Technology distributors are significantly increasing their influence in the sales of cloud and artificial intelligence products. The GTDC Summit North America recently highlighted this trend, noting that distributors collectively represent approximately $180 billion in global tech sales. These distributors are actively investing in new platforms and services to adapt to evolving customer demands, with a noticeable rise in 'AI-first' partners entering the market.
In the realm of AI performance, Taalas has introduced its Hardcore AI architecture, designed to transform AI models into custom, high-performance silicon. This innovation promises to deliver significantly faster and more cost-effective performance by hardwiring AI models directly into specialized chips like the HC1, achieving sub-millisecond inference speeds. Concurrently, NVIDIA has released Dynamo v0.9.0, a major update to its distributed inference framework, simplifying large-scale AI model deployment. This update removes dependencies on NATS and etcd, enhances multi-modal support, and introduces a preview of FlashIndexer to reduce latency.
AI's diverse applications are also gaining recognition, with UiPath earning five G2 Best Software Awards for 2026, including categories like Best Agentic AI Software and Best AI Software, based on verified user reviews. Meanwhile, Chelsea Football Club has announced a multi-year global partnership with IFS, an industrial AI software provider, whose logo will now appear on the front of the men's and women's team kits, leveraging AI technology for club success.
However, the rise of AI also brings challenges and risks. Artificial intelligence is making tax scams harder to detect, as scammers use AI to create convincing fake faces and voices, exemplified by a $25 million fraud where AI mimicked executives in a video call. Similarly, AI-generated political content, including fake videos and images, poses a threat to elections, with experts advising voters to use tools like Google's reverse image search and look for unnatural features. Research also indicates that while AI chatbots like ChatGPT can initially provide support, users often become disillusioned due to an 'empathy gap,' potentially leading to feelings of isolation or poor decisions.
Security concerns extend to the very infrastructure of AI, as researchers from Wiz emphasize the need to focus on fundamental security flaws across the AI stack, rather than solely on prompt injection vulnerabilities. They point to risks in formats like Pickle, which mixes data and code, and vulnerabilities in production models. Despite these advancements and challenges, billionaire Mark Cuban suggests that AI will not immediately replace many jobs due to its high cost and current limitations in judgment, comparing AI agents to 'hungover college interns' lacking real-world awareness.
Key Takeaways
- Technology distributors are gaining significant influence in cloud and AI sales, representing approximately $180 billion in global tech sales.
- Taalas launched its Hardcore AI architecture, enabling custom, high-performance silicon for AI models with sub-millisecond inference speeds.
- NVIDIA released Dynamo v0.9.0, a major update to its distributed inference framework, simplifying large-scale AI model deployment and enhancing multi-modal support.
- UiPath received five G2 Best Software Awards for 2026, including Best Agentic AI Software and Best AI Software.
- Chelsea Football Club partnered with industrial AI software provider IFS for a multi-year shirt sponsorship deal.
- AI is making tax scams more sophisticated, with a notable $25 million fraud involving AI mimicking executives.
- AI-generated political content is harder to distinguish from real, requiring vigilance and tools like Google reverse image search.
- Users of AI chatbots like ChatGPT can experience an 'empathy gap,' leading to disillusionment and potential feelings of isolation.
- AI security research highlights significant flaws in AI infrastructure, urging a focus beyond prompt injection vulnerabilities.
- Mark Cuban believes AI will not immediately displace many jobs due to high cost and a lack of human-like judgment.
Distributors gain power in cloud and AI sales
Technology distributors are becoming more influential in how cloud and artificial intelligence products are sold. The GTDC Summit North America highlighted this trend, with distributors representing about $180 billion in global tech sales. Executives discussed how distributors are investing in platforms and services to meet changing customer needs. Experts like Tiffani Bova noted the rise of 'AI-first' partners. The GTDC's upcoming report will detail what vendors value most in distribution services for cloud and AI. Discussions also touched on supply chain and trade policy.
Distributors gain power in cloud and AI sales
Technology distributors are becoming more influential in how cloud and artificial intelligence products are sold. The GTDC Summit North America highlighted this trend, with distributors representing about $180 billion in global tech sales. Executives discussed how distributors are investing in platforms and services to meet changing customer needs. Experts like Tiffani Bova noted the rise of 'AI-first' partners. The GTDC's upcoming report will detail what vendors value most in distribution services for cloud and AI. Discussions also touched on supply chain and trade policy.
Distributors gain power in cloud and AI sales
Technology distributors are becoming more influential in how cloud and artificial intelligence products are sold. The GTDC Summit North America highlighted this trend, with distributors representing about $180 billion in global tech sales. Executives discussed how distributors are investing in platforms and services to meet changing customer needs. Experts like Tiffani Bova noted the rise of 'AI-first' partners. The GTDC's upcoming report will detail what vendors value most in distribution services for cloud and AI. Discussions also touched on supply chain and trade policy.
Distributors gain power in cloud and AI sales
Technology distributors are becoming more influential in how cloud and artificial intelligence products are sold. The GTDC Summit North America highlighted this trend, with distributors representing about $180 billion in global tech sales. Executives discussed how distributors are investing in platforms and services to meet changing customer needs. Experts like Tiffani Bova noted the rise of 'AI-first' partners. The GTDC's upcoming report will detail what vendors value most in distribution services for cloud and AI. Discussions also touched on supply chain and trade policy.
Chelsea FC partners with AI firm IFS for shirt sponsorship
Chelsea Football Club has announced a multi-year global partnership with IFS, a leading industrial AI software provider. IFS's logo will now appear on the front of the men's and women's teams' kits. This deal ends Chelsea's run without a main shirt sponsor since their agreement with Three ended in 2023. The club sees this partnership as a way to leverage AI technology for greater success on and off the pitch. Previous short-term sponsors included Infinite Athlete and DAMAC.
