12th July 2025, Kathmandu
The landscape of retail and real estate is undergoing a monumental shift, propelled by the pervasive influence of Artificial Intelligence. No longer confined to theoretical discussions or experimental pilots, AI is now a tangible force driving practical, measurable outcomes across industries.
AI Transforms Retail
This transformation is not just about adopting new technology; it’s about fundamentally reimagining how businesses operate, empowering agile innovators to outmaneuver traditional incumbents. The latest edition of Fuse News delves into this new wave of transformation, highlighting how AI is becoming the bedrock for strategic decision-making, rapid execution, and unprecedented scale.
AI’s Impact Across Industries: From Smarter Pricing to Faster Lending
This report spotlights the practical applications of AI, demonstrating its ability to help retailers achieve smarter pricing strategies, enable lenders to accelerate their processes, and equip decision-makers with enhanced confidence.
Inside, readers will discover actionable frameworks, compelling use cases, and strategic guides designed to foster competitiveness and growth with clarity in the AI-driven era.
Latest in AI: A Global Perspective
The pace of AI innovation continues to accelerate globally, with significant developments shaping its future. The UN’s AI for Good Summit in Geneva recently underscored both groundbreaking advancements and the urgent need for inclusive governance in AI development.
On the energy front, the Three Mile Island nuclear plant is set to reopen early, specifically to meet the surging energy demands of Microsoft data centers, a clear indicator of AI’s increasing power requirements.
In the realm of AI startups, Surge AI is reportedly targeting a $1 billion raise at a $15 billion valuation, signaling robust investor confidence amidst rising demand and some reported customer setbacks for Scale AI. Media organizations are also embracing AI; the BBC has launched new Generative AI pilots for news production, testing AI-generated article summaries and style assistance to enhance and expand reporting capabilities.
The healthcare sector is also witnessing significant AI integration. Philips has secured FDA clearance for its AI-powered MRI software, “SmartSpeed Precise,” promising scans that are three times faster and 80% sharper.
Education is another key area of focus, with OpenAI partnering with the AFT (American Federation of Teachers) to establish an AI academy, investing $10 million to train 400,000 educators on effectively integrating AI into U.S. classrooms.
Innovation in AI-powered tools continues with Perplexity’s launch of ‘Comet,’ an AI browser for Max subscribers, offering both voice and text queries with enterprise app integration. Furthermore, IBM has unveiled new Power11 chips and servers, specifically designed to boost AI deployment and performance.
Staying Ahead with AI Innovation
To remain at the forefront of AI innovation, subscribing to the AI Digest email newsletter is crucial. This resource delivers the latest AI news, trends, and insights directly to your inbox, empowering you to stay informed and ahead of the curve.
Building a Strong AI Foundation: The AI Strategy Roadmap 2025
As AI transitions from isolated pilots to enterprise-wide systems, establishing a robust foundation is no longer optional—it’s imperative. The AI Strategy Roadmap 2025 eBook offers business and technology leaders a clear, structured path to scale AI with sustainability and organizational alignment. This invaluable guide provides:
Key trends shaping AI’s enterprise future
A practical framework for moving from pilot to production
Essential considerations for governance, readiness, and compliance
Strategies for aligning business and IT leaders
Leadership guidance for scaling AI with confidence
By leveraging this roadmap, organizations can begin building smarter systems today for smarter outcomes tomorrow.
Measuring AI’s Impact in Fintech: An Executive Guide
In the fast-paced world of fintech, AI initiatives must deliver measurable results. This executive guide is tailored to help leaders identify and prioritize initiatives that generate tangible value, ranging from fraud reduction to enhanced personalization, all viewed through a clear Return on Investment (ROI) lens. The guide covers:
High-impact use cases across fraud detection, risk management, and customer experience
A practical framework for measuring ROI
Strategies for navigating compliance and integration challenges
This resource empowers financial institutions to move from AI’s potential to its proven performance.
Leveling the Playing Field for Mid-Market Retailers with AI
Mid-market retailers face intense pressure from global giants and agile startups alike. This insightful blog explores how AI can empower these businesses to compete more effectively by enhancing agility, personalization, and operational efficiency, all without requiring enterprise-scale infrastructure.
Key insights include:
Challenges unique to mid-market retailers, such as tight margins and tech limitations
How AI simplifies planning, support, and personalization at scale
Six impactful AI use cases, from forecasting to visual search
Practical strategies for overcoming adoption barriers
Guidance on starting small and scaling with confidence
Reimagining Real Estate Lending Workflows with AI
The commercial real estate lending sector has historically been hampered by manual processes and fragmented systems. This blog delves into how AI is fundamentally reshaping various aspects of the lending workflow, including deal intake, underwriting, and borrower communication, ultimately improving speed, accuracy, and the overall borrower experience. Key insights feature:
Automating deal intake and borrower profiling with AI assistants
Extracting and analyzing data from PDFs and financial documents
Smarter underwriting through predictive models and market comparisons
Improving borrower communication with intelligent auto-updates
Reducing time to close with automated workflows and dynamic credit memos
AI-Powered Dynamic Pricing: 7 Ways to Stay Competitive in Retail
Static pricing models are no longer sufficient to contend with fluctuating demand, escalating costs, and increasingly informed customers.
This blog highlights how AI is transforming pricing from a manual, reactive process into a real-time, strategic engine that boosts agility, optimizes margins, and elevates the customer experience. The key takeaways include:
The critical importance of dynamic pricing in today’s high-stakes retail environment
How AI enables real-time, predictive pricing across all channels
Seven high-impact benefits, from margin optimization to behavioral targeting
Practical considerations for data quality, transparency, and governance
A smart path for piloting, measuring, and scaling pricing transformation
Sharpening Your AI Literacy: The AI Glossary
Navigating the evolving AI landscape requires a strong grasp of its terminology. The AI Glossary simplifies complex concepts, equipping you with the essential language of today’s most important technologies. Accessing this glossary will strengthen your AI literacy and ensure you remain at the forefront of technological advancement.
Fusemachines and IFC: A Shared Commitment to Inclusive AI Growth
In a demonstration of commitment to leveraging AI for broader societal benefit, the Fusemachines team recently hosted esteemed representatives from the IFC – International Finance Corporation.
The delegation included Regional Director for South Asia, Imad N. Fakhoury; Country Manager for Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, Martin H.; Resident Representative Rathnija Arandara; and Siddhant Raj Pandey, CEO of Business Oxygen (BO2).
The discussions centered on their shared commitment to utilizing AI as a catalyst for inclusive innovation and sustainable growth, particularly in regions like Nepal.
This collaboration underscores the growing recognition of AI’s potential to drive economic development and address pressing challenges in emerging markets.
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