Does a consumer hardware company need to get on the VC treadmill to succeed? Eleven years and 290 million products sold across 115 countries later, PopSockets has proven that the bootstrapped, low-dilution path more viable than the industry gives it credit for. The global consumer hardware brand was built on less than $500k, no institutional capital, and a philosophy professor’s determination. Watch as founder and former CEO […]
Read more The transformational potential of AI is already well established. Enterprise use cases are building momentum and organizations are transitioning from pilot projects to AI in production. Companies are no longer just talking about AI; they are redirecting budgets and resources to make it happen. Many are already experimenting with agentic AI, which promises new levels of automation. Yet, the road to full operational success is still uncertain for many. And, while AI experimentation is everywhere, enterprise-wide adoption remains elusive.
Without integrated data and systems, stable automated workflows, and governance models, AI initiatives can get stuck in pilots and struggle to move into production. The rise of agentic AI and increasing model autonomy make a holistic approach to integrating data, applications, and systems more important than ever. Without it, enterprise AI initiatives may fail. Gartner predicts over 40% of agentic AI projects will be cancelled by 2027 due to cost, inaccuracy, and governance challenges. The real issue is not the AI itself, but the missing operational foundation.
To understand how organizations are structuring their AI operations and how they are deploying successful AI projects, MIT Technology Review Insights surveyed 500 senior IT leaders at mid- to large-size companies in the US, all of which are pursuing AI in some way.
The results of the survey, along with a series of expert interviews, all conducted in December 2025, show that a strong integration foundation aligns with more advanced AI implementations, conducive to enterprise-wide initiatives. As AI technologies and applications evolve and proliferate, an integration platform can help organizations avoid duplication and silos, and have clear oversight as they navigate the growing autonomy of workflows.
Key findings from the report include the following:
Some organizations are making progress with AI. In recent years, study after study has exposed a lack of tangible AI success. Yet, our research finds three in four (76%) surveyed companies have at least one department with an AI workflow fully in production.
AI succeeds most frequently with well-defined, established processes. Nearly half (43%) of organizations are finding success with AI implementations applied to well-defined and automated processes. A quarter are succeeding with new processes. And one-third (32%) are applying AI to various processes.
Two-thirds of organizations lack dedicated AI teams. Only one in three (34%) organizations have a team specifically for maintaining AI workflows. One in five (21%) say central IT is responsible for ongoing AI maintenance, and 25% say the responsibility lies with departmental operations. For 19% of organizations, the responsibility is spread out.
Enterprise-wide integration platforms lead to more robust implementation of AI. Companies with enterprise-wide integration platforms are five times more likely to use more diverse data sources in AI workflows. Six in 10 (59%) employ five or more data sources, compared to only 11% of organizations using integration for specific workflows, or 0% of those not using an integration platform. Organizations using integration platforms also have more multi-departmental implementation of AI, more autonomy in AI workflows, and more confidence in assigning autonomy in the future.
This content was produced by Insights, the custom content arm of MIT Technology Review. It was not written by MIT Technology Review’s editorial staff. It was researched, designed, and written by human writers, editors, analysts, and illustrators. This includes the writing of surveys and collection of data for surveys. AI tools that may have been used were limited to secondary production processes that passed thorough human review.
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.
Listen to Earth’s rumbling, secret soundtrack
The boom of a calving glacier. The crackling rumble of a wildfire. The roar of a surging storm front. They’re the noises of the living Earth, but as loud as all these things are, they emit even more acoustic energy below the threshold of human hearing, at frequencies of 20 hertz or lower.
These “infrasounds” have such long wavelengths that they can travel around the globe as churning emanations of distant events. But humans have never been able to hear them. Until now. Read our story and check the sounds out for yourself.
—Monique Brouillette
This story is from the latest March/April issue of our print magazine, all about crime. Subscribe today to get full access. You’ll also receive an in-depth digital AI report and an exclusive e-book on how to understand AI’s reckoning.
MIT Technology Review Narrated: The curious case of the disappearing Lamborghinis
A new wave of theft is rocking the luxury car industry—mixing high tech with old-school chop-shop techniques to snag vehicles while they’re in transport.
It’s remained under the radar, even as it’s rocked the industry over the past two years. MIT Technology Review identified more than a dozen cases involving high-end vehicles, obtained court records, and spoke to law enforcement, brokers, drivers, and victims in multiple states to reveal how transport fraud is wreaking havoc across the country.
