一項大生意，不會有「似樣」的結果，批評SPAC是拿別人的錢賭博。 巴菲特巴郡股東會時表示，低息環境令保險業務投資困難，雖然公司有700至800億美元，很想用於併購或投資，但現時的狀況很難實現。 副主席芒格就形容討厭加密貨幣比特幣的成功，因很多時被用於綁架等犯罪活動與文明社會有衝突。 ……………………………………………………..????????讚好Facebook 專頁：https://www.facebook.com/VeriMedia.io……………………………………………………..更多資訊:https://veri-media.io……………………………………………………. https://v.kuaishou.com/ay9W3o LinkedIn Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp source

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Content Warning: This article covers suicidal ideation and suicide. If you are struggling with these topics, reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by phone: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Character AI, the artificial intelligence startup whose co-creators recently left to join Google following a major licensing deal with the search giant, has imposed new safety and auto moderation policies today on its platform for making custom interactive chatbot “characters” following a teen user’s suicide detailed in a tragic investigative article in The New York Times. The family of the victim is suing Character AI for his death. Character’s AI statement after tragedy of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of one of our users and want to express our deepest condolences to the family,” reads part of a message posted today, October 23, 2024, by the official Character AI company account on the social network X (formerly Twitter), linking to a blog post that outlines new safety measures for users under age 18, without mentioning the suicide victim, 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III. As reported by The New York Times, the Florida teenager, diagnosed with anxiety and mood disorders, died by suicide on February 28, 2024, following months of intense daily interactions with a custom Character AI chatbot modeled after Game of Thrones character Daenerys Targaryen, to whom he turned to for companionship, referred to as his sister and engaged in sexual conversations. In response, Setzer’s mother, lawyer Megan L. Garcia, filed a lawsuit against Character AI and Google parent company Alphabet yesterday in U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Florida for wrongful death. Photos of Setzer and his mother over the years. Credit: Megan Garcia/Bryson Gillette A copy of Garcia’s complaint demanding a jury trial provided to VentureBeat by public relations consulting firm Bryson Gillette is embedded below: The incident has sparked concerns about the safety of AI-driven companionship, particularly for vulnerable young users. Character AI has more than 20 million users and 18 million custom chatbots created, according to Online Marketing Rockstars (OMR). The vast majority (53%+) are between 18-24 years old, according to Demand Sage, though there are no categories broken out for under 18. The company states that its policy is only to accept users age 13 or older and 16 or older in the EU, though it is unclear how it moderates and enforces this restriction. Character AI’s current safety measures In its blog post today, Character AI states: “Over the past six months, we have continued investing significantly in our trust & safety processes and internal team. As a relatively new company, we hired a Head of Trust and Safety and a Head of Content Policy and brought on more engineering safety support team members. This will be an area where we continue to grow and evolve.  We’ve also recently put in place a pop-up resource that is triggered when the user inputs certain phrases related to self-harm or suicide and directs the user to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.” New safety measures announced In addition, Character AI has pledged to make the following changes to further restrict and contain the risks on its platform, writing: “Moving forward, we will be rolling out a number of new safety and product features that strengthen the security of our platform without compromising the entertaining and engaging experience users have come to expect from Character.AI. These include:  Changes to our models for minors (under the age of 18) that are designed to reduce the likelihood of encountering sensitive or suggestive content. Improved detection, response, and intervention related to user inputs that violate our Terms or Community Guidelines.  A revised disclaimer on every chat to remind users that the AI is not a real person. Notification when a user has spent an hour-long session on the platform with additional user flexibility in progress.