When we think of AI, we often picture Silicon Valley giants or futuristic sci-fi movies. But in the arena of global trade and e-commerce, AI is no longer a futuristic concept — it’s rewriting the rules of global trade and reshaping competition. Across Alibaba.com’s findings from over 20,000 submissions to its CoCreate Pitch entrepreneurship competition, over 60% of U.S. small businesses plan to adopt AI tools in 2025.
Why? Because AI isn’t a trend—it’s a tsunami, and ignoring it could be the end for many.
New globalization runs light
Globalization no longer requires armies of specialists or decades of supply chain buildup. Today, a lean team with AI-powered tools can tap into global markets faster than ever.
These tools, like real-time translation APIs and predictive analytics, enable a two-person startup to sell across continents overnight, dismantling persistent barriers such as language differences, gaps in foreign market knowledge, and the difficulty of establishing cross-border trust.
This heralds the era of “micro-multinationals”: A two-person design studio startup could sell products across 20 countries by leveraging AI-generated market insights. Tasks that once required entire departments can now be done with the push of a button — and this is just the beginning.
Meet your co-founder: the autonomous AI agent
The rise of autonomous AI agents is further taking the game to the next level. Imagine a 24/7 co-founder who never sleeps, tirelessly sorting suppliers, negotiating deals, handling orders, and managing logistics.
For global trade, AI agents do not just find products but also evaluate suppliers, facilitate communication, process orders and even manage logistics. Think of it as having a powerful search engine like Chat GPT but for B2B trade, capable of sourcing across the entire digital landscape, combined with the talents of a team of professionals to handle the end-to-end process of sourcing and delivery. And it’s not a fantasy, Alibaba’s own Accio agent is already automating 70% of traditionally manual workflows for B2B buyers across the world, compressing fragmented processes including product ideation, prototyping, compliance checks and supplier sourcing into a seamless, AI-powered cycle.
AI is real. It’s here.
Why the $30 trillion B2B industry is leading the AI charge
While consumers are still warming up to AI, B2B decision makers are already racing ahead for three reasons:
1. Scale: Large scales of production and consumption invoke economies of scale, especially in a $30 trillion B2B industry. For instance, a mid-sized manufacturer can use AI to reduce supply chain costs by 15% through predictive maintenance, which is revolutionary to a business when millions of dollars are at stake.
2. Speed: For many small businesses, AI can drastically shrink a request for proposal process from weeks to hours by automating vendor comparisons and contract drafting.
3. Search transformation: B2B buyers will expect platforms in the future to understand extremely specific queries like “show me 3-D printed parts for aerospace that meet FAA specs,” and produce results that take them directly to a right supplier’s page. The future of B2B search is no longer about search engine optimization (SEO), but about generative AI engine optimization.
Small businesses: start small but start now
Yes, it can be daunting for a small business owner to embrace AI, but you don’t have a choice, you either adapt or risk vanishing in the dust of competitors who do.
Good news is, you don’t need a full AI incorporation overnight. Start small – perhaps implementing a customer service chatbot or AI data analysis tool – and scale up from there.
The future belongs to those who treat AI not as a luxury, but as essential infrastructure.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
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Good morning. As audit committees confront a rapidly expanding risk landscape, their role in corporate governance is being reshaped. Boards have often turned to current and former CFOs as independent directors, particularly for audit committees, because of their ability to translate complex operational and financial realities into effective oversight.
For example, this month, J. Michael Hansen, former EVP and CFO of Cintas Corporation, was appointed to the audit committee at Paychex. In July, Britt Vitalone, EVP and CFO of McKesson Corporation, was appointed to the audit committee of Align Technology’s board of directors. And in November, Catherine Birkett, CFO of GoCardless, was named chair of the audit and risk committee at Twinkl.
I attended the launch event of the Institute of Internal Auditors’ (IIA) Global Audit Committee Center last week in Washington, D.C., which addressed the challenges and opportunities facing audit committees. The center is designed to be a resource to strengthen the alliance between audit committees of boards and internal audit in a fast-changing risk environment. It offers research, webinars, and events and will ultimately add formal training programs.
