Published on LinkedIn, Substack and AmitabhApte.com on Sept 14, 2025
In spotlight this week: Robinhood CEO recognises AI platform shift
We’ve stopped asking if companies will adopt AI. The question now is: how fast will they rewire themselves into AI companies?
Robinhood’s CEO recently declared just as every company became a “tech company,” every company will soon be an “AI company.” It’s a bold claim but history rhymes. The internet made digital storefronts mandatory, mobile turned every service into an app, and cloud redefined scale. AI now feels like the next inevitability. Much like a historic city that layers modern infrastructure onto its ancient streets, companies must preserve their rich heritage while rewiring pathways for an AI age. The old and new must coexist but progress demands bridges, not barricades.
The data confirms the shift. McKinsey’s 2025 survey shows 65% of companies already use AI in at least one function, BUT fewer than 25% have embedded it across multiple business processes. That widening gap between pilots and full-scale adoption mirrors past waves of disruption where only a few turned experiments into enduring competitive advantage.
The markets are voting with capital. Robinhood’s own leap into the S&P 500 is more than a headline. It signals that investors are rewarding not just vision but delivery moving from hype cycles to hard metrics of revenue, profit, and scale.
My PoV: AI is not a bolt-on feature. It’s becoming the new corporate nervous system, rewiring how decisions are made, how work gets done, and how value is created. The leaders who succeed won’t be those with the loudest AI press releases, but those who invest in new skills, governance, and customer trust while building resilience from the inside out.
“AI won’t just be a layer of software. It will be the fabric of how businesses compete, collaborate, and create value.”
Noteworthy this week: what caught my eye in the AI and tech world
The AI Economy – partnerships, infrastructure, and capital
- OpenAI to share 8% of its revenue with Microsoft – a reminder that ecosystem economics matter as much as technology.
- BlackRock’s $700M UK data centre bet – data centres are the new ports and pipelines of the AI age.
- Nvidia and OpenAI to back UK AI infrastructure – Geopolitics and compute are now inseparable.
Tech disruption – old giants, new bets
- Oracle’s bold OpenAI trade – critics warn of “jam tomorrow” promises, but the scale-up opportunity is massive.
- Google Cloud chief on AI monetisation – the shift from vague adoption to outcome-based revenue models.
- Apple’s £2,000 iPhone and “peak iPhone” worries – industrial design brilliance needs to be matched with an AI narrative.
Society and culture adapting to tech
- Nepal’s social media ban backfires – conversations don’t die, they just move underground.
- Schools banning phones spark a nostalgia wave – iPods and cassettes resurface, proving culture abhors a vacuum.
Market dynamics – winners and casualties
- India’s Hike shuts down under gaming crackdown – a unicorn felled by regulation. Policy risk is as real as product risk.
- Busiest IPO week since 2021 raises $4B for six newcomers – investor appetite is thawing, but only for firms with credible AI or growth stories.
Beyond Tech & AI: my “mind share” this week
I tuned into a fascinating conversation between Jay Shetty and Deepak Chopra on AI and spirituality. Chopra reminded us that while artificial intelligence expands our external capabilities, it’s only sustainable if balanced with practices that expand our inner capacities, meditation, reflection, and self-awareness.
Technology sharpens our tools. But it’s human intelligence that shapes our purpose. My own Yoga practice reinforces this truth: clarity, calm, and resilience don’t come from faster chips or larger models they come from training the mind and body with the same discipline we apply to training algorithms.
In an AI-driven age, we need as much commitment to cultivating inner intelligence as we do to scaling artificial intelligence. That balance will determine whether innovation serves human flourishing or overwhelms it.
In summary: my key takeaway this weekend
Calling yourself an AI company is easy. Becoming one is costly, cultural, and continuous. The future of competition isn’t about adding AI as a feature, it’s about embedding it as the fabric of business itself.
Amitabh Apte 