“ As a result of these changes, Character AI appears to be deleting certain user-made custom chatbot characters abruptly. Indeed, the company also states in its post: “Users may notice that we’ve recently removed a group of Characters that have been flagged as violative, and these will be added to our custom blocklists moving forward. This means users also won’t have access to their chat history with the Characters in question.” Users balk at changes they see as restriction AI chatbot emotional output Though Character AI’s custom chatbots are designed to simulate a wide range of human emotions based on the user-creator’s stated preferences, the company’s changes to further align the range of outputs away from risky content is not going over well with some self-described users. As captured in screenshots posted to X by AI news influencer Ashutosh Shrivastava, the Character AI subreddit is filled with complaints. As one Redditor (Reddit user) under the name “Dqixy,” posted in part: “Every theme that isn’t considered “child-friendly” has been banned, which severely limits our creativity and the stories we can tell, even though it’s clear this site was never really meant for kids in the first place. The characters feel so soulless now, stripped of all the depth and personality that once made them relatable and interesting. The stories feel hollow, bland, and incredibly restrictive. It’s frustrating to see what we loved turned into something so basic and uninspired.“ Another Redditor, “visions_of_gideon_” was even more harsh, writing in part: “Every single chat that I had in a Targaryen theme is GONE. If c.ai is deleting all of them FOR NO FCKING REASON, then goodbye! I am a fcking paying for c.ai+, and you delete bots, even MY OWN bots??? Hell no! I am PISSED!!! I had enough! We all had enough! I am going insane! I had bots that I have been chatting with for MONTHS. MONTHS! Nothing inappropriate! This is my last straw. I am not only deleting my subscription, I am ready to delet c.ai!“ Similarly, the Character AI Discord server‘s feedback channel is

港股美國買賣的預託證券造價個別發展 滙控收市折合 44.8元—–比本港收市跌5仙港交所 462.6元———-跌2毫工商銀行 4.54元———跌2仙建設銀行 6.07元———跌4仙友邦保險 96.53元——–升3仙中國人壽 15.45元——–升5仙騰訊控股 584.66元——-升6毫6仙銀河娛樂 62.58元——–升4毫3仙中國石油股份 3.81元—–升3仙中國石油化工 3.96元—–升3仙……………………………………………… 多家中資證券公司就上半年業績發盈喜 中國銀河預期2021上半年多賺 15 % 至 20 % ，淨利潤至少有40億元(人民幣) 。 招商證券預期最多賺近60億元(人民幣)，按年增長 27 % 至 37 % 。 中國國際金融股份有限公司指2021上半年賺約50億元(人民幣) 按年增長 45 %至 65 % 。(中金指各項主要業務保持良好發展，預期中期淨利潤) ……………………………………………… 保險股人保集團及旗下中國財險發盈喜。 人保集團預期2021年上半年純利最多賺約170億元人民幣，按年比較增長25 % 至 35 %，受惠於投資收益增加，及費用支出減少。旗下中國財險同期淨利潤，預期按年比較上升 20 % 至 35 %。 ……………………………………………… 據報農業用品生產商先正達計劃在上海上市 可能成為今年來全球最大型新股 中國化工集團旗下瑞士農業用品生產商先正達，據報計劃在上海上市。 先正達 Syngenta公司估值約600億美元，扣除債務約500億美元。 先正達 Syngenta 總部於瑞士巴塞爾，2000年由諾華公司和農用化學品製造商捷利康合併而成，目前全球最大的農藥生產商。先正達業務遍及全球90多個國家和地區，擁有員工2萬1000人，2014年先正達的銷售額達151億美元，其中半數來自新興經濟體。2016年2月先正達宣布中國化工出價430億美元提議收購，2017年6月7日完成收購。 “路透”消息指，先正達計劃上海科創板上市，集資約100億美元，相當於超過770億港元，主要用於還債和研發等。 據報亦考慮在上市後一年內，再到紐約、倫敦或蘇黎世第二上市，香港亦是選項之一，但不是首選。 ……………………………………………… 中國石油和中石化預期上半年扭虧為盈 發盈喜 中國石油預期上半年—扭虧為盈，受惠於油氣產品銷量和價格上升 ，及旗下昆侖能源完成管道股權交割 。 中石化亦預期上半年—扭虧為盈，受惠於油價上升，石油石化產品需求恢復，賺365億-385億元(人民幣) 。 ……………………………………………… ADP調查美國私營企業職位上月續增加 增加數量多過預期 人力資源顧問公司ADP的調查 美國私營企業職位6月增加—— 692,000 個 市場則預期增加————— 600,000 個 5月份新職位數字————由 978,000 個，修訂為 886,000 個 美國勞工部星期五今天公布6月份就業數字 市場估計非農業職位增加 700,000 個，增幅大過5月份的559,000個，失業率預料會下降到 5.7 % 。 ……………………………………………… 美股個別發展 美國私營企業職位繼續穩步增加，增加數量多過預期，美股受支持 標普500連續第五個交易日創收市新高，標準普爾500指數報4297點，升5點。 道瓊斯工業平均指數連升第二日，道指收市報34502點，升210點。 重磅科網公司有沽盤，納斯達克指數偏軟 ……………………………………………… 油價連升第三日，紐約期油至兩年半以來最高 油組及盟友今年或繼續縮小減產規模，可能會較市場預期少，油價受支持。 紐約期油收市報——-75.23美元/一桶，升1.76美元，升幅 2.4 % 。(2018年3月10日以來最高收市價) 倫敦期油9月收市報—-75.84美元/一桶，升1.22美元，升幅 1.6 % 。 消息指，油組和俄羅斯等盟友於今年餘下時間可能繼續縮小減產規模，減產協議亦可能會延長。 《路透》消息 ，油組和盟友組成的部長級聯席監督委員會建議，於今年8月至12月繼續縮小減產規模，數額是每日 400,000 桶。 又建議將減產協議結束時間，由原訂的2022年4月延至2022年12月。會議結束後，油組和盟友隨即召開全體部長會議。各國對8月至12月繼續縮小減產規模的方案未能達成共識，會議暫時結束，星期五今日繼續進行。 ……………………………………………… ……………………………………………………..????????讚好Facebook 專頁：https://www.facebook.com/VeriMedia.io…………………………………………………….. LinkedIn Email Facebook Twitter WhatsApp source