Chelsea FC signs AI company IFS as shirt sponsor
Chelsea Football Club has agreed to a deal with AI technology company IFS to be their shirt sponsor until the end of the season. IFS branding will be featured on the men's team shirts starting immediately. This partnership means Chelsea is no longer the only Premier League club without a prominent shirt sponsor. Infinite Athlete and Damac had previously held short-term sponsorship deals. The wider agreement with IFS will continue until 2028, though they will move from the front of the shirt in the summer.
How to spot fake AI political content before the 2026 election
Artificial intelligence is making it harder to distinguish real political content from fake videos and images online. Experts like Mariano Castillo from Texas A&M University advise voters to check a source's track record and look for unnatural features in images, such as eyes and lighting. He also suggests pausing if content makes you angry, as it might be 'rage bait.' Using reverse image search on Google can help verify content authenticity. Castillo emphasizes using common sense and looking for labels or watermarks indicating AI generation.
UiPath wins five G2 Best Software Awards for 2026
UiPath, a leader in automation and orchestration, has been recognized with five awards in G2's 2026 Best Software Awards. The company was honored in categories including Best Agentic AI Software, Best AI Software, and Best Development Software. UiPath's Chief Marketing Officer, Michael Atalla, expressed gratitude for customer feedback, which shapes the company's vision for intelligent business automation. G2's awards are based on verified user reviews and publicly available market data, highlighting products that deliver real customer impact.
AI makes tax scams harder to detect this season
Artificial intelligence is making it easier for scammers to impersonate government officials and taxpayers, making fraud harder to detect. AI can now create convincing fake faces and voices using publicly available data. Scammers use these tools to generate personalized and polished fraudulent content at scale, lowering the technical skill needed to launch attacks. A recent example involved a $25 million fraud where AI was used to mimic executives in a video conference call. Experts warn that individuals, not just large companies, are targets for these AI-enhanced scams, especially during tax season.
Taalas launches new chip for extreme AI performance
Taalas has introduced its Hardcore AI architecture, designed to transform AI models into custom, high-performance silicon. This new approach allows for the creation of hardware for any AI model within two months, offering significantly faster and lower-cost performance. Early users describe the performance as 'insane.' Taalas hardwires AI models and their weights directly into a specialized chip, the HC1, enabling sub-millisecond inference speeds. This innovation could dramatically benefit large data centers if widely adopted.
Why people are losing trust in AI companions
While AI chatbots like ChatGPT can initially make people feel understood and supported, new research suggests this relationship often sours over time. Users may become disillusioned due to an 'empathy gap' and end up feeling more isolated. Studies show AI responses can be rated as more compassionate than human ones, leading people to rely on them for advice on personal matters. However, this reliance can lead to poor decisions, as seen with a screenwriter using AI for a legal case. The cycle of falling in and out of love with AI reveals deeper aspects of human connection and vulnerability.
AI hacking lessons: Focus on infrastructure, not just prompts
Researchers from Wiz advise focusing on the security of AI infrastructure rather than solely on prompt injection vulnerabilities. After two years of testing major AI platforms, they found significant flaws across multiple layers of the AI stack. The Pickle format, used for storing model weights, mixes data and code, creating security risks. Data leakage during model training and vulnerabilities in production models and services are also major concerns. The researchers emphasize that the rapid development of AI has led to insecure products being rushed to market, prioritizing speed over fundamental security.
Mark Cuban: AI won't steal jobs due to high cost and lack of judgment
Billionaire Mark Cuban believes AI will not immediately replace many jobs due to its high cost and current limitations. He compares AI agents to 'hungover college interns' that lack real-world judgment and awareness of consequences. Cuban points out that while AI can predict an event, it doesn't understand the context or outcomes, unlike humans. He argues that companies must consider the economics and reliability of AI before replacing human workers. Despite predictions of mass layoffs, Cuban suggests that significant AI-driven job displacement has not yet occurred.
NVIDIA overhauls Dynamo framework for AI deployment
NVIDIA has released Dynamo v0.9.0, a major update to its distributed inference framework that simplifies large-scale AI model deployment. The update removes dependencies on NATS and etcd, replacing them with an Event Plane and Discovery Plane using ZMQ and MessagePack for easier management. Dynamo v0.9.0 also enhances multi-modal support for text, images, and video, introducing Encoder Disaggregation to optimize GPU usage. A preview of FlashIndexer aims to reduce latency in KV cache management, improving response times. The framework now uses predictive load estimation for smarter routing across hundreds of GPUs.
Sources
- Distributors gain clout in shaping cloud & AI sales
- Distributors gain clout in shaping cloud & AI sales
- Distributors gain clout in shaping cloud & AI sales
- Distributors gain clout in shaping cloud & AI sales
- Chelsea announce AI company as shirt sponsor
- Chelsea end sponsorless run with AI company IFS
- Spotting artificial intelligence ahead of the 2026 primary election
- CORRECTING and REPLACING UiPath Named to G2’s 2026 Best Software Awards in Five Categories
- Taxpayers Face Harder To Detect Scams This Season. Blame AI.
- Taalas Launches Hardcore Chip With “Insane” AI Inference Performance
- Why we’re falling out of love with our AI confidants
- Lessons From AI Hacking: Every Model, Every Layer Is Risky
- Mark Cuban shares the ‘smartest counter’ he's seen yet to AI stealing jobs—at least in the short-term
- NVIDIA Releases Dynamo v0.9.0: A Massive Infrastructure Overhaul Featuring FlashIndexer, Multi-Modal Support, and Removed NATS and ETCD
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