KALEAH SALMON

Head of Growth

RedCloud has announced three artificial intelligence agents for commercial decision-making in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. The tools are being developed for distributors and brand managers across the company’s markets.

The products are designed to support routine decisions on stock, pricing, sales targeting and market planning using trade data collected through RedCloud’s platform. Its system has processed nearly USD $6.9 billion in FMCG transactions across emerging markets, including Nigeria, Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.

One tool, the RedAI Inventory Agent, is intended for distributors managing stock levels. It is designed to predict demand and recommend when to reorder and in what quantities, with the aim of reducing both shortages and excess stock.

A second product, the RedAI Sales Agent, is aimed at distribution sales teams. It is intended to identify buyers most likely to place orders, suggest pricing approaches, and recommend product bundles, while reducing time spent on low-probability leads.

The third product, the RedAI Market Planning Agent, is intended for FMCG brand managers. It is designed to provide a local view of product performance at the category and stock-keeping unit level, alongside information on competitive activity, channel trends, and areas of potential growth.

The agents are being built on RedCloud’s RAID engine, short for Realtime AI for Distribution. The tools are expected to operate in local languages across its active markets and include embedded trading and payment functions through local payment providers.

Data focus

RedCloud framed the launch around the volume of daily decisions made across consumer goods supply chains, from reorder timing to pricing and promotion. It said many of those decisions are still made without real-time supply-and-demand data and argued that the resulting information gap contributes to lost inventory opportunities across the sector.

The company put that missed opportunity at USD $2 trillion a year globally, citing external market research. It also cited figures valuing the wider global FMCG market at USD $14.6 trillion.

RedCloud operates in high-growth consumer markets, selling software and services to brands, distributors and retailers. Its wider platform combines trade data, market intelligence and transaction tools intended to digitise product flows across supply chains.

Rollout plans

The three agents are planned for rollout in the second half of 2026, with a phased launch through live customer deployments in RedCloud’s operating countries.

That timeline means the products remain in development rather than in general use. RedCloud did not provide customer names, pricing details or deployment targets for the new tools.

Artificial intelligence products aimed at operational workflows have become an increasingly important area of interest for enterprise software groups and supply chain technology firms. RedCloud’s approach centres on narrow, task-specific systems trained on transaction data generated inside its own trade network, rather than broad consumer-facing AI models.

The focus on distributor and brand workflows reflects the fragmented structure of many FMCG markets, particularly in developing economies where ordering, merchandising and route-to-market decisions often rely on incomplete or delayed information. In those settings, better data on local demand and sell-out trends can affect working capital, product availability and sales efficiency.

Justin Floyd, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of RedCloud, outlined the company’s view of the shift in a statement accompanying the announcement: “Global trade has never had intelligence. RAID changes that. Specialist AI Agents powered by the RAID will transform FMCG and supply chain professionals into decision-making gurus – delivering performance and efficiency across the supply chain. This is intelligent infrastructure unlocking growth and prosperity.”

Soumaya Hamzaoui, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of RedCloud, said the products are intended to support existing staff workflows before taking on more autonomous tasks in limited cases: “For years, FMCG and supply chain professionals have had to make critical decisions based on incomplete data. That era is over. Our specialized AI agents, powered by the RAID Engine, will focus on specialist workflows in support of our customer’s employees, in time working autonomously with human-in-the-loop oversight for larger decisions. This is how intelligent infrastructure is set to reshape the way software is presented to enable humans to inform their judgement and perform in their roles.”

Startup Moldova has announced partnerships with Unicorn Factory Lisbon, SeedBlink and the Ukrainian Startup Fund, linking the country’s startup sector more closely to European funding and acceleration networks.

The agreements were unveiled at the Startup Moldova Summit in Chișinău, which organisers said drew more than 2,000 participants, 150 startups, 60 speakers and international investors for its largest edition so far.

The new partnerships are intended to widen Moldovan founders’ access to acceleration programmes, investor networks and cross-border funding channels. Under one agreement, Unicorn Factory Lisbon and Startup Moldova will support local startups seeking entry to international acceleration programmes and expansion into EU markets.

Another partnership brings together Moldova Innovation Technology Park, Startup Moldova and the Ukrainian Startup Fund to support cross-border cooperation, improve access to finance and deepen integration with the wider European innovation system.

SeedBlink and Startup Moldova also plan to launch a crowdinvesting platform for Moldovan startups, designed to help companies raise money through syndicated investment rounds and connect with European angel investors.

The moves come as Moldova seeks to develop a small but growing technology sector. The country’s startup ecosystem now includes more than 300 companies and has been expanding by 20% year on year.

At the summit opening, Olga Melniciuc outlined the sector’s latest growth figures. “Moldova’s ecosystem has grown to over 300 companies, expanding by 20% year over year. In 2025 alone, startups generated over $60 million in revenue, created over 1,500 jobs, and attracted over $17 million in investment, demonstrating that startups are becoming a real driver of the country’s economic growth. The theme of the Summit – ‘Born in Moldova. Built for the World.’ – reflects the ambition of our founders, who are building companies designed to compete globally from day one,” said Olga Melniciuc, chief executive of Startup Moldova.

The figures point to a startup market that remains modest by regional standards but is trying to connect more directly with larger European capital pools. For countries on the edge of the EU, those links can matter as much as domestic policy in determining whether founders stay local or move abroad.

