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You wouldnt pay a surgeon to file your tax return, and you wouldnt ask your accountant to perform your appendectomy. The same is true for AI: Organizations should start realizing that different AI providers excel at different needs, from coding to specialized research or creative design. Over the coming year, enterprises will absorb a variety of these AI providers technologies in earnest and at scaledepartment by department, role by role. Legal teams will standardize on tools like Harvey. Customer service teams will rely on Glean or purpose-built agents. Development teams may choose resources from Anthropic. Marketing, engineering, finance, and HR will similarly gravitate toward AI resources from Microsoft, xAI, or OpenAI, optimized for their specific needs. In other words, enterprises will evolve from the idea that single-provider AI resources will solve their needs to an era of targeted, role-based, or need-based AI. Making matters even more complicated, many AI providers are now beginning to roll out their own browsers. Enterprise leaders thus face a new challenge: how to manage the onslaught of AI needs that are now arriving. HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF Enterprises have been here before. When cloud computing emerged, many dipped their toes in the water by standardizing on a single provider. The logic was simple: fewer vendors, lower cost, less risk. But as cloud usage expanded, different workloads demanded different strengths, and organizations diversified their cloud infrastructure. The same dynamic emerged with data platforms. Early efforts focused on centralized applications like data lakes, but as use cases multiplied, organizations often found that no single system served every real-world use case equally well. Most enterprises responded by adopting multiple tools around a shared data foundation. In both cases, organizations that had prepared themselves for flexibility were better positioned. AI is following this same trajectory, only faster. And unlike cloud or data infrastructure, AI adoption isnt happening quietly behind the scenes. Its happening in daily workflows across departments, often without central coordination. Leaders can therefore best help their organizations succeed by embracing many tools, each chosen for what it does best, while managing them through shared controls. THE RISK OF AI TOOL SPRAWL As AI systems and use cases proliferate, failing to prepare poses real risks to the enterprise. This proliferation extends beyond standalone AI tools. Increasingly, SaaS applications from CRM systems and productivity suites to finance and HR platforms embed their own AI. In many cases, AI adoption will happen by default, not by deliberate choice. With these tools, teams will also inherit fragmented security policies, inconsistent controls, and limited visibility. Tools that seem harmless in isolation can create meaningful risk in aggregate. This is the rise of shadow AI: systems introduced to solve real problems, but without the oversight to manage them responsibly. With agentic AI, where systems act on users behalf, those risks compound: permissions expand and accountability becomes harder to trace. If these tools are left unchecked, leaders will lose sight of where AI is used, what data it touches, and which systems act autonomously on the organization’s behalf. Experimentation and innovation should not be allowed to scale faster than oversight. GOVERNANCE IS THE MISSING LAYER Multimodal flexibility does not have to come at the expense of visibility and security. Again, we have been here before. With SaaS, enterprises dont manage a wide variety of capabilities by forcing everyone onto one system. They manage it by establishing shared controls across many tools. Enterprises need a governance layer that sits above all AI vendors. That layer should provide: Visibility across AI usage Policy enforcement independent of model provider Guardrails for data access Safe experimentation Support for bringing your own device, contractors, and distributed teams Governance doesnt restrict freedom. It enables it by allowing organizations to choose every model they want and assign them across their teams without introducing new risk. And true governance cant rely on technology alone. Leaders must cultivate a culture of AI literacy, where every employee can confidently evaluate, validate, combine, and challenge AI systems. Then organizations can embrace a multitude of AI tools, safely, and effectively. PREPARE FOR MULTI-MODEL SUCCESS Much like SaaS, the cloud, and data platforms before it, AI will soon spread across roles, workflows, and applications. Leaders that build in the capacity to manage all these modelsthrough visibility, governance, and an AI-fluent workforcewill be best positioned to capture all of AIs advantages without compromising safety, trust, or control. Steve Tchejeyan is president of Island.
