Latest news with #JARVIS
Forbes
6 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Rise Of AI Agents: The Next Step In AI Transformation
Ashar Samdani: CEO of Code District, a Washington-based software development firm that focuses on helping businesses incorporate modern tech Out of all the cinematic representations of intelligent agents, my favorite remains Tony Stark's JARVIS. It wasn't just a voice assistant—it was a thinking, learning, proactive system that made decisions, predicted needs and worked seamlessly across tools and interfaces. Back then, it felt like science fiction. But fast-forward to now, and we're closer than ever. We've already lived through the first phase of AI transformation—where businesses experimented with automation, language models and machine learning to improve tasks, productivity and outcomes. It showed us what was possible. In just three years since AI became widely accessible, we've entered a new era. One where AI drives decision-making. One where agentic AI doesn't wait for instructions—it takes initiative. And that, for every forward-thinking business leader, opens an entirely new frontier. As someone who's spent nearly two decades in the tech industry—and has had a front-row seat to multiple AI implementations over the last four years—I can tell you this: every new wave of innovation brings a learning curve. But agentic AI? It's not as complex as it sounds. In fact, it's surprisingly intuitive once you break it down. This is my attempt to do exactly that—to demystify agentic AI, explain the business value it can unlock and offer a practical guide to help leaders like you take the next step in your AI transformation journey. What Exactly Is An AI Agent? An AI agent is a system that can perceive its environment, make decisions and take actions autonomously to achieve specific goals—like a human assistant, but powered by AI. Think of Siri: you ask it to set a timer or play a song, and it responds. But imagine if Siri could proactively schedule meetings, follow up with colleagues and update your calendar—all without you asking. A true AI agent won't take you through interfaces of different apps—it will abstract away the complexity. You'd simply say, 'Plan a business trip to Europe,' and the tool would check your calendar, compare deals based on your preferences and deliver an itinerary, without showing you the tools it used. What powers this shift is a combination of technologies: natural language processing (to understand and generate human-like responses), large language models (for reasoning and contextual understanding), machine learning (to improve from past interactions) and orchestration tools (to connect with apps and perform tasks). When these components work together in a closed-loop system, the result is an AI agent that's capable of taking initiative, reasoning independently and completing complex tasks. The Business Benefits Here's how companies are already benefiting: • 24/7 task execution: Agents can autonomously handle routine operations—like report generation, scheduling or customer support—without human intervention or downtime. • Faster decision-making: Agents analyze data in real time and act on it immediately, reducing delays caused by manual reviews and approval chains. • Cross-app efficiency: Instead of jumping between dashboards, an AI agent can retrieve info from a CRM, update an ERP and send out an email—all from a single command. • Reduced operational costs: By automating low-value, repetitive tasks, businesses can free up human talent for strategic work while cutting overhead. • Hyper-personalized experiences: From sales outreach to supply chain adjustments, agents can tailor responses and actions based on user behavior, preferences or context. Industry Application: Manufacturing Here's how different types of agents could apply to various business functions in manufacturing: • Reactive agents for quality control: These agents respond to immediate inputs, learning from the past. Think of a visual inspection system that flags defects on the assembly line based on fixed criteria—fast, rule-based and focused on the present moment. • Proactive agents for maintenance scheduling: Proactive agents analyze real-time machine data and usage patterns to predict when equipment will need servicing. • Hybrid agents for inventory and supply chain: By blending real-time responsiveness and historical insight, hybrid agents can optimize restocking decisions. They respond to order spikes while using trends to anticipate future demands and supplier constraints. • Utility-based agents for resource allocation: Utility-based agents evaluate competing priorities to find the best outcome. In manufacturing, they might assign tasks across machines or teams based on efficiency, output targets and cost. • Learning agents for process optimization: These agents learn and improve over time. For instance, they might analyze operator techniques to optimize workflows or identify energy-saving patterns—continually