This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we’re publishing each week on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Just navigate to MIT Technology Review Narrated on either platform, and follow us to get all our new content as it’s released.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 How Anthropic’s AI tool Claude is being used for US strikes on Iran
It’s helping to identify targets and prioritize them—for now. (WP $)
+ We should all be alarmed by the White House turning on Anthropic. (The Atlantic $)
+ OpenAI is pursuing a contract with NATO. (Reuters)
2 Iran’s Shahed drones give it a major advantage
They’re cheap and easy to manufacture, but very expensive to intercept. (CNBC)
+ The US is manufacturing copies of the drone to use against Iran. (New Scientist $)
+ Israel’s plot to kill Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was years in the making. (FT $)
3 Data center politics are getting an early test in North Carolina
One of the candidates is calling for a 10-year national moratorium on building them. (The Guardian)
+ But it’s not just data centers that are driving people’s electricity bills up. (Inside Climate News)
+ Data centers are amazing. Everyone hates them. (MIT Technology Review)
+ Never mind space—why not just build them into floating offshore wind turbines? (IEEE Spectrum)
4 LLMs can unmask pseudonymous users
At a speed and scale far beyond what even skilled human investigators can manage. (Ars Technica)
+ It’s also very easy to persuade them to fabricate scientific papers. (Nature $)
5 TikTok has ruled out end-to-end encryption, citing user safety
It’s a stance that sets it apart from almost all rival social media services. (BBC)
+ The strategy will please parents, police—and hackers. (Cybernews)
+ TikTok is experiencing Oracle-related server issues, again. (Gizmodo)
6 Why is SpaceX going public?
One thing seems certain: it’s not for the reasons Musk’s claiming. (The Verge $)
+ Two companies have just unveiled plans to build lunar harvesters. (Ars Technica)
7 NASA’s scheduled its next attempt to launch the Artemis II moon rocket
On April Fool’s Day, of all days. Good luck! (Space)
8 What it’s like to live with a brain implant for years 
For 65-year-old Rodney Gorham, who can no longer walk, talk, or move his hands, it’s been a real lifeline. (Wired $)
+ This patient’s Neuralink brain implant is getting a boost from generative AI. (MIT Technology Review)
9 Pokémon Pokopia is getting rave reviews
It apparently mixes Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley, with a hint of Minecraft-style building. (BBC)
10. Hollywood is scouring YouTube for its next horror hits 
Movie studios want to bring the threat from the platform in-house. (The New Yorker $)
+ One YouTuber’s self-financed horror flick opened at 4,000 theatres. (Variety)
Quote of the day
“I think it just looked opportunistic and sloppy.”
—OpenAI CEO Sam Altman comments on X about his decision to rush in to work with the US Department of War after its talks with Anthropic fell apart.
One More Thing
Crypto millionaires are pouring money into Central America to build their own cities
El Salvador’s Conchagua Volcano, home to a lush ecotourism retreat amid its sun-dappled forest, is set to host a glittering new Bitcoin City, according to the country’s president.
While some politicians and residents believe in crypto’s potential to jump-start the economy, others see history repeating itself. They also question who these projects are really for, and whether the countries serving as test beds will truly benefit. Read the full story.
—Laurie Clarke
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet ’em at me.)
+ Art is everywhere in Los Angeles: you just need to know what you’re looking for.
+ Survivor has been running for 50 seasons. How is that even possible?!
+ MP3 players are cool again. I don’t make the rules.
+ Be careful out there—you never know when you’re going to come across a Homer Simpson AI cover song.
The potential rollout would be available to companies with at least 50 employees, with the move suggesting that a paid business plan is on the horizon.
New data released in partnership with GWI found that digitally native users are consuming business content outside of traditionally professional online environments.
Problems at a local data center in Ashburn, Virginia, led to more timeouts, errors and latency issues – and user speculation about government interference.
The platform’s new capabilities include more detailed earnings and payout data to help creators better manage their AdSense accounts.
The app told the BBC that using that level of security would impede police investigations and said stance sets it apart from rivals.
Australia is on a trajectory for only $710 million in annual economic gains from crypto by 2030 unless there’s a substantial change, the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre says.
Trump has urged banking groups to “make a good deal” with the crypto industry and said undermining the GENIUS Act is “unacceptable.”