B2B leaders have spent much of the past year scrambling to take advantage of generative AI (genAI) technology and find new ways to differentiate themselves. In 2025, the true power of genAI as a growth driver will be tested. Marketing, sales, and product executives’ accountability will intensify as companies turn to these functions to steer their organization’s most impactful genAI initiatives. Forrester’s 2025 predictions for B2B marketing, sales, and product teams prepare organizations for the good, bad, and even ugly outcomes of trying to generate value from this emerging technology. Here’s what you need to know heading into the new year: The good: AI coworkers will emerge as valued team members in two out of five organizations. As AI assistants get smarter, B2B organizations should continue to leverage their growing automation capabilities to help employees do their jobs better. Forrester’s Marketing Survey, 2024, shows that investment in B2B conversation automation solutions will continue to grow, with 64% of global B2B marketing leaders planning to increase spending on the technology in the next year. It’s time for employees to lose the narrative — and the fear — that AI assistants will replace their job, at least for now. Enhanced predictive, conversational, and generative capabilities will evolve AI coworkers into autonomous and adaptable agents. Embrace the good and start leaning on AI to boost productivity. The bad: Active selling time will decrease by 10% as genAI productivity initiatives backfire. Organizations will continue to increase their investments in AI in the pursuit of positive ROI. The investments will not all be financial: Adopting genAI technology and adapting to new methods that drive value will initially create more internal work. Sales leaders have pushed sellers to log interactions, a requirement for genAI value, yet pipeline analysis from our activity studies shows that this effort has often failed. The expectation of in-year productivity will lead organizations to restrict hiring, forcing sales teams to work harder. Be prepared to take one step back and focus on getting your data organized. This will enable you to take two steps forward with genAI. The ugly: CMOs and CSOs will aim to reorganize, but half will fail to fix what ails them. Organizations are compelled to use transformation projects, change management demands, and AI-driven disruptions to drive growth. With only 12% of marketing leaders in Forrester’s Q4 2023 Demand Marketing Organizational Design And Process Survey believing that their teams’ current organizational design will help them effectively meet revenue targets over the next year, many will attempt a restructure to try to address this lack of competency. But simply moving roles under different titles is a superficial change that does more harm than good. Focus instead on long-overdue shifts: Reset strategy and planning to orient around the customer, fix broken revenue processes, improve operational effectiveness, build stakeholder trust, and enhance talent to blend human and machine skills. Successful companies will shift the skills and competencies required of a role, not just the title. In 2025, B2B organizations will finally harness the AI advantage. Successful companies will tackle infrastructure challenges and realign resources while also resisting the urge to lay off headcount to satisfy the pressure for financial returns. Read our full Predictions 2025: B2B Marketing, Sales, And Product report to get more detail about each of these predictions and read additional predictions. Set up a Forrester guidance session to discuss these predictions or plan out your 2025 B2B strategy. If you aren’t yet a client, you can download our complimentary B2B Predictions guide, which covers more of our top predictions for 2025. Find additional complimentary resources, including webinars, on the Predictions 2025 hub. source

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Noam Brown, a leading research scientist at OpenAI, took the stage at the TED AI conference in San Francisco on Tuesday to deliver a powerful speech on the future of artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on OpenAI’s new o1 model and its potential to transform industries through strategic reasoning, advanced coding, and scientific research. Brown, who has previously driven breakthroughs in AI systems like Libratus, the poker-playing AI, and CICERO, which mastered the game of Diplomacy, now envisions a future where AI isn’t just a tool, but a core engine of innovation and decision-making across sectors. “The incredible progress in AI over the past five years can be summarized in one word: scale,” Brown began, addressing a captivated audience of developers, investors, and industry leaders. “Yes, there have been uplink advances, but the frontier models of today are still based on the same transformer architecture that was introduced in 2017. The main difference is the scale of the data and the compute that goes into it.” Brown, a central figure in OpenAI’s research endeavors, was quick to