improving plant performance using reinforcement learning. Common Challenges For many businesses, the biggest hurdle with agentic AI is knowing where to begin. It sounds powerful (and let's be honest, a bit magical), but without a clear understanding of how and where it fits into your operations, it becomes just another buzzword. Even when companies do take the plunge, they sometimes fall into the trap of the 'bolt-on' approach—slapping AI on top of flawed or outdated processes in hopes of a quick fix. But agentic systems amplify what's already there. If the underlying workflow is broken or inefficient, AI won't solve it—in fact, it can make things worse by reinforcing bad habits at scale. And perhaps the most underestimated challenge? Getting people on board. New tech can trigger resistance. Without proper onboarding, training and internal advocacy, even the most promising systems risk being ignored, misused or rejected by the very teams they're supposed to empower. Integrating AI Agents Integrating AI agents into your business is about solving real operational problems. To make AI agents actually deliver value, approach implementation like a business transformation. Pinpoint where things consistently break down—be it slow approvals, clunky data entry or decision-making delays. Don't automate noise. Eliminate it. Lay out each step of the process you want to improve. Flag areas where agents can make decisions or take action with little human input. Match tools to tasks. A reactive agent might be great for handling support tickets; a learning agent might be better for optimizing demand forecasts. Test the agent with live scenarios—not ideal ones. Measure responsiveness, accuracy and user friction. Treat the agent like a new hire. Gather user insights, monitor performance and tweak continuously for better results. Smart implementation starts with purpose—not with hype. Focus on impact, and the ROI will follow. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This is the Stock I'm Retiring On – It's Already Up 70%
According to estimates from S&P Global, just the five AI hyperscalers; Meta Platforms, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple are projected to spend more than $1 trillion in capital investment on AI in the three years through 2027. Let that number sink in for a second…more than a trillion spent to develop artificial intelligence from just five companies. The AI revolution is NOT slowing down and stocks in the theme have the power to change your life! But while most investors chase new all-time highs in shares of Nvidia (NVDA), which would have to grow to more than the entire US economy to produce another 10X return, the smart money will be made in the next generation of AI benefactors. The companies in networking, software and final use cases – these are the stocks to buy now that will produce the next Nvidia-like returns. These are the stocks that will retire your job and I've found four I'm loading up on. First up, while everyone's been obsessed with Nvidia's chips, they've missed a critical truth: those chips are worthless without somewhere to live. That 'somewhere' is custom-built servers—and Super Micro Computer (SMCI) is the top supplier of those AI-optimized machines. Think of SMCI as the contractor building the actual brains of the AI revolution. They don't just sell off-the-shelf servers; they design tailor-made systems for speed, performance, and energy efficiency. And when companies are spending billions on data centers, every watt and millisecond matters. What gives SMCI its edge is time-to-market. It can go from idea to implementation faster than legacy giants like Dell or HPE. In a sector projected to attract over a trillion dollars in investment over the next two years, being first—and better—counts. The stock has already made some investors rich, but there's still plenty of upside in this picks-and-shovels powerhouse. Next up, ever wonder why Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) didn't just sell his AI assistant JARVIS out as a product and make trillions of dollars? SoundHound AI (SOUN) is doing just that, making voice AI actually useful in the real world. Its tech doesn't just turn voice into text and then figure out what you meant—it goes straight from speech to meaning, eliminating steps and reducing error. It's what Siri and Alexa should have been. SoundHound has spent over a decade perfecting this platform and is now embedding it into everyday experiences—from cars to drive-thrus and payment systems. Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Mastercard, and even White Castle are already rolling it out. These aren't pilot programs; this is real-world adoption, happening now. The market for voice AI is projected to $160 billion, potentially multiplying the company's $85 million revenue last year and turning this $3.9 billion company into a powerhouse. The biggest risk? That one of the tech giants—Amazon, Apple, or Google—decides it's easier to buy the company than compete before SoundHound AI has a chance to become the next Nvidia. I love talking stocks and that face-to-face community we're building on the YouTube channel. You can visit the Bow Tie Nation and check out all the 2025 stock picks on Let's Talk Money! Quantum Computing (QUBT) isn't in that AI theme…it's what could replace the theme and that's why I'm buying a few shares every month. When the market has forgotten about AI, when it becomes a part of our everyday life and investors look for the next big thing – it's going to be quantum computing and I want to be ready. Quantum computing isn't just faster—it's a complete reimagining of how information is processed. Traditional computers use binary logic—ones and zeros—while quantum computers leverage 'qubits,' which can exist in multiple states at once. The result? Problems that take supercomputers thousands of years could be solved in seconds. Quantum Computing Inc. is positioning itself as a software-first player in this revolution. While giants like Google and IBM are building massive, hardware-heavy quantum machines that require extreme cooling, QUBT is developing platform-agnostic software that works on today's systems but can seamlessly transition to quantum hardware when it's ready. Their Qatalyst platform abstracts away the complexity of quantum mechanics, which could be a game-changer for adoption. Symbotic Inc (SYM) is tackling one of the oldest and most broken systems in the economy, warehouse logistics and bringing it into the 21st century. Their solution combines AI, robotics, and software into a complete automation platform—something that transforms legacy warehouses into futuristic, self-operating fulfillment centers. The real genius here isn't just in the technology—it's in the business model. Symbotic doesn't sell a one-time system and walk away. Its tech is embedded deep into the DNA of a company's operations, making it nearly impossible to switch out without massive disruption for recurring revenue that keeps growing. They've already inked a 10-year deal with Walmart and expanded to Target and Albertsons. Now, through a $7.5 billion joint venture with SoftBank, they're offering automation-as-a-service to the entire industry. It's not just about U.S. dominance—the global logistics market is a $3.9 trillion opportunity, and Symbotic is just getting started. Shares are already up 70% this year but with runway to build the kind of portfolio that retires your job. Disclosure: This is the Stock I'm Retiring On is written by Joseph Hogue, CFA who is a former equity analyst and economist. Born and raised in Iowa, after serving in the Marine Corps, Joseph worked in corporate finance and real estate before starting a career in investment analysis. He has appeared on Bloomberg and CNBC and led a team of equity analysts for a venture capital research firm. He holds a master's degree in business and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Positions in stocks mentioned: SOUN, SYM, SMCI
The Hindu
11-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Kerala's Sylcon deploys Staqu Tech's JARVIS AI solution to power retail store operations
Staqu Technologies, an AI-powered video analytics company, has announced the deployment of its platform JARVIS at Sylcon, one of Kerala's well known retail chains with a network of Sylcon Shoes and Sylcon Hypermarkets. 'This collaboration marks a significant step in Sylcon's digital transformation journey as it leverages artificial intelligence to drive smarter store operations, enhance customer experience, and unlock operational agility,' Staqu Technologies said in a statement. With the integration of JARVIS, Sylcon now receives daily footfall analytics across all its retail outlets, enabling managers to plan staffing, product placement, and promotional campaigns based on customer movement patterns. The platform also offers real-time conversion tracking—allowing the retailer to monitor performance at store, department, and even shelf-level, ensuring faster response times and data-informed decision-making. 'JARVIS has empowered us to extract valuable operational insights from our existing CCTV infrastructure,' Faizan Mohamad, Executive Director, Sylcon. 'With real-time visibility into footfall trends and customer movement patterns, we are optimising staffing, product placements, and promotional campaigns more effectively. This AI-enabled intelligence is helping us deliver a sharper, more responsive in-store experience while improving operational efficiency,' he said. 'Retailers like Sylcon are embracing JARVIS not just to monitor what's happening in their stores—but to understand why it's happening. The true power of AI lies in its ability to uncover hidden patterns, inform smarter decisions, and ultimately transform the way businesses think about efficiency and experience. With JARVIS, we're enabling retail leaders to move from intuition to intelligence—seamlessly, and at scale,' said Atul Rai, Co-Founder & CEO, Staqu Technologies.
