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Manufacturers Turn to AI to Manage Supply Chains Amid Tariff Volatility

U.S. manufacturers like The Toro Company are using artificial intelligence to maintain lean “just-in-time” inventories despite ongoing global trade uncertainties and fluctuating tariffs. Toro’s supply chain chief, Kevin Carpenter, says AI helps the company process daily news—from policy updates to commodity prices—into actionable insights, guiding purchasing and inventory decisions.

Generative AI is being increasingly adopted in supply chains, capable of analyzing massive datasets and suggesting optimal actions. Industry research firm Gartner predicts AI software spending for supply chains could rise from $2.7 billion today to $55 billion by 2029. Leading providers include SAP, Oracle, Coupa, Microsoft, and Blue Yonder.

While AI improves efficiency and helps manage cost pressures, experts caution it is not a “silver bullet.” Human oversight remains essential for strategic decisions, with AI handling routine tasks like scheduling and ordering. Companies using AI can better react to uncertainty, reduce excess inventory, and protect profit margins amid rising costs and global disruptions.

Duolingo Raises 2025 Revenue Forecast as AI Features Boost User Growth

Duolingo (DUOL.O) raised its annual revenue forecast and surpassed second-quarter revenue estimates on Wednesday, driven by increased adoption of its AI-enhanced subscription services. The language-learning app’s shares climbed about 20% in after-hours trading.

Operating on a freemium model, Duolingo offers free basic lessons with premium tiers that provide advanced features through monthly or annual subscriptions. The company now expects 2025 revenue between $1.01 billion and $1.02 billion, surpassing analysts’ consensus of $996.6 million. Previously, the forecast ranged from $987 million to $996 million.

For the April-June quarter, revenue reached $252.3 million, beating analysts’ estimates of $240.7 million.

Duolingo’s two subscription tiers, Super and Max, include AI-powered tools like video-call conversation practice with chatbots, personalized error analysis, and improved feedback. Since launching its AI video-call feature on Android in January, the company has expanded it to more languages to enhance natural conversation practice and drive subscription growth.

The company’s gross margin exceeded expectations this quarter due to lower-than-anticipated AI costs and stronger ad performance, which, while a smaller part of the business, contributed positively to margins, CFO Matt Skaruppa said.

Duolingo uses generative AI to craft and personalize lessons across more than 100 languages. CEO Luis von Ahn noted that after 12 years to develop its first 100 courses, AI tools helped launch 148 new courses in about one year.

Looking ahead, Duolingo expects third-quarter revenue between $257 million and $261 million, exceeding analyst forecasts of $253 million, and projects adjusted core profit for 2025 in the range of $288.1 million to $295.5 million.

OpenAI’s GPT-5 Model Nears Release Amid High Expectations

OpenAI is on the brink of releasing GPT-5, the next-generation language model succeeding GPT-4, which powered the ChatGPT phenomenon starting in 2022. Industry insiders and early testers express cautious optimism, praising its enhanced coding and scientific problem-solving capabilities, though some say the leap from GPT-4 to GPT-5 feels less dramatic compared to the jump from GPT-3 to GPT-4.

OpenAI, backed by Microsoft and currently valued at around $300 billion, has faced challenges scaling GPT-5 due to limitations in available training data and increased complexity in training runs that can last months and are prone to hardware failures. Unlike GPT-4, which saw significant gains through increased compute power and data, GPT-5 incorporates a novel approach called “test-time compute,” directing extra processing power dynamically to solve complex reasoning and decision-making tasks.

Since the debut of ChatGPT nearly three years ago, generative AI has rapidly advanced. GPT-4 notably outperformed its predecessor by passing the simulated bar exam in the top 10%, setting a new standard in AI capabilities. Meanwhile, competitors like Google and Anthropic have developed rival models, and open-source initiatives such as Meta’s Llama 3 have narrowed the performance gap.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman noted earlier in 2025 that GPT-5 would blend traditional large model training with test-time compute techniques, reflecting the company’s increasingly sophisticated and multifaceted AI portfolio. The broader AI industry awaits the release with anticipation, expecting GPT-5 to unlock new applications beyond conversational AI toward fully autonomous task execution.