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E-Commerce
Shares in Palantir Technologies (Nasdaq: PLTR) are rising this morning, one day after the AI data analysis software company with significant U.S. government contracts reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings. Heres what you need to know about Palantirs latest results and its rising stock price. Palantirs Q4 2025 beat Wall Street expectations Yesterday, Palantir announced its Q4 2025 earnings, and investors breathed a sigh of relief. For Palantirs Q4, which ended on December 31, the company brought in $1.41 billion in revenue, signaling 70% year-over-year growth. The majority of that revenue comes from Palantirs U.S. customers, which is split roughly evenly between the U.S. government and commercial U.S. businesses. Palantir said U.S. government revenue totaled $570 million for the quarter, representing 66% year-over-year growth in that vertical. U.S. commercial revenue totaled $507 million137% year-over-year growth. But more important than those actuals was what Wall Street had been expecting. And Palantir easily surpassed those expectations, leading to the rapid rise in its stock price today. As cited by CNBC, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) estimates expected Palantir to bring in $1.33 billion for the quarter. The company ended up surpassing that estimate by around $80 million. Analysts were also expecting an earnings per share (EPS) of 23 cents. Palantirs actual EPS for the quarter was 25 cents. PLTR shares are still down from their all-time highs Palantir released its earnings results after the closing bell yesterday, and today its stock price is reaping the rewards of those results, enjoying double-digit growth in premarket trading. As of this writing, PLTR shares are up 11.35% to $164.55. The companys share had closed at $147.76 yesterday. That share price pop will be music to the ears of Palantir investors. Before this morning’s premarket trading bump, PLTR shares were down nearly 17% year-to-date. Its current premarket price rise doesnt quite put PLTR shares back in the black for the year, but its definitely a move in the right direction. Palantir shares had hit an all-time high of above $207 in November, after seeing a phenomenal year of growth. The previous November, in 2024, started with shares sitting in the low-40s range. But increasing government contracts and AI optimism throughout the remainder of 2024 and into 2025 sent PLTR shares surging. Then came December 2025, and PLTR shares got pummeled. Between December 24 and 31, the companys stock price fell from the $194 range to around $177. That fall reflected both rising concerns about Palantirs lofty valuation and broader worries about a potential AI bubble. Where does PLTR go from here? Despite Palantir beating expectations for Q4, the future of its stock price likely hinges on its abilityor notto continue delivering results that justify its valuation. As of yesterdays close, Palantir was valued at around $352 billion and traded at a price-to-earnings ratio of more than 230, which is incredibly high for even a tech company. The companys stock price could also be significantly impacted if upcoming Big Tech earnings do not meet expectations and thus reignite fears of an AI bubble. If investors turn sour on AI stocks, Palantir shares could once again be hit hard. For instance, Google parent Alphabetthe best performing of the so-called Magnificent 7 tech stockswill report earnings on Wednesday. Fellow tech giant Amazon will report the following day. Later this month, meanwhile, AI chip giant Nvidia Corporation will report its results. Investor sentiment around AI could be deeply impacted by the results of any one of those companies. As for Palantir itself, the firm issued guidance yesterday for both its current Q1 2026 and its full-year 2026. For its Q1, Palantir said it expects revenue of between $1.53 billion and $1.54 billion. Thats more than the $1.32 billion that many analysts were expecting. For its full-year 2026, Palantir expects revenue of $7.18 billion to $7.2 billion. That is nearly $1 billion more than many analysts were expecting.