emphasize that while scaling models has been a critical factor in AI’s progress, it’s time for a paradigm shift. He pointed to the need for AI to move beyond sheer data processing and into what he referred to as “system two thinking”—a slower, more deliberate form of reasoning that mirrors how humans approach complex problems. The psychology behind AI’s next big leap: Understanding system two thinking To underscore this point, Brown shared a story from his PhD days when he was working on Libratus, the poker-playing AI that famously defeated top human players in 2017. “It turned out that having a bot think for just 20 seconds in a hand of poker got the same boosting performance as scaling up the model by 100,000x and training it for 100,000 times longer,” Brown said. “When I got this result, I literally thought it was a bug. For the first three years of my PhD, I had managed to scale up these models by 100x. I was proud of that work. I had written multiple papers on how to do that scaling, but I knew pretty quickly that all that would be a footnote compared to this scaling up system two thinking.” Brown’s presentation introduced system two thinking as the solution to the limitations of traditional scaling. Popularized by psychologist Daniel Kahneman in the book Thinking, Fast and Slow, system two thinking refers to a slower, more deliberate mode of thought that humans use for solving complex problems. Brown believes incorporating this approach into AI models could lead to major performance gains without requiring exponentially more data or computing power. He recounted that allowing Libratus to think for 20 seconds before making decisions had a profound effect, equating it to scaling the model by 100,000x. “The results blew me away,” Brown said, illustrating how businesses could achieve better outcomes with fewer resources by focusing on system two thinking. Inside OpenAI’s o1: The revolutionary model that takes time to think Brown’s talk comes shortly after the release of OpenAI’s o1 series models, which introduce system two thinking into AI. Launched in September 2024, these models are designed to process information more carefully than their predecessors, making them ideal for complex tasks in fields like scientific research, coding, and strategic decision-making. “We’re no longer constrained to just scaling up the system one training. Now we can scale up the system two thinking as well, and the beautiful thing about scaling up in this direction is that it’s largely untapped,” Brown explained. “This isn’t a revolution that’s 10 years away or even two years away. It’s a revolution that’s happening now.” The o1 models have already demonstrated strong performance in various benchmarks. For instance, in a qualifying exam for the International Mathematics Olympiad, the o1 model achieved an 83% accuracy rate—a significant leap from the 13% scored by OpenAI’s GPT-4o. Brown noted that the ability to reason through complex mathematical formulas and scientific data makes the o1 model especially valuable for industries that rely on data-driven decision-making. The business case for slower AI: Why patience pays off in enterprise solutions For businesses, OpenAI’s o1 model offers benefits beyond academic performance. Brown emphasized that scaling system two thinking could improve decision-making processes in industries like healthcare, energy, and finance. He used cancer treatment as an example, asking the audience, “Raise your hand if you would be willing to pay more than $1 for a new cancer treatment… How about $1,000? How about a million dollars?” Brown suggested that the o1 model could help researchers speed up data collection and analysis, allowing them to focus on interpreting results and generating new hypotheses. In energy, he noted that the model could accelerate the development of more efficient solar panels, potentially leading to breakthroughs in renewable energy. He acknowledged the skepticism about slower AI models. “When I mention this to people, a frequent response that I get is that people might not be willing to wait around for a few minutes to get a response, or pay a few dollars to get an answer to the question,” he said. But for the most important problems, he argued, that cost is well worth it. Silicon Valley’s new AI race: Why processing power isn’t everything OpenAI’s shift toward system two thinking could reshape the competitive landscape for AI, especially in enterprise applications. While most current models are optimized for speed, the deliberate reasoning process behind o1 could offer businesses more accurate insights, particularly in industries like finance and healthcare. In the tech sector, where companies like Google and Meta are heavily investing in AI, OpenAI’s focus on deep reasoning sets it apart. Google’s Gemini AI, for instance, is optimized for multimodal tasks, but it remains to be seen how it will compare to OpenAI’s models in terms of problem-solving capabilities. That said, the

