Old playbooks loved the phrase “bolt-on.” It still shows up in banker decks, but AI-native platforms don’t bolt anything—they absorb it. Integrations that used to feel like organ transplants now feel like seconds-long software updates.
Need proof? Last week delivered three textbook plays:
- Waystar × Iodine Software — $1.25B to erase the healthcare claims-denial choke point. A close CFO nailed the ripple effect: “Half my vendor list will disappear before budget season.” Maybe more, “spine” automation is coming.
- U.S. Army × Palantir — 75(!) contract vehicles collapsed into one up-to-$10B, 10-year deal. That’s ONE platform to now own all the data spine for logistics, intelligence, and battlefield ops. Again, one single data spine = outsized operating leverage.
- GTCR × FMG Suite — Chicago PE folds 50K+ advisers into one AI-heavy marketing hub? The play is cross-sell, yes. It’s also turning the integrated spine into the money-maker. Every new data feed raises margins for the whole portfolio.
Three arenas—hospital revenue, defense data, wealth-tech marketing—one lesson: eliminate seams, own the feedback loop, scale faster than stand-alone tools can re-pitch.
Where AIBO Fits
RAD Intel’s Artificial Intelligence Buyout (AIBO) flywheel starts in marketing because revenue signals scream loudest there, but the backbone is industry-agnostic. The same decision layer that nails influencer mix can triage support tickets or balance retail stock. Pilots are live now—moving fast. Shared data drops acquisition cost, outcome-based pricing lifts margin ceilings, and agentic-AI turns integration from drag to differentiator. Halftime in The Convergence Game is here; speed separates champions from bystanders.
A CEO’s Takeaway
Great companies aren’t waiting for the next funding cycle—or the next compliance memo—to decide what comes next. They’re engineering optionality at the data layer, then letting AI surface the next growth vector automatically. That mindset sits at the center of Artificial Intelligence Buyout (AIBO):
- Buy excellence where it already lives.
- Integrate fast so value shows up this quarter, not next year.
- Compound forever—every new input feeds the same intelligence loop, raising the floor and the ceiling at once.
If you lead a point solution with an unfair advantage—or you steward a brand that needs a partner who can tap the full growth spine—my line is open. The next deal, the next pilot, the next category win is one decisive conversation away.
From the Sidelines — Seam-Busting Wins
A little Nostalgia: Roll-Ups That Became Flywheels
Momentum Meter — Four Quick Hits
- Didn’t know: CloudZero projects AI budgets jumping 36 % next year, yet only half of teams can prove ROI. https://www.cloudzero.com/press-releases/20250522/
- Loved the creativity: American Eagle × Sydney Sweeney denim tease pulled $65 M in earned media—controversy still converts. https://www.wwnytv.com/2025/07/31/american-eagles-good-jeans-ads-with-sydney-sweeney-spark-debate-race-beauty-standards/
- Inspired by: PEOPLE × Pedigree reopened the 2025 World’s Cutest Rescue Dog contest—months of feel-good UGC. https://people.com/pedigree-worlds-cutest-rescue-dog-contest-2025-7940941
- Amped about: GTCR × FMG Suite shows big capital betting on bundled, AI-first suites. https://fmgsuite.com/company/in-the-news/gtcr-to-acquire-fmg-suite-from-aurora-capital-partners/
Want the inside view on how RAD threads this strategy through every move? Drop NEWSLETTER in the subject line to jeremybarnett@radintel.ai.
Think you can help build the next chapter of AI-first marketing? Let’s talk and, as always…
Jeremy Barnett
Co-founder & CEO, RAD Intel
