AI moves into the physical world
Why robotics and autonomous systems are becoming a strategic operating-model choice rather than a standalone technology investment.
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Public sector and public services
Improve public outcomes and institutional capacity as governments balance rising service demands with tighter fiscal and workforce constraints.
Discover the macroEditorial overview
Articles
The AI workforce is an operating-model question
How companies can redesign roles, skills and capacity around the work that AI should automate, augment or leave to people.
Read articleFocus
Chemical producers face a structural capacity problem, not just another weak cycle
New capacity, soft demand and regional energy differences are pushing commodity chemicals toward prolonged margin pressure.
AI is beginning to attack the economics of the professional-services hour
Clients are using AI internally while questioning fees for work that machines increasingly perform faster and more cheaply.
Strategic challenges
Can power systems expand fast enough for the age of electricity?
The challenge is coordinating generation, networks, storage and flexible demand while connection queues already exceed available grid capacity.
What still justifies the distributor margin when information becomes transparent?
The challenge is proving value through availability, technical expertise and service rather than relying on product access alone.
POV
The future of agriculture will not be solved by technology alone
Food production remains biological and local; innovation wins only when it survives weather, farmer economics and fragmented operating conditions.
AI may destroy more software categories than it creates
When an agent can perform the workflow directly, some applications risk becoming infrastructure rather than destinations users need to open.
Strategic impact
Distribution advantage is shifting toward inventory intelligence and service depth
Better demand visibility and differentiated support can improve working-capital economics while protecting relevance against direct and digital channels.
AI-mediated commerce could change how retailers compete for consideration
Machine-readable product data, value clarity and fulfillment performance may matter more as digital agents influence purchase decisions.
What we observe
Private-capital portfolios often look diversified while underlying exposures converge
Shared borrowers, similar financing structures and overlapping strategies can create more correlation than fund-level labels suggest.
Telcos often enter adjacent technology markets where specialists hold the economics
Large enterprise deals can add revenue while integration complexity and lower margins dilute the strategic case for becoming a broad tech provider.