Rishi Katdare

expert panel

Open-weight large language models have become one of enterprise AI's hottest topics. Their promise is compelling: greater control, improved privacy, customization and freedom from vendor lock-in. Yet many executives remain focused on one number—the licensing cost—while overlooking the far larger operational commitment required after deployment.Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank, a community of executives and practitioners leading AI strategy across industries, agree that organizations should evaluate open-weight models the same way they would any other mission-critical technology platform: through total cost of ownership, long-term operational resilience and measurable business outcomes.McKinsey has emphasized that successful AI adoption depends not only on selecting the right models but also on building the data infrastructure, operating models and organizational capabilities needed to scale them. For enterprises adopting open-weight models, those ongoing investments can quickly become a larger cost factor than the model itself.In this article, AI Think Tank members examine the hidden costs and strategic considerations behind open-weight AI adoption, sharing how executives should think about infrastructure, talent, security, governance, maintenance and the business cases where owning and operating these models can create a meaningful advantage—and when the hidden costs outweigh the benefits.

expert panel

Artificial intelligence has become remarkably good at creating competent work. It can draft marketing copy, generate product descriptions, design visual assets and even emulate established brand voices in seconds. Yet as organizations adopt many of the same foundation models and workflows, a different challenge is emerging: sameness.Instead of creating stronger differentiation, AI often produces outputs that reflect statistical averages rather than distinctive thinking. The result is an increasing number of websites, advertisements and product messages that feel interchangeable.Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank, an invitation-only community of leaders advancing enterprise AI, argue that the real opportunity for differentiation lies far beyond selecting the latest LLM. Across industries ranging from design and marketing to cloud infrastructure and retail technology, they point to a common set of competitive advantages: proprietary knowledge, human judgment, organizational context and leadership that gives AI clear direction.Their insights reveal a fundamental shift in how executives should think about AI strategy. Rather than asking which model is best, organizations should ask what unique expertise, customer understanding and decision-making processes they can bring to those models. The following perspectives explore where lasting competitive advantage is emerging—and why the companies that stand out in the AI era may be the ones that invest most heavily in the capabilities machines can't replicate.

expert panel

When OpenAI unveiled Jalapeño, its first custom AI inference chip developed with Broadcom, the announcement represented more than a hardware milestone. It highlighted a broader shift in the AI industry: the race to make intelligence faster, more affordable and more accessible at scale. As the cost of running large language models declines, product leaders face a new question—not simply what AI can do, but what products become possible when intelligence is inexpensive enough to operate continuously.For much of the generative AI era, product teams have designed around scarcity. They have limited model usage, shortened context windows, reduced reasoning steps and carefully managed AI interactions because every inference call carries a cost. But as custom silicon and AI infrastructure improvements drive down those constraints, AI can move from an occasional feature users activate to an always-present capability embedded throughout workflows. Research from McKinsey & Company estimates that generative AI could create trillions of dollars in annual economic value, but capturing that opportunity will require organizations to integrate AI into core business processes rather than treat it as a standalone tool.Members of the Senior Executive AI Think Tank believe the next generation of AI products will not simply be faster versions of today’s copilots. Below, they explore how OpenAI’s Jalapeño chip could reshape product design, unlock previously uneconomical AI applications and redefine the competitive landscape for organizations building the next generation of intelligent products.