FROM THE DESK OF
Clark Valberg
MANAGING PARTNER
In 1999, The Sims let you build a digital life for someone who didn't exist. Pika Labs now lets you build one for someone who does: you.
The AI video startup launched AI Selves this week: persistent digital twins built from your selfie, your voice, and your personality. They remember past conversations, operate across Slack, WhatsApp, and Discord, and evolve their behavior over time. The first line of Pika's FAQ reads "Wait, is this real?" Where most AI companies race to complete tasks faster, Pika made a different bet entirely: that your identity is the product.
The timing matters. Every new platform, group chat, and integration stretches personal presence thinner. Founders answer investors on one channel and manage teams on another. Creators maintain audiences across five surfaces simultaneously. Pika's thesis is that the bottleneck has moved from productivity to presence, and that the ability to deploy a consistent version of yourself across the internet is worth more than another workflow shortcut.
"The next status symbol won't be how many people work for you. It'll be how many places you exist at once."
/ THE DEEP DIVE
Accenture Ties Promotions to AI Tool Usage
At Accenture, AI adoption is now a career lever. The consulting giant — with 780K employees — is tracking weekly AI tool logins for associate directors and flagging usage as a "visible input" to leadership reviews. While 550K+ staff have completed AI training, senior partners remain the hardest to convert, a resistance pattern playing out across the consulting industry. CEO Julie Sweet put it bluntly on an earnings call last year: staff who don't reskill for AI will be exited.
SOURCE: FINANCIAL TIMES
BUSINESS IMPACT:
Consulting Industry:
Firms that can’t drive senior AI adoption will fall behind on productivity — Accenture’s mandate sets a new competitive baseline.
Enterprise AI Vendors:
If internal tools are being called “broken slop generators,” adoption mandates will accelerate pressure on vendors to deliver tools that actually work.
HR & Workforce Platforms:
Tying AI usage to promotions creates a new performance metric — one that workforce management systems will need to track natively or risk irrelevance.
/ INDUSTRY WATCH
MANUFACTURING
Mimic Partners with Audi to Bring AI-Driven Robotics to Industrial Production
Mimic's AI-powered robots are now handling complex, precise assembly tasks inside Audi's factories — fully autonomously. Manual labor in demanding manufacturing operations just got a credible replacement.
SRC: X / MIMIC ROBOTICS
REAL ESTATE
United Real Estate Launches a Free AI Platform That Does the Desk Work for Agents
BullseyeAI automates client outreach, lead generation, marketing, and recruiting for United Real Estate affiliates — at no cost. Less desk time, more deal time.
SRC: PR NEWSWIRE
AGRICULTURE
Colorado State University's $1M AI Project Turns Complex Soil Data Into Farm-Ready Decisions
CSU's TerraScope project merges field and satellite data into plain-language guidance farmers can act on immediately — replacing raw data complexity with clear decisions on water, soil, and crops.
SRC: THE FENCE POST
TECH
Google Lets Anyone Build Automated Workflows With a Simple Text Prompt
Google's Opal platform now turns a plain-language description into a fully automated workflow — no technical skills needed. The AI selects its own tools, retains memory across sessions, and asks follow-up questions when needed.
SRC: TECHCRUNCH
HEALTHCARE
McLaren Health Deploys AI to Screen 40,000 Patients a Year for Hidden Heart Disease
McLaren will run AI across routine chest scans to catch heart disease before symptoms appear — no extra tests required. It expects to flag ~4000 at-risk patients annually who had no idea they were in danger.
SRC: UP NORTH LIVE
BANKING & FINANCE
BNY Embeds Google's Latest AI Into Its Platform as Banks Race to Automate
BNY has added Google's latest AI to its internal platform, which already runs 120+ automated tasks and deploys 100+ AI assistants alongside staff. Every assistant clears a formal review before going live — a governance model other banks are watching closely.
RETAIL
Reddit Turns Community Recommendations Into a Shoppable Search Experience
Reddit is testing AI search that pulls product recommendations from its own discussions and pairs them with pricing and direct purchase links. With 80 million weekly active search users, it's a direct shot at Google and Amazon in product discovery.
SRC: TECHCRUNCH
MEDIA
YouTube Brings Its AI Assistant to the Living Room
YouTube's AI assistant is now on smart TVs and streaming devices, letting viewers ask questions mid-video by voice or on-screen button. With 12.4% of all U.S. TV viewing time — ahead of Disney and Netflix — the timing couldn't be more deliberate.
SRC: TECHCRUNCH
/ NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS
$100B
Meta Signs $100 Billion AI Chip Deal with AMD
The social media giant agreed to purchase up to 6 gigawatts of computing power, with AMD granting Meta a warrant for up to 10% of its stock based on performance milestones.
VIA AI BUSINESS
$1.5B
UK Self-Driving Startup Wayve Raises $1.5 Billion
The company secured $1.2 billion led by Eclipse and SoftBank, with an additional $300 million from Uber tied to robotaxi deployments launching in London this year.
VIA NEWYORK TIMES
$1B
Fei-Fei Li's World Labs Raises $1 Billion
The spatial intelligence startup secured funding from AMD, Nvidia, and Autodesk, which invested $200 million to collaborate on integrating its 3D generation model into design software.
VIA REUTERS
$500M
AI Chip Startup MatX Raises $500 Million
The Google engineer-founded company secured funding led by Situational Awareness to build chips claiming 10x better training performance, with TSMC production planned for 2027.
VIA TECHCRUNCH
$350M
SambaNova Raises $350 Million, Partners with Intel
The AI chip company secured funding led by Vista Equity Partners and struck a multi-year partnership with Intel to deploy its SN50 chip claiming 5x higher speed than competing platforms.
VIA REUTERS
/ EMERGING TOOLS
01
Simulates user research conversations in minutes, delivering audience insights without recruitment costs or scheduling.
02
Answers booking calls 24/7 with natural-sounding AI, capturing revenue from every missed appointment.
03
Queries multiple AI models simultaneously and cross-checks their answers, reducing errors for critical decisions.
04
Automates sales and marketing workflows across apps using plain English, eliminating manual repetition.
05
Turns spreadsheets into charts and dashboards instantly without coding.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
TRANSFORMATIVE STUDIO
We partner with deeply embedded operators to discover, design, and spin out AI-native companies that transform industries.