Moldova has also been trying to make its business environment more attractive to technology companies. Moldova Innovation Technology Park offers a 7% flat tax for eligible IT and digital activities, while the country is developing digital nomad and remote-work frameworks and preparing a fund of funds intended to widen access to venture and equity finance.

Officials have also highlighted efforts to digitise public services and business processes, including contactless business tools, e-governance measures and digital public infrastructure such as the EVO government app, which is intended to simplify public and business-facing services.

Regional links

The involvement of the Ukrainian Startup Fund underlines a wider regional dimension to Moldova’s approach. By building ties not only with western European organisations but also with neighbouring ecosystems, the country is seeking to position itself as a more connected part of the European startup map.

Sergiu Rabii, who leads the Innovate Moldova Programme funded by Sweden and the United Kingdom, said the agreements reflected a broader shift in how Moldovan founders are being connected to international markets and expertise. “These partnerships show that Moldova’s startup ecosystem is becoming more connected and internationally relevant. By improving access to capital, expertise and markets, Sweden and the United Kingdom are helping Moldovan founders scale faster and build companies with global potential,” said Sergiu Rabii, director of the Innovate Moldova Programme.

The European Union has also backed efforts to support entrepreneurship in Moldova through EU4Innovation East. That support reflects a broader push to strengthen startup structures in countries linked economically and politically to the bloc.

Julien Schmitt, director of the EU4Innovation East programme, said growth in the number of companies was increasing demand for stronger support systems and better financing routes. “Startup Moldova Summit 2026 reflects the continued progress of Moldova’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. For the second consecutive year, the European Union, through EU4Innovation East, is proud to support this platform that connects founders, investors and international markets. As the number of startups in Moldova grows, so does the need for stronger support structures and access to capital,” he said.

Summit focus

The event also featured a Startup Alley, where 42 startups presented their products, along with the national final of the Startup World Cup pitching competition. Ten startups pitched to a jury of international investors.

Prompted AI won the competition, while LyricFluent and Argus AI placed second and third.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Optimizely has published research suggesting artificial intelligence is saving marketers time without creating more room for strategic work. The survey covered 227 marketing professionals across B2B industries.

The findings point to a gap between the work respondents value and the tasks that fill most of their day. In the survey, 41.8% of marketers said their role is only “50/50 creative on a good day”, while 37.9% said their work is mainly focused on coordination rather than creative or strategic output.

AI featured heavily in the results, but its effects on day-to-day work were mixed. While 61% of respondents said AI saves them time and 55% said it makes some tasks easier, only 36% said it meaningfully frees up space for strategy.

That distinction sits at the centre of the study’s argument: efficiency gains do not necessarily lead to higher-value work. The research also found that 28% of marketers believe AI is increasing output expectations, while 13% said it is making workflows more complicated.

Workflow strain

The survey paints a picture of marketing teams spending more time managing processes, systems and internal demands than developing campaigns or shaping strategy. Marketers are increasingly navigating a wider mix of tools, channels and stakeholders, adding pressure to roles many entered for creative and commercial reasons.

The data also suggests marketers are not rejecting AI outright. Instead, respondents appeared to distinguish between AI that removes repetitive work and AI that simply adds another layer of expectation to already fragmented workflows.

More focused time, clearer priorities and fewer reactive demands were the changes most consistently identified as likely to improve effectiveness. Despite the pressure, most marketers were not looking to leave the profession, though some questioned whether the current pace and structure of work are sustainable.

Tara Corey, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Optimizely, commented on the findings.

“The issue isn’t that marketers have lost their passion; they’ve simply lost the space to act on it. It isn’t due to a lack of effort; it’s due to complexity. More tools, more channels and more stakeholders are fragmenting the work. By connecting workflows, cutting down coordination and giving marketers more space for strategy and creativity, AI has the potential to bring more structure to how work gets done. But, if teams are only using AI to increase their output, they’re just accelerating the chaos,” Corey said.

Pressure paradox

The research describes this tension as a “passion-pressure paradox”, with marketers still motivated by creative work and business impact but often spending their time elsewhere. It reflects a broader industry debate over whether AI is meaningfully changing the nature of knowledge work or simply compressing deadlines and raising volume expectations.

In this case, the numbers suggest AI’s immediate value lies more in task efficiency than in reshaping how teams allocate their time. If that pattern holds, marketing leaders may face pressure to rethink operating models as much as software choices.

The survey sample was weighted towards experienced respondents: 72% were at manager level or above, and 83% had more than eight years of experience. That gives the results a strong tilt towards established professionals working in B2B settings.

That matters because senior marketers often sit closest to decisions on budgets, planning cycles and tool adoption. Their responses suggest concern not just about productivity, but about how work is organised when new technology is introduced into already busy teams.

For businesses investing in AI across marketing departments, the findings point to a practical challenge. Saving time on individual tasks may offer limited value if the recovered hours are absorbed by more approvals, more reporting or higher content output targets rather than planning, experimentation or creative development.

The study also adds to a growing body of industry research showing that enthusiasm for AI often coexists with scepticism about implementation. Marketers may welcome tools that reduce repetitive effort, but remain wary when those tools are introduced without changes to priorities, processes or team structures.

Optimizely’s survey concludes that marketing performance may increasingly depend on how work is structured rather than on adding more tools alone. Among respondents, the strongest demand was not for more technology, but for more focused time and clearer priorities.