Finance

2025: The Year AI Agents Take Over, From Microsoft to Nvidia

If 2024 marked the rise of artificial intelligence chatbots becoming more practical, 2025 is poised to be the year AI agents start to take center stage. Think of AI agents as advanced bots capable of performing tasks on your behalf, like extracting data from incoming emails and transferring it to various applications.

Chances are, you’ve already heard about AI agents. Companies such as Nvidia (NVDA), Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Salesforce (CRM) are increasingly promoting agent-driven AI, a term used to describe these intelligent systems, claiming they will revolutionize how both businesses and consumers perceive AI technologies.

The aim is to eliminate tedious, time-consuming tasks like filing expense reports—something that has long been a hassle for professionals. As AI agents become more common, we can expect more major tech companies to develop their own versions.

Businesses using AI agents report improvements in their internal metrics. Charles Lamanna, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of business and industry Copilot, shared that the company has already seen gains in IT issue response times and sales performance.

For instance, Microsoft’s IT self-help success rate has risen by 36%, while revenue per salesperson has grown by 9.4%. The company has also noted faster resolution times for HR cases.

TECH

Will Emerging Military Tech Firms Challenge Lockheed Martin’s Dominance?

It's an intriguing document. Anduril, an emerging tech company in the defense sector, has released a "mission document" titled Rebooting the Arsenal of Democracy. The essay critically examines military giants like Lockheed Martin, arguing that their relevance is fading and that they should be replaced by nimble, cost-effective tech firms like Anduril, which it claims are more adept at developing advanced software and other crucial components for the future of warfare.

Before diving into its manifesto on the future of weapons procurement, it’s helpful to understand Anduril’s role in the current military-industrial landscape. Founded by 32-year-old tech entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, who made his fortune with the Oculus virtual reality headset before pivoting to defense, Anduril manufactures everything from small drones to sentry towers for securing the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as unmanned vehicles. Anduril is also a key player in the AUKUS submarine deal, a major partnership between the U.S., UK, and Australia to supply Australia with next-generation attack submarines, including its Ghost Shark unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).

Luckey is a vocal advocate for less government regulation, a more aggressive foreign policy, and a strong supporter of President-elect Trump. As I’ve noted elsewhere, his overly optimistic views of technology’s potential, combined with a simplistic “us versus them” worldview, present a risky combination, especially as he seeks to shape U.S. foreign and military policies.

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CRYPTO

Bitcoin Mutual Funds Launch in Israel: Is Crypto Finally Going Mainstream?

Israel is set to launch six Bitcoin mutual funds by the end of 2024, marking a significant step toward integrating cryptocurrencies into mainstream investments. This move follows the success of U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, which have played a key role in expanding the crypto market and influencing Israel's investment landscape.

Scheduled for launch on December 31, the new mutual funds will be licensed by the Israel Securities Authority (ISA), offering investors the chance to invest directly in Bitcoin using the local currency, the shekel. These funds will allow investors to buy units based on Bitcoin's market price, with transactions processed daily when orders are placed.

The funds will employ various strategies to track Bitcoin's price, including index-based and actively managed approaches. Notably, some of these funds will also be linked to the performance of major U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, such as BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). One fund is specifically designed to outperform Bitcoin's returns through active management.

The approval of these funds comes after nearly a year since the U.S. introduced spot-based Bitcoin ETFs, which have garnered impressive success, amassing $110 billion in net assets. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF alone holds nearly $54 billion, according to SoSoValue. This success has contributed significantly to Bitcoin’s price milestones, with Eyal Goren, deputy CEO of IBI Funds, crediting Bitcoin’s rise to the SEC’s approval of these ETFs.

While this development signals a promising future for cryptocurrency adoption in Israel, local industry leaders have voiced frustration over the timing, suggesting that earlier approval could have allowed investors to benefit from Bitcoin’s recent price rally. Nevertheless, Israel's move demonstrates growing acceptance of cryptocurrency in the country's financial market.