PEX Network’s weekly bulletin rounds up the latest industry vendor news including product releases/updates, mergers and acquisitions, partnerships and leadership changes.
This week includes:
- DeepSeek releases game-changing open-source AI model
- Microsoft launches AI for Good Open Call grant program
- Celonis launches Trust the Process podcast series
- Vendors showcase latest offerings at OPEX Week 2025
- Rockwell Automation opens new advanced technology research lab
- SAP announces Q4 and fiscal year 2024 results
- Pegasystems appoints Rohit Ghai to board of directors
- Capgemini seeks process mining consultant
- C3 AI partners with McKinsey & Company to accelerate enterprise-scale AI transformations
DeepSeek releases game-changing open-source AI model
Chinese startup DeepSeek released a new, open-source AI model that has stunned the global technology community. It presented a ChatGPT-like AI model called R1, which has all the familiar abilities but operates at a fraction of the cost of OpenAI’s, Google’s or Meta’s popular AI models. The company claimed to have spent just US$5.6 million on computing power for its base model, compared with the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars US companies spend on their AI technologies.
US stocks took a major hit as a result. For example, Nvidia, the leading supplier of AI chips, fell nearly 17 percent and lost $588.8 billion in market value, while Meta and Alphabet (GOOGL), Google’s parent company, were also down sharply. The news also sparked a huge change in investments in non-technology companies on Wall Street.
President Trump called the DeepSeek release a “wake-up call” for US technology firms, arguing that the latest developments in China’s AI industry may be “a positive” for the US.
“The release of DeepSeek undeniably showcases the immense potential of open-source AI,” said Dr Andrew Bolster, senior research and development manager (data science) at Black Duck. “Making such a powerful model available under an MIT license not only democratizes access to cutting-edge technology but also fosters innovation and collaboration across the global AI community.”
However, DeepSeek’s rumored use of OpenAI Chain of Thought data for its initial training highlights the importance of transparency and shared resources in advancing AI, he added. “In the context of ‘open-source AI,’ it’s crucial that the underlying training and evaluation data are open, as well as the initial architecture and the resultant model weights. DeepSeek's achievement in AI efficiency (leveraging a clever reinforcement learning-based multi-stage training approach rather than the current trend of using larger datasets for bigger models) signals a future where AI is accessible beyond the billionaire classes. As more organizations recognize these benefits, we could indeed see a significant shift towards open-source AI, driving a new era of technological advancement.”
Watch Tyrone Smith Jr, program faculty member/adjunct associate professor at University of Southern California (USC), discuss prioritizing humanity in the age of AI
Microsoft launches AI for Good Open Call grant program
Technology giant Microsoft launched the AI for Good Open Call, a program that will award US$5 million in grants and the opportunity to collaborate with its leading AI scientists. Organizations are invited to leverage the power of AI to address pressing social and scientific challenges in Washington state. The program celebrates Microsoft’s 50th anniversary and reflects the firm’s aims to build and deploy responsible AI innovations, according to a press release.
Diverse entities including nonprofits, academic institutions, individual researchers, startups and businesses based in or benefiting Washington state are eligible to participate. Projects must focus on addressing sustainability, public health, education or human rights. Successful grant applicants will show potential for their concept and data to result in a unique and scalable solution while strong applicants will have clean, accurate and unbiased high-quality data, Microsoft stated.
“If you lead an organization that is tackling one of our state’s most pressing issues, from sustainable energy development to addressing housing affordability, we invite you to apply for a Microsoft AI for Good grant,” said Juan Lavista Ferres, corporate VP and chief data scientist of the AI for Good Lab at Microsoft. “This is a focused opportunity for our home state of Washington and we’re confident it will harness innovative solutions to complex questions.”
Watch thought leader Vishal Bhalla reflect on the pros and cons of AI
Celonis launches Trust the Process podcast series
Process mining leader Celonis launched Trust the Process, the vendor’s new podcast series. Hosted by Angela-Sophia Gebert, the podcast is part of the Celonis Academic Alliance’s mission to educate and inspire the process intelligence workforce of the future. Over the course of eight episodes, it will deliver engaging and insightful content tailored for professionals, students and leaders, blending education with entertainment.
Celonis invited Gabriela Galic, co-founder of Women in Process Mining, to appear as a guest to mark its launch. “Whether you’re just curious or already deeply involved in the world of process intelligence, this series is sure to drive new ideas and conversations about how processes shape everything around us,” Galic said.
Celonis also announced the launch of processminingjobs.com – a new job platform for process mining and process intelligence. It is designed for students, career starters and experienced specialists and offers companies and applicants a central point of contact.
Register for All Access: Process Mining and Process Intelligence 2025
Vendors showcase latest offerings at OPEX Week 2025
Dozens of industry vendors gathered at OPEX Week: Business Transformation World Summit 2025 in Miami, Florida this week to showcase their latest offerings and services. OPEX Week is the world’s largest enterprise transformation and OPEX event, bringing together hundreds of leaders from across the globe.
Attending vendors include McKinsey Transformation, ABBYY, GBTEC, Chazey Partners, PRIME BPM, SS&C Blue Prism, Celonis, mindzie and Skan AI.