“The center has a very strong core belief—well-informed, engaged, and well-supported audit committees are essential to corporate governance,” said Anthony Pugliese, president and CEO of the IIA.
Pugliese emphasized that board audit committees need to turn to internal audit to truly understand what is happening inside an organization. The event drew members from across the U.S. and around the world, including Canada, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, with Abdullah Alshebeili, CEO of the Saudi Authority of Internal Auditors, in attendance.
CFOs, in particular, work with internal audit on risk assessment, internal controls, and audit readiness, and they share information on financial processes and control issues. Finance chiefs also communicate regularly with the board’s audit committee.
AI and analytics reshape how audit committees see risk
During a panel discussion at the event, Ann Cohen, CFO of the IIA, said audit committees are increasingly using AI and advanced technology to connect different types of risk—third-party, financial, operational, cyber, and regulatory. They are using analytics to surface anomalies and emerging risks earlier, support proactive oversight, and run “what if” analyses before risks materialize. “It allows us to be more responsive to risks and provide more robust assurance to stakeholders,” she said.
A major focus is “everyday AI,” said Sarah Francis of the EY Center for Board Effectiveness. “I think audit committees are really also looking at, ‘How do we start to touch, feel, smell, and get used to the products that are out there?’” Directors, many of whom are active executives, are also thinking about how to deploy these tools effectively. “There have to be clear governance frameworks for AI and analytics,” she said, noting that prompts—and the people who craft them—matter. She highlighted the need for experts who can help frame broader questions around ethics within responsible AI frameworks.
Audit committees can and should engage with technology as they work toward a fully defined plan, commented Luke Whorton, executive search and leadership consultant at Spencer Stuart in the firm’s Financial Officer Practice. “How do you create a foundation, but one that’s agile and responsive, because it’s going to continue to change rapidly?” he asked.
“Audit committees need to be curious,” Cohen said. “They need to challenge management on their inputs, on their assumptions and their judgment, and on what they’ve embedded into their AI outputs.”
The committees that challenge assumptions and lean into technology, alongside strong partnerships with internal audit, could be well-positioned to safeguard trust in an uncertain world.
Linda LaGorga will step down as CFO of Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENTG), an advanced materials science provider, effective Feb. 28. Effective March 1. Mike Sauer, Entegris’ VP, controller and chief accounting officer, will assume the role of interim CFO, in addition to maintaining the responsibilities of his current role. LaGorga will serve as a senior advisor to Entegris through May 15. Entegris has initiated a search process for a permanent CFO with an executive search firm. Sauer has 37 years of experience in finance and accounting roles at Entegris.
Hugo Doetsch was appointed CFO of AuditBoard, a governance, risk, and compliance platform. Doetsch brings over two decades of financial leadership and strategic operating experience to AuditBoard. Most recently, he served as CFO at symplr, an enterprise health care operations software provider. Before that, he was CFO at NetDocuments, a cloud-based content management platform. Doetsch also held senior leadership roles at Ping Identity, where he assisted the company in a 2019 initial public offering.
Big Deal
The 2026 Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies list was released this morning. The annual ranking of corporate reputation is based on a poll of some 3,000 executives, directors, and analysts.
Apple has been No. 1 for 19 consecutive years. Amazon and Microsoft have filled out the top three for seven years in a row. Berkshire Hathaway (No. 6) and Alphabet (No. 8) have each been in the top 10 for well over a decade. Berkshire, the conglomerate nurtured by Warren Buffett, holds the distinction of having been on the All-Star list every single year since it launched in 1998; it shares that honor with Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Toyota Motor, and Johnson & Johnson.
Going deeper
“Who Gets Replaced by AI and Why?” is a report in Wharton’s business journal. New research from Wharton’s Pinar Yildirim explores how AI can impact employee motivation when it is implemented in the wrong part of a team’s workflow. The research addresses topics such as how managers should deploy AI capacity in teams and which positions are most vulnerable to being displaced by AI.