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E-Commerce
President Donald Trump said Monday that he’s “not ripping down” the Kennedy Center but insisted the performing arts venue needs to shut down for about two years for construction and other work without patrons coming and going and getting in the way.The comments strongly suggested that he intends to gut the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of the process.“I’m not ripping it down,” the Republican president told reporters in the Oval Office. “I’ll be using the steel. So we’re using the structure.”Such a project would mark the Republican president’s latest effort to put his stamp on a cultural institution that Congress designated as a living memorial to President Kennedy, a Democrat. It also would be in addition to attempts to leave a permanent mark on Washington through other projects, the most prominent of which is adding a ballroom to the White House.Shortly after taking office last year, Trump dismissed Kennedy Center board members who had been appointed by Democratic presidents and replaced them with loyalists, who voted to make him chairman. He helped choose the recipients of the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, a program he avoided during his first term. He later hosted the event, and the board voted late last year to rebrand the Kennedy Center by adding his name to the building and website.Trump announced Sunday on social media that he intends to temporarily close the performing arts venue on July 4 for about two years “for construction, revitalization, and complete rebuilding,” subject to board approval.The announcement followed a wave of cancellations by leading performers, musicians, and groups since the president took over leadership of the arts institution. Trump did not mention the cancellations in his announcements, or during his comments Monday.Kennedy Center Arts Workers United, which includes several unions representing the institution’s arts workers, said in a statement that it was aware of Trump’s announcement but had received no formal notice or briefing about his plans. The group pledged to enforce its members’ contractual rights.“Should we receive formal notice of a temporary suspension of Kennedy Center operations that displaces our members, we will enforce our contracts and exercise all our rights under the law,” the statement said. “We expect continued fair pay, enforceable worker protections, and accountability for our members in the event they cannot work due to an operational pause.” Promising ‘the highest-grade everything’ Recalling his past career in construction and real estate, Trump said, “you want to sit with something for a little while before you decide on what you want to do.” Speaking of the Kennedy Center, he said: “We sat with it. We ran it. It’s in very bad shape,” asserting that the building is “run down,” “dilapidated” and “sort of dangerous.”Roma Daravi, a Kennedy Center spokesperson, said in a social media post that “decades of gross negligence” has led to $250 million of deferred maintenance needs and that temporarily closing the institution “is the most logical choice to allow for comprehensive renovations, efficient project completion, and responsible use of taxpayer dollars.”Deborah Rutter, the Kennedy Center president who was ousted by Trump, declined comment Monday. In the past, she has said allegations from Trump and others about the center’s management were false.A representative for David Rubenstein, the board chairman who was also pushed out by Trump, said Rubenstein was not available Monday to comment.Trump, citing the complaints of a workman he said has been laying marble at the Kennedy Center, said the closure is needed because “you can’t do any work because people are coming in and out.”He pegged the cost at about $200 million, including the use of “the highest-grade marbles, the highest-grade everything.”“We’re fully financed and so we’re going to close it and we’re going to make it unbelievable, far better than it ever was, and we’ll be able to do it properly,” Trump said.Congress earmarked $257 million for the Kennedy Center in a tax cut and spending bill that Trump signed into law last summer. What kind of work is involved The White House said after the president spoke that some of the maintenance includes work on the building’s structural, heating and cooling, plumbing, electrical, fire protection and technical stage systems. Work on the building’s exterior, security standards and parking are also included.Daravi, the Kennedy Center spokesperson, declined comment when asked how the closure would affect the annual Mark Twain Award and Kennedy Center Honors events this year.Trump said last October, also on social media, that the venue would stay open during construction. But on Monday he said that plan was no longer feasible.“I was thinking maybe there’s a way of doing it simultaneously but there really isn’t, and we’re going to have something that when it opens it’s going to be brand new, beautiful,” Trump said.“The steel will all be checked out because it’ll be fully exposed,” he said. “It’s been up for a long time, but as anybody knows it was in very bad shape. Wasn’t kept well, before I got there,” he said. “So we’re going to make it, I think there won’t be anything like it in the country.”The Kennedy Center opened in 1971.Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, who in November opened an investigation into the Kennedy Center’s financial management, said the planned closure is part of Trump’s “demolition tour of Washington.” Whitehouse is the senior Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees public buildings, and is an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center’s board.Since Trump returned to the presidency, the Kennedy Center is one of many Washington landmarks that he has sought to overhaul in his second term.He demolished the White House East Wing and launched a massive $400 million ballroom project, is actively pursuing building a triumphal arch on the other side the Arlington Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial, and has plans for Washington Dulles International Airport.-Associated Press writers Hillel Italie in New York and Steven Sloan in Washington contributed to this report. Darlene Superville, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
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