Technology

Executive summary

Digital trust underpinnings are fraying: attackers abused Microsoft’s code-signing pipeline and US government credentials were exposed on GitHub, showing that supply‑chain assurances can no longer be taken at face value. AI is pivoting from headline benchmarks to architectural efficiency and enterprise‑grade agentic workflows, reshaping procurement toward cost-per-task and integration. Chip supply stresses and US–China controls are embedding structurally higher prices and accelerating supply‑chain bifurcation even as advanced packaging (glass substrates) readies the next wave of AI hardware. Quantum milestones from IBM, Google, and Stanford compress timelines for post‑quantum cryptography, raising the odds of earlier regulatory mandates and forcing security budget reallocations.