Nvidia and Oracle's AI Supercluster, Backbase's AI Banking Platform, and the Rise of Agentic AI in Customer Experience

Oracle has implemented thousands of Nvidia GPUs within its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to advance next-generation reasoning models and AI agents. This effort marks the first introduction of liquid-cooled NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 racks, featuring thousands of Nvidia Grace CPUs and Blackwell GPUs in OCI data centers. The GB200 NVL72 supercomputer comprises 36 Arm-based Nvidia Grace CPUs, each paired with two Blackwell GPUs, delivering over one exaflop of training performance. Oracle plans to expand this initiative into a cluster exceeding 100,000 Blackwell GPUs, forming an "OCI Supercluster." Complementing the hardware, Oracle and Nvidia offer comprehensive software and database integration. (Source)

As AI transitions from a mere tool to an integral teammate, companies face the challenge of strategically integrating AI amidst a rapidly evolving technological landscape. In Austin, a Waymo autonomous vehicle acting as an Uber driver symbolizes this shift. Many businesses lack a strategic framework, dabbling without consideration for data security or privacy, while struggling to adapt to AI’s swift life cycle. AI interconnects with disruptive technologies like robotics and blockchain, altering work and life dynamics. A clear vision for AI involves embedding an "AI Buddy Mothership" to guide specialized AI agents alongside skilled human team members, fostering machine-to-machine collaboration. Companies that fail to strategically harness AI risk losing competitive edge, reduced customer satisfaction, and lower business value. This underscores the need for strategic partnerships and proactive skill development to thrive in the AI-driven future. (Source)

Agentic AI has overtaken generative AI in the technology hype cycle despite lacking a standardized definition, creating potential confusion for CIOs and IT leaders looking to procure and implement these emerging tools. Numerous vendors are promoting their agentic AI products; however, definitions vary widely. Some experts describe agentic AI as systems capable of making autonomous decisions, learning from past experiences, and adapting their responses, while others argue that any AI with decision-making capabilities qualifies as agentic. (Source)

Backbase, a digital banking software provider, has unveiled its AI-powered Banking Platform, leveraging the Intelligence Fabric introduced in September 2024 to integrate AI into core banking functions. The platform focuses on enhancing customer service and digital sales, vital for growth and efficiency, by using Agentic AI—a suite of modular agents that automate tasks and suggest next steps. It offers a comprehensive framework for real-time support, self-service, and personalized customer engagement while ensuring security and compliance. To facilitate implementation, Backbase launched the AI Factory, embedding specialists within banks to address the AI talent gap. CEO Jouk Pleiter emphasizes the need for banks to adopt this production-ready AI model to enhance productivity and support rapid growth, challenging them to move beyond legacy systems as fintech advances globally. (Source)

Forethought's 2025 AI in CX Benchmark Report reveals that agentic AI significantly outperforms simpler AI and non-AI solutions in customer experience (CX), reducing resolution costs by over 20% and enhancing customer satisfaction. The report, based on a survey of over 600 CX professionals at US mid-market companies, highlights that businesses using agentic AI—capable of autonomous decision-making—see substantial improvements in deflection rates and CSAT scores compared to those using retrieval-augmented generative AI (RAG) or no AI. Notably, companies integrating agentic AI with help desk platforms like Freshdesk, Kustomer, and HubSpot achieve the highest deflection rates. Despite widespread adoption, the report criticizes reliance on ineffective options like decision trees and emphasizes that a multi-channel CX strategy, especially through chat, is essential as it emerges as the fastest-growing support channel. (Source)