Aaron Ward

Wow! Fascinating article Andrew Antos & Nischal Nadhamuni about how the Klarity platform does knowledge capture! A total disruptor indeed for how consultants traditionally did this work! Capturing not just what happens but why it happens has always been the missing link in enterprise AI, and Klarity ’s approach to surfacing human reasoning through its intelligent platform is a real step forward. The #AI Advisor’s ability to traverse vast context graphs, uncover cross-team patterns, and turn knowledge into actionable insights shows how innovation in knowledge capture can truly transform enterprise decision-making.

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Most B2B hardware markets aren’t being disrupted by better hardware today. They’re being disrupted by counter-positioned business models and agents that live on top of them. The way I see it is we will have 3 eras of B2B hardware companies. Each one is really about who bundles what and who absorbs risk. Phase 1: Hardware-only Sell the machine with a service contract. Build an installed base. This worked when hardware was scarce, expensive, and hard to replace. The profit pooled in maintenance and parts because customers wanted uptime and vendors owned the expertise around the equipment The incentives were imperfect but stable as procurement knew how to buy this, but the Capex was very real. Phase 2: The counter-positioning era (today) This is where we are today. Sensors, cameras, compute, and connectivity collapsed in cost. This made a new move possible: bundle hardware with software and agentic outcomes in a way incumbents structurally can’t copy. New entrants give hardware away or finance it aggressively. They price on software, agents, workflows, uptime, labor leverage, or revenue lift. This is classic counter-positioning. Incumbents can’t do it without blowing up their margins, channels, or service orgs. And the buyers love it because it’s zero CapEx, faster to approve, and easier to justify. Importantly, this era isn’t full robotics yet. It’s augmentation. Hardware as a distribution layer. Data and net new AI-powered outcomes as the wedge. Phase 3: The robotics era fragments (next) Robotics pushes this dynamic to the limit. When the technology works, the ROI can be real...But most buyers are bad at buying robotics. Integration risk, uptime ownership, labor dynamics including labor unions, fast time to value and the debate about buyers wanting to "own" vs pay a recurring fee break deals. So instead of one dominant model, I believe the next era will be defined by four competing business models, and it’s not obvious which wins in which category. 1. Hardware franchises Robotics bundled into a business-in-a-box with a standardized operating model. Hardware is effectively free. The franchise is the product and covers the hardware cost for the franchisor making it a capital efficient model. 2. Vertically integrated services companies Don’t sell robots to incumbents. Replace them. Full-stack services with automation embedded and SLAs customers actually understand. 3. Robotics-as-a-Service Usage- or outcome-based pricing. Customers buy throughput. Providers own uptime and complexity. 4. Hardware plus services Traditional sales paired with high-margin deployment, maintenance, and lifecycle services. Familiar, but harder to scale in messy environments. Won't trade as well. The interesting question isn’t which model wins overall. It’s which model wins in which vertical. If you’re building in this transition, I’d love to compare notes.

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For the past two years, retail has been flooded with “AI wrappers”—startups that provide a slick interface over foundational models without solving a core industry pain point. As we head into mid-2026, the market is beginning a much-needed rationalization. At Silicon Road, we are seeing the “weeding out” phase hit the retail tech sector hardest, where utility was sacrificed for novelty. To survive this year, retail startups must pivot their focus: ➡️ From Generative Hype to Predictive Precision: Retailers need AI that masters demand forecasting and real-time inventory adjustments to prevent overstocking. ➡️ Verticalized Utility: The winners in 2026 are building deeply integrated, commerce-specific models that understand the nuances of the last mile and unified commerce stacks. ➡️ Tangible ROI: Every enterprise pilot is now under the microscope. If the tech doesn’t demonstrably lower customer acquisition costs or improve margins, it’s being cut. The “shiny object” era of AI is over. The era of the high-utility commerce engine has begun. You can read the full WSJ article here: https://lnkd.in/eH7g4W6B 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eUWhqcqs

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