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Goldman cuts time-to-value by 95%

Goldman cuts time-to-value by 95%

Plus, Agentic AI, executive sentiment in 2025, and more.

Lewis Walker
January 19, 2025

WELCOME, EXECUTIVES AND PROFESSIONALS.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon discusses how AI is reshaping tasks once considered complex and labor-intensive. Are we on the cusp of a fundamental shift in knowledge work?

Since the previous edition, we've reviewed hundreds of the latest insights on best practices, case studies, and innovation. Here’s the top 1%...

In today’s edition:

Goldman Sachs cuts time-to-value by 95%.
BCG gauges executive sentiment on AI in 2025.
Microsoft expands Copilot access with free tier.
Citi on Agentic AI and the future of finance.
Transformation and technology in the news.
Career opportunities & events.

Read time: 4 minutes.

CASE STUDY

Goldman Sachs cuts time-to-value by 95%

Image source: Reuters

Brief: At the Cisco AI Summit, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon shared that AI can draft 95% of an S1 filing “in minutes”, a task that might have once taken a six-person team two weeks to complete.

Breakdown:

Companies have historically relied on investment banks to draft and advise on S1 filings, required for IPOs.
Investment banks possess deep expertise to navigate the legal and financial complexities of transactions reported to regulators like the SEC.
With AI able to automate much of this work, Goldman Sachs is rethinking its client value propositions.
Solomon emphasized that the remaining 5%, involving human expertise and judgment, is more critical than ever.
AI enhances productivity by equipping smart people with tools to work smarter, faster, and help clients rethink challenges, Solomon noted.

Why it’s important: As AI advances and knowledge work in investment banking and beyond becomes increasingly commoditized, the real value will lie in the specialized expertise and unique skills humans offer, enabling differentiated value propositions.

MARKET INSIGHT

BCG gauges executive sentiment on AI in 2025

Image source: Boston Consulting Group

Brief: BCG's new AI Radar survey captures the sentiment of 1,803 C-level executives who revealed their AI wins and struggles. The initial excitement around AI, especially gen AI, is evolving into a deeper focus on execution and results.

Breakdown:

75% of executives rank AI, particularly gen AI, as a top-three priority for 2025. While only 25% see significant value today, they plan to increase gen AI investments by 60% over the next 3 years.
Leading companies allocate over 80% of AI investments to reshaping core functions and creating products/services, not smaller, productivity projects.
Leading companies focus on 3.5 key AI use cases, compared to 6.1 for others. This leads to 2.1x higher ROI from AI initiatives than their peers.
While top firms track financial impact, 60% lack KPIs for AI value creation. Fewer than 33% have upskilled 25% of their workforce in AI.
Top performers follow the 10-20-70 rule: 10% on algorithms, 20% on data/technology, and 70% on people, processes, and culture. A strategy also effective with AI agents.

Why it’s important: AI success isn’t just technical; it’s sociological. In early 2025, AI stands between potential and reality. As investments and ambitions grow, so does awareness of the work ahead. Progress requires disciplined execution, a focus on value, and a workforce ready to adapt.

PLATFORM STRATEGY

Microsoft expands Copilot access with free tier

Image source: Microsoft

Brief: Microsoft introduced Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, a free entry-level version of its AI assistant platform. It offers pay-per-use agent capabilities while retaining essential features for business users.

Breakdown:

The free tier offers GPT-4-powered chat with features like web grounding, file analysis, and image/code generation.
Users can utilize custom AI agents under a consumption-based model: $0.01 per message or $200 for 25,000 messages monthly.
Agents access knowledge sources for various tasks, while IT teams manage the platform through the Copilot Control System, enabling enterprise data protection.
The tier serves as a bridge to the $30/user/month Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription with M365 app integration (Teams, PowerPoint etc.)

Why it’s important: From the USA to China, major tech companies are cutting prices and offering free tiers in a race to capture enterprise AI market share. Microsoft's move counters Gemini’s free Workplace app with agentic capabilities, reinforcing its enterprise strength amid evolving competition.

INDUSTRY INSIGHT & CASE STUDIES

Citi explores Agentic AI in the future of finance

Image source: Citi Global Insights

Brief: Citi’s 44-page report on Agentic AI, led by Ronit Ghose, Head of Future of Finance at Citi Global Insights, explores how gen AI and agentic AI could surpass the internet era’s impact on the economy and finance.

Breakdown:

This shift means tasks such as those typically outsourced will increasingly be handled by agentic AI.
Agentic AI is largely in an experimental phase. This report examines what is being built now with insights from 30+ AI transformation and tech experts.
These insights cover agentic AI use cases in compliance, fraud prevention, onboarding, KYC, wealth management, treasury, and more.
For example, in onboarding and KYC, the report addresses common challenges faced by banks and shows how agentic AI can solve them.
Greg Ulrich, Chief AI & Data Officer at Mastercard, shares how the company uses gen AI-based assistants for onboarding, leveraging RAG and fine-tuning with Databricks, along with many other case studies.

Why it’s important: AI’s true value is realized when it’s implemented and adopted at scale across industry use cases. This report offers comprehensive insights and real-world case studies on how financial services companies are turning their AI ambitions into reality.

WEF, in collaboration with McKinsey, published a 36-page report on how private sector-led initiatives can shift Europe's trajectory, dependent on transforming the investment environment in AI, semiconductors, quantum and connectivity.

Capgemini released an 80-page report on the environmental impact of gen AI, offering a roadmap for sustainable practices.

Deloitte published a 29-page report, based on insights from 900 senior leaders across 13 countries, leveraging its AI Governance Maturity Index to explore what effective AI governance looks like in practice.

EY unveiled a 132-page report on gen AI in India highlighting its potential to transform 38 million jobs and outlining a policy agenda for supporting ROI.

Chip Huyen, a renowned AI engineer, published an article on six common pitfalls in building gen AI enterprise applications. From leveraging gen AI when you don’t need it to confusing “bad AI” with “bad product”.

Google integrated its Workspace AI features into standard plans with a $2 monthly price increase, eliminating the $20 Gemini add-on as competition heats up with Microsoft’s AI strategy.

Cisco announced AI Defense, a new platform for safeguarding enterprise AI transformations. It protects against unauthorized AI tampering and data leakage with network-level security and automated safety checks.

Synthesia, the AI video platform, raised $180M in Series D funding, increasing its Nvidia-backed valuation to $2.1B.

DeepSeek unveiled a cross-platform mobile app with its V3 model, providing free access to its AI assistant for web search and file processing across iOS and Android devices.

Mirror Me, the Chinese robotics firm, introduced Black Panther 2.0, a robotic dog that can sprint 100 meters in under 10 seconds, using spring joints to mimic the movement of a real animal.