AGNTCY - Unlock agents at scale with an open Internet of Agents. Visit https://agntcy.org/ and add your support.

In this episode of Eye on AI, Craig Smith sits down with Jason Hardy, Chief Technology Officer for AI at Hitachi Vantara, to explore what it really takes to deploy AI at scale in the enterprise, beyond the hype.

Jason shares how Hitachi is building a pragmatic, outcomes-driven AI platform through Hitachi iQ. From working with NVIDIA to integrating agentic AI into operations, this conversation unpacks the infrastructure, mindset, and strategies needed to move AI projects from experimentation to production.

Whether you're navigating AI adoption, battling with data readiness, or looking to build your own LLM-powered applications, this episode offers invaluable insights from a company that's actually doing it globally, sustainably, and at scale.

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Craig Smith on X: https://x.com/craigss

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(00:00) Preview

(02:10) The Role of CTO for AI at Hitachi Vantara

(05:38) Applying AI Across Manufacturing, Energy & Transport

(09:54) What Is Pragmatic AI?

(13:21) Infrastructure Demands of Generative AI

(14:47) Why Most AI Projects Fail

(20:25) Inside the Hitachi iQ Platform & NVIDIA Partnership

(25:42) Building a Model-Agnostic, Hybrid AI Stack

(32:08) Beyond Selling GPUs: Delivering Real AI Outcomes

(38:09) Supporting Hybrid Deployments Across Cloud and On-Prem

(42:02) Rethinking ROI: Failure as a Strategic Advantage

(47:44) Agentic AI and the Future of Autonomous IT Workflows

(49:37) Five Core Domains of Agentic AI at Hitachi

(53:02) Making AI Infrastructure Sustainable

(56:48) Hitachi's Vision for the Future of Enterprise AI

AGNTCY - Unlock agents at scale with an open Internet of Agents. Visit https://agntcy.org/ and add your support.

How AI Is Transforming the Physical World | Samsara’s Vision for the Future of Operations

In this episode of Eye on AI, Craig Smith sits down with Kiren Sekar, Chief Product Officer at Samsara, to explore how AI, edge computing, and IoT are revolutionizing the world of physical operations - from fleets and factories to farms and field teams.

Samsara has quietly become the digital backbone for thousands of frontline businesses, collecting trillions of data points across vehicles, tools, and teams. Kiren explains how they’re building AI-powered systems that don’t just collect data, they deliver real-time safety alerts, optimize routes, track fuel efficiency, and even coach drivers automatically.

Whether you work in tech, operations, or AI, this episode shows how AI is finally meeting the real world.

Check our Samsara, AI Build for Physical Operations: https://www.samsara.com/

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Craig Smith on X:https://x.com/craigss

Eye on A.I. on X: https://x.com/EyeOn_AI

(00:00) Preview

(02:01) Kiren Sekar’s Background and Why Samsara Was Founded

(06:38) The Real-World Impact of Samsara’s AI Systems

(09:04) What Changed After Samsara Went Public

(11:09) How Samsara Gives Businesses Visibility Into Operations

(13:08) The Hardware and Cellular Network Powering Samsara

(14:13) AI to Detect Driving Risks

(23:13) Tracking Every Asset: From Cranes to Toolkits

(25:20) Why Even Mid-Sized Companies Can Use Samsara Easily

(27:25) Regional Dashboards and AI Insights for Executives

(29:57) How Samsara Decides Where to Apply AI

(32:54) Can AI Read Handwritten Forms?

(35:31) The AI Models Samsara Uses

(39:21) What Samsara Processes at the Edge vs in the Cloud

(43:00) Why Samsara Keeps Its R&D Team Small and Fast

(46:35) Why Legacy Industries Are Finally Adopting AI

(49:12) What Agentic AI Workflows Look Like at Samsara

(54:53) What’s Next: AI Voice Assistants for Field Worker