Overheard
“Working closely with David Ellison and this exceptional management team made the decision to resign from the board and jump in fully as CFO an easy one.”
—Dennis K. Cinelli wrote in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday regarding his appointment, effective Jan. 15, as CFO of Paramount, and his resignation from the company’s board. Most recently, Cinelli served as CFO of Scale AI, and he previously held senior finance and operational roles at Uber.
I love watching “Next Man Up” basketball, where the spotlight rotates unpredictably. One night it’s the bench guard dropping 30, the next it’s the role player posting a triple-double.
CapitalG’s Jill Chase—who captained her college basketball team at Williams College—says this logic actually applies to Alphabet’s growth firm. When I ask her what basketball team is most like CapitalG, she lists the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries.
“Everybody has a different skill set, and everybody is willing to drop anything to help each other win,” said Chase. “It’s a different person every night who wins the game. And I think that’s really consistent with the way CapitalG is building its culture.”
For the first time since the firm was started in 2013, it’s promoting two general partners, Chase and Alex Nichols, Fortune has exclusively learned. Chase, who joined CapitalG in 2020 specifically with a thesis around AI, has backed Abridge, Baseten, Canva, LangChain, Physical Intelligence, and Rippling.
Nichols, meanwhile, joined CapitalG in 2018 as an associate and was promoted to partner just two years ago. He previously worked with managing partner Laela Sturdy on the firm’s investments in Duolingo, Stripe, and Whatnot, and recently led CapitalG’s investment in Zach Dell’s energy startup BasePower. At a moment where there’s mounting angst around data centers and what it will take to power them, Nichols has a surprising take on how AI will affect energy—that both batteries and solar are getting cheaper and better at something like Moore’s Law speed. Those twin cost curves, over time, should actually drive energy prices down.
“I’m actually very optimistic about the future of energy prices,” he said. “You look at the history of energy consumption versus GDP. And cheap energy means more production, more income, and means a higher standard of living.”
At a moment when venture is perhaps more competitive than ever—and there are certainly some solo GPs out there making their mark—there’s an argument that as lines blur between disciplines in an AI-ified world, venture is by necessity a team sport.
Sturdy—who’s been CapitalG’s managing partner since 2023 (and also captained her college basketball team)—and Chase both have clearly taken some learnings from their time on the court. Chase sees venture overall as becoming more team-oriented: “Historically, it used to be like ‘you made general partner, go out and win your deal.’ To me, that’s not the right way to be successful in venture ever.”
Sturdy adds that in basketball, like venture, “We have to look at the scoreboard every once in a while, and you have to get back up when you get crushed… And, of course, coming together is better than playing alone.”
Term Sheet Podcast…This week, I spoke with Exelon CEO Calvin Butler. As resource-hungry data centers continue to sprout across the country, many are questioning whether the nation’s utility network can keep pace with such large-scale demand. Butler says it can. Listen and watch here.
Joey Abrams curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.Subscribe here.
VENTURE CAPITAL
– humans&, a San Francisco-based AI lab, raised $480 million in seed funding. SVAngel and GeorgesHarik led the round and were joined by NVIDIA and others.
– Emergent, a San Francisco-based platform designed for AI software creation, raised $70 million in Series B funding. Khosla Ventures and SoftBank led the round and were joined by Prosus, Lightspeed, Together, and Y Combinator.
– Exciva, a Heidelberg, Germany-based developer of therapeutics designed for neuropsychiatric conditions, raised €51 million ($59 million) in Series B funding. Gimv and EQTLifeSciences led the round and were joined by FountainHealthcarePartners, LifeArcVentures, and others.
– Pomelo, a Buenos Aires, Argentina-based payments infrastructure company, raised $55 million in Series C funding. Kaszek and InsightPartners led the round and were joined by IndexVentures, AdamsStreetPartners, S32, and others.
– Cloover, a Berlin, Germany-based operating system designed for energy independence, raised $22 million in Series A funding. MMCVentures and QEDInvestors led the round and were joined by LowercarbonCapital, BNVTCapital, BoschVentures, and others.
