These five companies prove AI is everywhere

Originally Posted 16 July 2025 – These five companies prove AI is everywhere

Key Takeaways

• Palantir is building AI software to speed up the construction of nuclear reactors.
• Ambarella is giving smart devices the power to think for themselves – no cloud required.
• Symbotic is in automating warehouses to reduce customer delivery wait times.
• NICE Ltd is turning AI into the first (and hopefully only) line of support to improve customer service.
• Tempus AI is helping doctors and researchers make faster, better decisions with generative AI.

The term megatrend was popularised by American author and futurist John Nasbitt in his book “Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming Our Lives”, published in 1982. But tectonic shifts in our world, which is what the term stands for, of course, have always occurred in different shapes and forms. Many such shifts, when they occur, impact almost every aspect of our lives.

The industrial revolution is a popular example of a past megatrend, even if the world wasn’t using this terminology back then. What started in Great Britain in the 18th century spread across to other parts of the world through the 18th and 19th centuries, becoming a symbol of progress, invention and modernisation. Transformation occurred across multiple industries like textiles, steel, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, energy, communications, and others.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the megatrend transforming every aspect of our lives today. However, given that, at least since ChatGPT burst onto the centre stage in November 2022, most people have already developed an appreciation for AI, and studying its impact in lesser-known industries and applications is what makes for an interesting exercise.

This blog highlights five companies making strides in different ways, aiming to change the world as we know it using the power of AI.

Palantir – AI for nuclear energy

Palantir has become a familiar name in recent times. The AI and data science company has acquired a huge deal of fanfare by landing high-profile clients, particularly those in the US Defence Department. Such has been the significance of some of their clients that some even view the company as belonging to the defence sector.

But one recent stride by the company highlights its broader plans to use its technology across multiple domains. The company recently announced a partnership with The Nuclear Company to develop and deploy AI-driven software to transform the construction of nuclear reactors.

The Nuclear Operating Software – NOS – will be the first ever AI software designed exclusively for the nuclear industry. Its aim is to reduce the expense and time required to build nuclear reactors.

With countries and corporations worldwide making bold bets on expanding nuclear capacity to power energy-intensive industries like data centres, utilising the powers of AI to expedite the deployment of nuclear energy could be a game-changer.

Ambarella – Generative AI for edge devices

When we talk to ChatGPT or other generative AI models, the work happens in the cloud. We access the model using the internet and our devices, without having AI capabilities, to give us access to AI. While this is great, it also means that as the number of smart devices we own increases, our reliance on the cloud will skyrocket.

Ambarella is looking to change this by giving devices AI capabilities so that AI can happen where the data is being collected. We already know about the Internet of Things, but Ambarella is looking to develop the Internet of AI-enabled Things.

This tiny powerhouse can simultaneously process multiple high-definition video streams and run cutting-edge AI models. This means that machines can now see, understand, and react to the world around them in real time without waiting for instructions from the cloud.

Autonomous driving is one use case of such technology, where smart cameras deployed on the car collect information and can process and make decisions without sending the data across the world. Similarly, drones flying in disaster zones or factory robots adjusting to changes in the production line can employ this technology. Ambarella aims to unplug AI and unleash its potential.

Symbotic – Robot army transforming retail

These days, when we place an order online and delivery times are shown as five business days, we almost rub our eyes in disbelief. How can a functioning business in this day and age force its customers to wait for their orders for what practically amounts to an eternity?

Expectations have shifted. We are happy with next-day deliveries, but same day is even better, and in some situations, delivery times can be even faster.

However, businesses need a well-organised distribution network of warehouses and transportation to make this possible. Symbotic excels in warehouse automation. Its autonomous robots use AI to stack, sort, and ship products at speeds unimaginable for humans.

Symbotic is seeing its AI-powered warehouse automation being deployed across industries including retail grocery, food wholesale, consumer packaged goods, footwear and apparel, general merchandise, and food and beverages.

So, next time we place that online order, if Symbotic’s robots are in operation, we might not need to wait five days.

NICE Ltd – AI agents for customer service

We’ve all been there. Endless hold music, confusing menus, and the dreaded “please wait while we transfer your call.” Customer service can be painful. NICE Ltd is trying to change that by turning AI into the first line of support – and in many cases, the only one you’ll need.

Their platform, CXone Mpower, handled over six billion AI-augmented interactions in 2024 alone. Using tools like Copilot, Autopilot and Actions, the system doesn’t just handle basic queries. It understands intent, learns from past interactions, and can hold complex conversations across channels. That’s why the number of fully automated customer interactions went up by 400% in a single year in 2024¹.

With big names like Amazon Web Services (AWS) joining hands with NICE to scale this technology, we could be looking at a future where smart, AI-powered agents make hold music a thing of the past.

Tempus AI – Personalised healthcare at scale

In medicine, timing is everything. Making the right decision quickly can save lives. But with the complexity of modern healthcare, the challenge isn’t just having data – it’s making sense of it fast. Tempus AI is addressing that challenge head-on.

Their platform, Tempus One, uses generative AI to help doctors and researchers search through mountains of unstructured data like clinical notes, lab reports, imaging, and more to find real-time insights. On the research side, Tempus Loop uses AI and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) tech to identify new drug targets faster. The idea is simple but powerful: help doctors make better decisions today and help scientists discover better treatments for tomorrow. If AI can bring speed, scale, and precision to healthcare, companies like Tempus might just be leading the way.

Conclusion

The list above deliberately excludes the Magnificent Seven tech companies. But here’s the thing: it’s not hard to curate a list of exciting businesses changing the world using AI beyond the familiar giants like Nvidia and Amazon. And that’s what makes this space so exciting. Different companies with creative approaches are establishing themselves and making their presence felt. For investors, this creates fresh and compelling opportunities.

¹Nice Ltd, Feb 2025.