Enterprise application giants facing macroeconomic pressures, heightened customer expectations, and concerns about trust in the wake of the CrowdStrike disruption and CDK outage are leaning into their data assets and AI strategies to drive greater security and value for the enterprise. Yet they are continually challenged from all directions. Best-in-class point solutions are eroding wallet share of the big players, as they have always done; small and midsize vendors are moving upmarket and into their competitive space; service providers experiencing an erosion of their traditional revenue streams are moving up the stack with business services and industry apps that infringe on the remit of software giants; and of course, hyperscalers with best-in-class AI are now offering business capabilities that pose new threats. With all of these pressures impacting the enterprise application market, we predict that in 2025 the two dominant themes will be trust and value, especially as AI becomes more firmly embedded within more applications. According to a recent Forrester survey, 79% of technology decision-makers in US organizations reported an increase in their software costs over the past year. One strategy that we see emerging as a result of this is application vendors leaning into strategies like small language models, as they are less expensive and at the same time generate more accurate and trustworthy responses. With these market trends as a backdrop, here are three of our enterprise software predictions for 2025: A major software vendor will publicly expose the software supply chain. Given ongoing concerns about outages and security, vendors will face more pressure to clearly state software and ecosystem interdependencies, including details about outages and performance degradation, to increase customer trust. In 2025, we predict that several major enterprise application vendors will go further and disclose the details about their software supply chain in contractual agreements and publish details on their websites, especially their trust sites, as well as the admin dashboards. Consumption-based pricing will become 10% of the price of enterprise software. In 2025, we expect a sharp rise in true consumption-based pricing models, especially to account for AI usage. Case in point is Salesforce’s Einstein 1 suite, which combines suite-based functionality with consumption credits. While this will map closer to real product usage than seat-based pricing, this model doesn’t necessarily map to realized value. While a lot of today’s pricing models are bundles or proxies for consumption, we expect more true pay-as-you-go because of the uncertainties in consumption for the new models. Even though software vendors rush to embrace consumption pricing, we expect further experimentation with pricing, especially when rationalizing — and simplifying pricing for products that are a mix of seat- and consumption-based pricing. Enterprise software vendors will use new data valuation for pricing and investments. By 2025, Forrester predicts that at least three large vendors will reevaluate how they value their applications’ data assets. While historically, enterprise software vendors have focused on applications metrics such as seats or usage, the shift to AI and the rise of data will cause them to rethink the role of data as a monetization engine and as a barometer of value. Vendors will likely adopt a hybrid approach, bridging financial reporting standards and historical ways of measuring with the evolving role of data as an asset to be monetized. Forrester clients can read our full Predictions 2025: Enterprise Software report to get more detail about each of these predictions and read additional predictions. Set up a Forrester guidance session to discuss these predictions or plan out your 2025 enterprise software strategy. If you aren’t yet a client, you can download our complimentary Predictions guide for technology and security leaders, which covers more of our top predictions for 2025. Get additional complimentary resources, including webinars, on the Predictions 2025 hub. source