Watch Cathy Gu, deputy divisional director at IQPC, discuss OPEX Week 2025
Rockwell Automation opens new advanced technology research lab
Industrial automation and digital transformation vendor Rockwell Automation expanded its Advanced Technology team with the opening of a new research lab in Prague, Czech Republic. The Advanced Technology team helps Rockwell deliver new products and services along with supporting the wider automation industry through thought leadership and engagement with the standards and academic community. The Prague team will work to address anticipated customer needs, validate the future of Rockwell products and identify opportunities and limitations of new technologies, according to a press release. The team will also collaborate with local universities to share knowledge, experience and best practices to create the advanced technologies of tomorrow, it added.
“Our Advanced Technology team is a key part of Rockwell’s innovation ecosystem, helping to translate emerging technical concepts and identify potential industrial applications,” said Kyle Crum, director of Advanced Technology. “Prague is a great location for research because we already have established relationships in the region and can extend this to universities focused on autonomous intelligent systems. We’re looking forward to deepening our relationships in Europe and helping all our customers become more resilient, agile and sustainable.”
Rockwell Automation also announced the appointment of Vincenzo Monaco as new sales director to drive market growth in Germany. The firm is scheduled to report its first quarter fiscal 2025 results on Monday February 10.
Watch Sangeeta Krishnan, senior analytics lead – consumer health, commercial, North America at Bayer, reflect on consolidating tools for enhanced efficiency
SAP announces Q4 and fiscal year 2024 results
SAP announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. SAP met/exceeded all financial outlook parameters for the year, with total revenue up 10 percent at constant currencies, the company stated. It has a current cloud backlog of €18.1 billion, up 32 percent and 29 percent at constant currencies. Meanwhile, cloud revenue is up 25 percent and 26 percent at constant currencies with cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite revenue up 33 percent and 34 percent at constant currencies.
International financial reporting standards (IFRS) operating profit is down 20 percent but non-IFRS operating profit is up 25 percent and 26 percent at constant currencies. SAP anticipates accelerated cloud revenue growth in 2025.
“Q4 was a strong finish to the year, with half of our cloud order entry including AI,” said Christian Klein, CEO of SAP. “Looking at the full year, we exceeded our cloud goals, accelerating cloud revenue and current cloud backlog growth against a much larger base. Looking ahead, our strong position in data and business AI gives us additional confidence that we will accelerate revenue growth through 2027.”
SAP also announced the appointment of Sebastian Steinhaeuser to its executive board. Steinhaeuser will lead a newly formed board area to support the execution of SAP’s strategy and drive simplification in operations.
Pegasystems appoints Rohit Ghai to board of directors
Enterprise transformation vendor appointed Rohit Ghai to its board of directors. Ghai brings more than two decades of leadership and digital transformation experience in the enterprise software industry, delivering profitable growth for large global organizations. He is currently the CEO and a board member of RSA, a leading global cyber security company in enterprise identity security solutions, and previously led RSA under Dell Technologies before its acquisition.
“Rohit’s breadth of experience leading and serving on boards of large enterprises positions him perfectly to bring fresh perspectives on driving successful business strategies,” said Alan Trefler, founder and CEO of Pegasystems. “His insights – including his deep knowledge of cyber security measures – will be invaluable as we navigate this exciting era of innovation and growth at Pega, and we look forward to his contributions.”
Pegasystems continues to demonstrate its ability to swiftly evolve and innovate for its clients regardless of how quickly technology changes – most recently evidenced by its advanced new offerings in generative AI, added Ghai. “I am excited to work with the management team and fellow board members to help drive meaningful results for the company and its impressive roster of clients.”
Watch Cherise Crenshaw-Holmes PhD, founder at Modern Work Consultancy, discuss building inclusion into business transformation
Capgemini seeks process mining consultant
Business and technology transformation company Capgemini is looking to hire a new process mining consultant to join its intelligent process and performance team. The successful candidate will get the opportunity to work on “cutting-edge process mining projects” that drive real, tangible impact for clients across diverse industries, according to the job description. “You’ll join a team of forward-thinking professionals who thrive on collaboration, innovation and delivering data-driven solutions that transform business operations,” it added.
Role responsibilities include:
- Leading process mining projects from data extraction to insight delivery.
- Developing dashboards and analyses using tools like Celonis, ARIS or Signavio.
- Collaborating with stakeholders to identify inefficiencies and recommend solutions.
- Facilitating workshops and clearly communicating findings.
- Integrating insights with enterprise systems to drive sustainable improvements.
Watch Tony Benedict, president of the Association of BPM Professionals International, outline breaking down silos in process management
C3 AI partners with McKinsey & Company to accelerate enterprise-scale AI transformations
Enterprise AI software application company C3 AI announced a strategic alliance with global consulting firm McKinsey & Company to organizations across industries and geographies accelerate AI transformations at scale. The partnership combines the technical expertise of McKinsey’s AI practice, QuantumBlack, with C3 AI’s AI software applications to help clients unlock the power of enterprise AI and agentic AI to realize significant operational improvements and unlock new growth opportunities, according to a press release.
“The future of every industry will be shaped by AI,” commented Bob Sternfels, managing partner at McKinsey & Company. “This alliance ensures our clients are not just participants, but leaders in that future. Together with C3 AI, we’re enabling companies to reimagine their operations, unlock new value and outpace the competition.”
Watch Nao Anthony, senior manager in OPEX at Commonwealth Bank, and Tariq Munir, APAC financial planning transformation lead at PepsiCo, discuss the complexities and challenges of digital transformation
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