– Statusphere, a Winter Park, Fla.-based influencer marketing technology platform, raised $18 million in Series A funding. VolitionCapital led the round and was joined by HearstLab, 1984Ventures, and HowWomenInvest.
– DominionDynamics, an Ottawa, Canada-based defense technology company, raised $21M CAD ($15.2M USD) in seed funding. Georgian led the round and was joined by BessemerVenturePartners and BritishColumbiaInvestmentManagementCorporation.
– Cosmos, a New York City-based image collection and discovery platform, raised $15 million in Series A funding. ShineCapital led the round and was joined by Matrix and others.
– Mave, a Toronto, Canada-based real estate AI company, raised $5 million in seed funding from StaircaseVentures, RelayVentures, N49P, and AlatePartners.
– Stilla, a Stockholm, Sweden-based developer of an AI designed to accommodate entire teams, raised $5 million in pre-seed funding. GeneralCatalyst led the round and was joined by others.
– AsymmetricSecurity, a London, U.K. and San Francisco-based cyber forensics company, raised $4.2 million in pre-seed funding. SusaVentures led the round and was joined by HalcyonVentures, OverlookVentures, and angel investors.
PRIVATE EQUITY
– ConnectWise, backed by ThomaBravo, acquired zofiQ, a Toronto, Ontario-based agentic AI technology company designed to automate high-service desk operations. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– GrantAvenueCapital acquired 21stCenturyHealthcare, a Tempe, Ariz.-based vitamins, minerals, and supplements company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– HighlanderPartners acquired Tapatio, a Vernon, Calif.-based hot sauce brand. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– PlatinumEquity acquired CzarnowskiCollective, a Chicago, Ill.-based exhibit and events company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
– UnitedBuildingSolutions, backed by AEIndustrial, acquired DFWMechanicalGroup, a Wylie, Texas-based HVAC solutions company. Financial terms were not disclosed.
IPOS
– PicPay, a Sao Paolo, Brazil-based digital bank, now plans to raise up to $435.1 million in an offering of 22.9 million shares priced between $16 and $19 on the Nasdaq. The company posted $1.7 billion in revenue for the year ended September 30. J&F International and BancoOriginal back the company.
– EthosTechnologies, a San Francisco-based online life insurance provider, plans to raise up to $210 million in an offering of 10.5 million shares priced between $18 and $20. The company posted $344 million in revenue for the year ended Sept. 30. GeneralCatalyst, HeroicVentures, EricLantz, and others back the company.
FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS
– BlueprintEquity, a La Jolla, Calif.-based growth equity firm, raised $333 million for its third fund focused on enterprise software, business-to-business, and tech-enabled services companies.
PEOPLE
– Area 15 Ventures, a Castle Pine, Colo.-based venture capital firm, promoted AdamContos to managing partner.
– BullCityVenturePartners, a Durham, N.C.-based venture capital firm, hired CarlyConnell as a principal.
– HarvestPartners, a New York City-based private equity firm, promoted LucasRodgers to partner, MatthewBruckmann and IanSingleton to principal, and ConnorScro to vice president on the private equity team.
– Wingman Growth Partners, a Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm, hired CheriReeve as CFO. She previously served as principal and CFO at AtlasHoldings.
Davos 2026: reading the signals, not the headlines | Fortune
Louisa Loran advises boards and leadership teams on transformation and long-term value creation and currently serves on the boards of Copenhagen Business School and CataCap Private Equity.At Google, Louisa launched a billion-dollar supply chain solutions business, doubled growth in a global industry vertical, and led strategic business transformation for the company’s largest customers in EMEA—working at the forefront of AI, data, and platform innovation. At Maersk, she co-authored the strategy that redefined the brand globally and doubled its share price, helping pivot the company from traditional shipping to integrated logistics. Her career began in the luxury and FMCG space with Moët Hennessy and Diageo, where she built iconic brands and led innovation at the intersection of heritage and digital transformation.
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