You can't scan the headlines lately without seeing buzz around generative artificial intelligence (AI). The product innovations are only beginning. But even with the best technology out there, you'll still be faced with a key question: How can you implement AI at scale in a way that maximizes the return on your investment? Let's look at one model company you can learn from. Schneider Electric, a global energy management and industrial automation company, has formalized an AI program under a new Chief AI Officer and scaled it to every corner of the company.

Two-thirds of senior executives across industries -- and nearly nine out of ten leaders from the world's largest enterprises -- believe AI is vitally important for the future of their businesses and will be increasing AI investment in the post-pandemic era. However, significant challenges remain on delivering ROI from AI investment. An ESI ThoughtLab study of 1,200 organisations has revealed that companies are generating on average an ROI of only 1.3%, while 40% of AI projects are not yet profitable. The reason for this, according to the research, is that AI initiatives require time, expertise and scale to deliver on their promise of high returns. With the pandemic speeding up the need for quick data-driven decision-making, companies should act now to develop the skills, platforms, and processes that can enable them to achieve the full strategic, operational, and financial benefits from AI.

Nissan has developed a new way to use robots to make car parts out of sheet steel, a breakthrough that could make replacement parts for discontinued models more widely available for customers. Nissan hopes to commercialize the proprietary technique, known as dual-sided dieless forming. The technique involves two synchronized robots working from opposite sides of a steel sheet, using diamond-coated tools to gradually shape the steel. Thanks to its flexible production, short lead times and minimal upfront costs, the new technique could make it commercially viable to produce and sell a wide variety of after-service and replacement parts in small volumes for cars that Nissan no longer makes. This was previously not possible due to the high upfront costs and long lead times to develop and make--dies for stamped parts.

Over the course of the last 12 years or so, we've seen an evolution from large traditional VC firms investing $5-10M per company in the first round of financing to the emergence of "micro" VC firms investing in rounds $1M-$3M dubbed "seed rounds". This evolution has also spawned even smaller firms investing in rounds of several hundreds of thousands of dollars as well in a stage referred to as "pre-seed". As Mark Suster wrote in his post linked above, the emergence of open source software and cloud computing completely eviscerated the costs and barriers to starting a company, leading to deflationary economics where one or two people could start their company without the large upfront costs that were historically the hallmark of the VC industry. These lower barriers to entry has led to a "cambrian explosion" of startups but hasn't necessarily changed the rules of business. Without a defensible moat, it's just about impossible to create a large company with sustainable profits.

Smartwatches like the Apple Watch may have failed to generate the seismic shift seen with the arrival of the iPhone, but musician and entrepreneur will.i.am The self-confessed geek has launched his own watch-based gadget that can make calls and send texts without needing to be connected to a phone. The device, dubbed'dial', is now available to pre-order in the UK via Three, with prices starting at 22 a month. Will.i.am has launched a watch dubbed dial (shown above) that can make calls and send texts without a connected phone being nearby The Black Eyed Peas frontman first revealed his watch, at a London launch in February, having talked about an earlier version that failed to come to fruition. It is 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS enabled.