Bridging the Speed Gap: How LinkedIn, Walmart, and Zendesk Overcame Legacy Infrastructure Challenges to Accelerate AI Agents
At VB Transform 2026, leaders from LinkedIn, Walmart, and Zendesk revealed that legacy infrastructure—not AI models—is the main hurdle slowing AI agents. They shared strategies for modernizing workflows, managing data, and maintaining flexibility to keep pace with agent speeds, emphasizing early evaluation, employee empowerment, and owning adaptable infrastructure.
Brex Innovates AI Agent Security by Learning from Real Actions Instead of Predefined Rules
Brex created CrabTrap, a network-layer AI agent security platform that learns from real agent behavior rather than relying on predefined rules. This open-source proxy uses an LLM judge to monitor network requests, enabling precise, framework-agnostic policy enforcement with minimal latency. CrabTrap increases enterprise confidence in autonomous agents and is evolving with community input.
The Future of AI and Technological Sovereignty by 2030
Forrester’s research reveals how countries are striving to achieve technological sovereignty by independently handling critical technologies. The report highlights the evolving global landscape of AI and tech control, emphasizing the importance of autonomy from foreign influence by 2030.
How Tech Companies Are Nurturing R&D Talent Pipelines for 2026
Vimalraj Sampathkumar highlights the need for tech companies to adopt long-term strategies in recruiting and nurturing R&D talent, ensuring a robust talent pipeline for 2026 and beyond.
Hyundai to Acquire Full Control of Boston Dynamics
Hyundai is set to take full ownership of Boston Dynamics and intends to deploy the company's Atlas humanoid robots in its US factories, enhancing automation in its manufacturing processes.
Thinking Machines Lab Launches Inkling, a Customizable AI Model
Thinking Machines Lab, led by Mira Murati, has introduced Inkling, its first customizable open-source AI model, marking a significant milestone shortly after the start-up's founding. This launch highlights the company's commitment to advancing AI technology.
Kalshi Targets Biopharma with Prediction Markets for Clinical Trials and FDA Approvals
Kalshi is introducing prediction markets to the biopharma industry, focusing on forecasting the outcomes of clinical trials and FDA approvals. This approach, successful in other fields like sports and politics, could reshape decision-making and risk management in drug development.
CMS Plans New Payment Framework for Clinical Software and AI
CMS is developing a new payment system for clinical software and AI to better reflect their contributions to patient health, focusing on standardized reimbursement based on outcome impact.
AI Reveals the Hidden Pace of Organizational Decision-Making
AI technology is shedding light on an uncomfortable reality within companies: decisions are often made slower than necessary. Instead of slowing down decision-making, AI exposes the existing inefficiencies and pushes organizations to confront their internal pace. This revelation is prompting companies to reassess and improve how quickly and effectively they operate.
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K3: The World's Largest Open-Source AI Model Challenging Leading U.S. Systems
Moonshot AI introduces Kimi K3, a 2.8-trillion-parameter open-source AI model that rivals top U.S. systems. Featuring cutting-edge architecture and autonomous capabilities, Kimi K3 elevates China's position in the AI global race and offers enterprises a powerful option beyond proprietary platforms. This release marks a pivotal moment as open-source AI narrows the gap with proprietary technology, reshaping future AI innovation and enterprise use.
The Evaluation Discrepancy in Enterprise AI: Autonomy Outpaces Trust Yet Deployment Advances
Enterprises are granting AI agents more autonomy than they trust their evaluation processes to support. Half have deployed agents that passed tests but failed in production. Trust in automated evaluations is low due to poor real-world alignment, yet two-thirds allow production deployment without human oversight. The evaluation tools are fragmented, and investment trends highlight a dual approach: automating deployment while increasing human review and observability. The core issue is an evaluation gap, not a coverage problem, putting enterprises at risk of scaling failures as autonomy outpaces assurance.
Reflection AI Secures $1 Billion Compute Partnership with Nebius
Reflection AI, a company founded in 2024, has secured a $1 billion deal for computing power from Nebius to advance its open-source AI projects, marking a significant step in AI technology development.
Kalshi Creates Forward Curve for GPU Compute Power as Exchanges Develop Tradable GPU Contracts
Kalshi has introduced a forward curve tracking future GPU computing power prices. Using weekly and monthly contracts up to a year, this tool aims to standardize GPU rental costs as financial instruments, joining other exchanges in this evolving market.
PepsiCo's Digital Twin Innovation: Revolutionizing Factory Efficiency
PepsiCo is transforming factory operations with digital twins—precise 3D models powered by AI—that simulate and optimize manufacturing processes. This approach boosts productivity, anticipates bottlenecks, and enhances agility, enabling global scaling through partnerships with Siemens and Nvidia. Digital twins also help PepsiCo quickly adapt to changing consumer demands and evolving supply chain challenges, positioning them for future success in a dynamic market.
Bridging the Global Scale Divide: The Vital Role of Strategic Focus in AI-Driven Expansion
Despite AI and digital platforms easing access to global opportunities, scaling remains concentrated in traditional hubs due to strategic pitfalls like overexpansion and local bias. Success stories like Grab, Grammarly, and Spotify show that strategic clarity—defining unique advantages and targeted markets—is essential. Companies that align technology use with focused business strategy can turn location from a limitation into a strategic asset, enabling broader global scaling.
Albanese to Accelerate Datacentre Approvals to Boost AI Investment in Australia
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promises quicker approvals for AI projects like datacentres, alongside creating a new office to oversee AI's economic, social, security, and environmental impacts, positioning Australia as a global leader in AI governance.
Bots Now Dominate the Web: How Cloudflare is Enhancing Cybersecurity
Bots now account for the majority of internet traffic, surpassing human users. Cloudflare’s new tool, Precursor, improves security by observing how visitors act after they enter a site, rather than only checking their credentials beforehand. This strategy aims to better handle the surge in automated web requests.
Leadership Lessons from Grindr’s CEO: Embracing Change with AI Guidance
The CEO of Grindr’s initiative to hire an AI tutor highlights a crucial leadership lesson: successful leaders focus on preparing their people for change rather than merely driving it. This approach emphasizes readiness and support over imposition, underscoring the human side of leadership amid technological advances.
ACRouter Revolutionizes AI Model Selection, Cutting Costs by Over 2.6x Compared to Opus-Only Approaches
ACRouter introduces a dynamic AI model routing system that learns from real-time feedback to optimize task assignment, outperforming static methods and reducing costs by 2.6 times compared to Opus-only models. This open-source framework adapts to changing tasks and models, making it ideal for verifiable AI workflows like coding while improving enterprise AI efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Inside China’s Bold AI Revolution: From AI Doctors to Drone Deliveries
Amy Hawkins discusses China's extensive adoption of AI technologies, including medical AI, factory robots, delivery drones, and the use of AI for increased state surveillance, highlighting a strong contrast to Western scepticism.